Elf Antics 2020:

11-26, The kids were excited to learn that the elves came back a day early this year, floating in on hot air balloons on Thanksgiving.

Day 2: 11/27/2020, The elves are enjoying partying to YMCA tonight, courtesy of Daddy's phone.

Day 3: 11/28/2020, Today Rebecca woke us up with the news, "Daddy you are really not going to like what the elves did this morning. They stole the van and they really can't park. I think it has scratches because no one is looking out the front while they were driving."

Day 3: 11/28/2020, Rebecca had the bright idea to move the elves with a pair of tongs. She had been asking if she could do it for the last two days so that she could play with them while getting around the rule of not touching them.

Day 4: 11/29/2020, Apparently that didn't work out for her too well. But at least the elves left instructions for a little fun in their absence.

The letter reads,

Dear Rebecca,

Nice try, but you can't move us with tongs. I have cracked ribs. Perhaps we will be better tomorrow. We thought after Church you might have a snowball fight with your Daddy. BUT you have to wait till he throws the first one, to touch them.

Love,

Twinkle

Ps - Clean upstairs or we won't come back!

Day 5: 11/30/2020, The elves came back and felt like we needed to do some grocery shopping. They also brought with them two baby elves in training. I suppose this means next year Will and Jon will have a pair of elves to join the family...

Day 6: 12/1/2020, Apparently the elves got into the Halloween candy and it appears that they aren't feeling that great...

Day 7: 12/2/2020, The elves got into one of Gary's cokes. When I asked the kids if Daddy saw it since they didn't come running in to tell us this morning, Britt replied, "We aren't stupid, he would throw them out of the house for real this time."

Day 7, 12/3/2020, Jingle is conducting the Soda Can Christmas Choir singing carols. The other elves are enjoying the concert.

Day 9, 12/4/2020, Mistletoe, I am not sure that's what they mean when in the Pokemon shows they say "Gotta catch em all!" Not sure if they are taking hostages to make the kids actually clean up their rooms or if some of these favorite toys offended the elves in some way but they are all tied up.

Day 10, 12/5/2020, Mistletoe has asked Barbie out on a date, but doesn't seem to notice the attention it has attracted from the rest of the elves. Mistletoe only has eyes for Barbie as they share their syrup shake. Twinkle, Rebecca's elf seems as horrified by the idea of dating and kissing as Rebecca is.

Day 11, 12/6/2020, Last night the elves ate the last of the ice cream. Reckon the kids will be happy to find this out.

Day 12: 12/7/2020, Even the elves exercise to stay fit. Jingle is doing curls, while Twinkle spots Mistletoe as he benches weights. And the real workout, of course, is Peppermint lifting the twins.

Day 13: 12/9/2020, The elves disappeared early on the 7th and didn't show up yesterday since Britt decided to eat all the marshmallows off their weights. Apparently they have forgiven him and reappeared today having a tea party. But no one noticed them in the corner of the school room till after lunch. The girls were still blaming Britt for their disappearance 5 mins before Ruth found them.

Day 14: 12/10/2020, Apparently the elves heard that I was going to make some of Grandmother's Christmas candy, and decided to first make a fort out of the cereal boxes. And apparently Mistletoe left a scathing letter to Britt for his remorseless attitude about Monday's hijinks.

Day 15: 12/11/2020, Ruth complained half the day about how she couldn't have cereal for breakfast. So the elves had a doughnut sculpting contest and made the kids breakfast. Some of them are obviously better sculptors than others. Peppermint is a bit disappointed in her efforts. She even pitches a dramatic fit with her face into the ground like Kate does.

Day 16: 12/12/2020, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Apples came for a visit, courtesy of the elves.

Day 17: 12/14/2020, The elves playing Jenga came bearing a letter promising an extra special craft project for tomorrow so long as the kids clean up when they get home from co-op today.

Day 18: 12/15/2020, The elves managed to find sugar cubes even when Gary and I couldn't. They were really impressed with the kids "Homeschool in the Woods" history project to build a keep and castle wall out of sugar cubes. So they set up the foundation for the project tonight.

Day 19: 12/16/2020, The kids loved building the sugar cube castle. I wish I had thought to take some pictures of them working on it. While wrapping the school table tonight the reindeer started snacking on a bastion. I hope the kids aren't too upset. But in the elves defense the kids should have used a bit more mortar.

Day 20: 12/17/2020, The elves brought supplies for making a fun Christmas tree and ice cream desert, but unfortunately the kids didn't finish school in time to make it before supper.

Day 21: 12/18/2020, Due to really bad behavior on Thursday the elves were a no show today. However they did leave instructions for improvement and I am happy to report that our final day of school today was much smoother.

Day 21: 12/18/2020, The kids made green icing and frosted some ice cream cones then added sprinkles to make them look like Christmas trees. They perched them on a hill of ice cream for desert after supper.

Day 20: 12/19/2020, The elves are shark fishing in the kitchen sink. Mistletoe has gone ice fishing and caught gold fish in the toilet before. But catching sharks is new.

Day 21: 12/20/2020, Tonight the elves swapped the kids cash for coal. Mistletoe is loading the cash in his bag while Twinkle moves the coal from her sack.

Day 22: 12/21/2020, Tonight the elves finished up my final load of laundry. The kids disagreed on whether they were stuffing socks without matches in the couch cushions or pulling things out. They were unhappy to discover that the elves only left them their tooth faerie coins after yesterday's hijinks.

Day 23: 12/22/2020, Apparently the elves finished off the double stuffed oreos tonight... But only the cream.

Day 25: 12/24/2020, They also seemed to think it was time to update the kids elf picture since they last took one in 2014 in PA.

Day 25: 12/24/2020, On their final day the elves are always where the kids can play with them, since they can catch a ride home with Santa instead of using their own magic. So this is how the kids left them on Christmas Eve.

Day 26: 12/25/2020, As one final surprise for the kids on Christmas, Santa gave the elves permission to stay and play until the twins where born so that they could see them too.