From the desk of Santa Claus

Do you do Elf on the Shelf at your home? Last year was our first year and it was so much fun. My girls named our Elf "Ruby". Let me just say that Ruby is sweet and not naughty. She brings the Christmas magic alive in our home and brings laughs and fun activities for us to do together as a family.

In our family we have made it a tradition to decorate the Sunday after Thanksgiving because my husband usually always works Friday and use to work Saturdays. This year because he doesn't work Saturdays we are planning on decorating then. With Thanksgiving just a few days away and December 1st just around the corner I have started preparing our activities.

Check out this cute Santa letterhead! Ruby is returning with a letter from Santa letting our girls know that Ruby will be watching and reporting each night! You can find the Santa letter head here.

Utah Friends: Gingerbread House Festival

It's that time of year again! December's calendar fills up quickly and here is yet another activity to attend! We have an activity advent calendar and some days ( a lot of days this year with a newborn at home) are simple activities like make playdough, play a game by the Christmas tree, color a christmas scene, etc. but we also like to plan some fun outings and this is one we will be attending! Check out the details below! 

Here are the details:

What: 5th Annual Gingerbread House Festival sponsored by Ivory Homes

When: Monday, December 8, 2014 from 3pm to 9pm

Where: The Garden Place in This Is The Place Heritage Park

2601 East Sunnyside Avenue, Salt Lake City

Cost: $5 FOR ADULTS, $3 FOR CHILDREN or go to Gingerbreadfestival.com and download a 8.5 x 11 coloring page. Have the kids color it and bring it to get in free! 

*Also, Christmas Candlelight is happening that night too. You can get half price tickets at the event. Stay the whole evening for a night of family fun. 

Benefits a good cause!

Proceeds from this year’s festival will go to Catholic Community Services, an organization focused on helping the homeless, refugees, and many others.

Come vote on and see over 40 amazing Gingerbread houses at our Gingerbread Parade of Homes! Support a great cause! 

Also, great activities for the family, including:

Cookie Decorating

Games with the Grinch

Face Painting

Candy Station

Hot Chocolate Bar

Enter Your Own Family’s Gingerbread Home and You Could Win $1,000, $500 Or $250! 

Food your kids will gobble up!

Breakfast 

 What a cute, simple and healthy way to start Thanksgiving Day or any day leading up to Thanksgiving. I know my two little girls would love this and it's not anything that will add to the mess and business of dinner prep. Check out the source here.

Cinnamon Roll Turkeys by Pillsbury 

Lunch

"Tommy the Turkey" 

Snack

Turkey Snack Bags 

Juice Box via Rusy and Rosy 

Treat

Simple and darling via Clean and Scentsible. Can be filled with candy corn or other chocolates.

Thanksgiving Kids Table Inspiration

Create a fun Kids Table for your little turkeys! 

Isn't this a cute placemat? Go to Whatever Dee-Dee Wants to find out how to print it! 

Alpha Mom has some cute free printables. Let your children color their way to a festive Thanksgiving table. Grab some crayons and colored pencils, print off the downloads and your kids can decorate their own table.

Check out this darling Thanksgiving play set by How Does She. 

I love the idea of brown butcher paper as a table cloth on the kids table. They can color it and it makes for an easy clean up as well. You can find butcher paper at your local teacher supply store or even some party stores. If you are local, Zurchers carries butcher paper that you may for by the foot. 

Such a cute turkey crayon holder. Find the pattern here.

This is such a fun idea! Visit the Caravan  Shoppe to purchase this kit. You will receive an email with the download that you can then take to your local Staples or Office Max to have it printed for a reasonable price. 

Love this table setting! Order this Owl Theme "Whooo's Thankful?" printable party collection on Etsy for $5. Follow this link to check it out. 

And one of my favorite! Check out these free printables. This includes everything from centerpiece signs, a banner, favor tags, food tent cards, activity sheets, drink flags, candy wrappers, napkin wraps and more. 

Turkey Crafts

Below you will find a few Turkey Crafts. You can't go through November without a cute little turkey hand crafted by your littles hanging on your fridge. I cannot believe we are half way through November! I guess that's what happens when you have a newborn at home. The last few weeks of pregnancy felt like years and now I feel like I barely have blinked my eyes and 2 weeks have passed and we are almost to Thanksgiving! Did I mention I have a newborn? We added the sweetest little boy to our family on the 28th of October. We named him Cannon Taylor. He weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 20.5 inches. We are all totally smitten!


Handprint Turkey Hat by Crafty Mornings 

Paper Plate Turkey by I Heart Crafty Things

Handprint Turkey

Leaf Turkey Craft by Crafty Mornings

Wood Turkeys by Keeping it Simple

Paper Bag Turkey