I knew one day I wanted to start a holiday tradition similar to the elf on the shelf, just not quite as “be good or else“. I like the sounds of having a perfect child for an entire month but that’s just not real life. As much as I hate the whining, the crying, the emotional roller coasters I call day-to-day with an overly sensitive child, isn’t this apart of life as a parent? To help teach right from wrong, boundaries, and how to deal with emotions?
ANYWAYS, we won’t go there! Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of the elf visiting homes of little ones, and parents having fun{some more than others}, dishing up naughty ideas on what the little buggers got up to while the kids were asleep. I totally get this, and I too love this, I see your pinterest boards, trust me I see them. I want in, just not entirely in.
This is Mortimer, and he lives here. He will come every year to visit our family, but more importantly, Sofia. He’s here to show us the real spirit of Christmas, helping us make, bake, and give through out the entire month. From baking cookies for neighbors, to donating old toys to those in need, to making crafts and cards to send to family and friends. By the end of the month, I am sure he will help Sofia learn that it feels just as wonderful to give as it does to receive.
yesterday morning soon after we woke, sofia heard a noise at the door. sammy walked past our front door and made our mail slot sound. sofia ran to the door as she does every morning after the mail man delivers, but she notices only one solo letter. this one was different however, it was rolled up and tied with 2 gold bells. sammy and i act extremely confused and asked her if she knew who it was from, first words out of her mouth “santa maybe?”. we were all very excited, so we tore right into it, I read the first sentence and she about lost it. dear sofia marie, let me introduce myself, my name is santa claus… It went onto say that she has been a very good girl this year, and touched into some things only santa would know about her. he then said he wanted to send her something for the holidays, to get into the true spirit of christmas. he explained a little about mortimer and how he lives up with him at the north pole and how he would be spending the month with us. concluded the letter with a some advice on keeping mortimer safe from olly, our cat, and one last request for milk and cookies to bet set out on christmas eve. all things santa would totally say. and with that, sofia was flabbergasted. so simple. so sweet. i love this age.
this morning she will wake to another letter from jolly ‘ol st. nick, however this one will be short sweet and to the point. dear sofia, soon will arrive a little mouse, but first he needs a cozy house, searching high, and search low, check your home for his door to show. we will search the house high and low to find mortimers’ front door, and then hunt down the magical mouse himself. giving us our first festive task of making and mailing out christmas cards to all our friends and family.
Naturally I can’t wait to share with you how this unfolds, in all it’s magic and glory. I will be sure to update you daily via Instagram {so if you’re not already following us, get on it. for the love of mortimer, just do it!}, and periodically on Facebook and Twitter. Not too sure who’s more excited right now, Sammy and I or her, either way this little holiday tradition is a complete success and I know will bring many memorable moments together as a family. Tell me, do you do the elf on the shelf or your own take on the fun little tradition like us?
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CURIOUS ON HOW WE MADE IT ALL HAPPEN?
//the door installed on our fireplace, is from an amazing company called fairy avenue. found them on etsy, but have since found out they’re the bees knees when it comes to all things magical. the details from the crystal door knob, the gold little door knocker and mail slot, and crown molding, heck! this door is 10x better than my own front door {another picture here}. i have my eyes set on upgrading ours already with the addition of one of their led carriage lamps. seriously! I’m obsessed. plans have been made on keeping it in place all year’round being the home to many magical beings like the tooth fairy, birthday gnome, and anything else i can dream up. FAIRY AVENUE ETSY SHOP // FACEBOOK
//next is our world travelling mouse, mortimer, who comes from bulgaria {this mouse has traveled farher than i ever have, jeez!}. he was made by an extremely talented lady, mariyana, from molly dolly natural. this mouse could easily pass off as a cute and cuddly version of the real deal, from his tiny little feet to adorably paws, and wired up tail, he is perfection my friends. his glasses, knit sweater and scarf just top it off as pretty much the most adorable thing in this house, next to sofia of course. match made in heaven. MOLLY DOLLY NATURALS ETSY SHOP // FACEBOOK
//our first letter written from santa was on some pretty official north pole paper, and of course we went to pinterest for that. found it here and just used picmonkey.com to insert all my text and save it as a jpeg, and print. LETTER HEAD HERE
//our second item of communication was a sweet little postcard-like letter that I once again got off pinterest, but made adjustments to with images, fonts and script. same deal, using picmonkey.com i made my changes and additions, saved it as a jpeg, and simply printed myself. POSTCARD HERE
Tamara says
This is such a great take on Elf on the Shelf. The door and mouse area both incredible. What fun you will get up to with this, and many memories will be made.
Diana says
I love the concept of this so much better than the elf…mama you are amazing and Sofia is going to be an amazing woman one day because of her awesome parents!! xoxo