Elf on the Shelf returned to our house this week, spreading holiday cheer along with faith and belief in magic! Sparkle Snowflake has been up to so many fun things already, from snacking on miniature donuts to riding in a sleigh to deliver miniature presents! You can follow along with all those day-to-day moments on my Instagram page.

Last night, we had a potentially upsetting situation when my daughter’s balloon she was playing with bumped Sparkle Snowflake. We weren’t sure if Sparkle Snowflake would disappear or not since she had technically been touched by something.

This morning, my daughter rushed down the stairs to see if her mistake with the balloon had made our elf leave. As she reached our kitchen, she gasped, and she ran to the basement continuing to shout with glee. Sparkle Snowflake had reassured us that an accidental touch with a balloon wasn’t a problem at all.

When our elf reached our home from the North Pole this morning, she soared in on a hot air balloon, and she had filled the entire basement with tons of fun and festive balloons! We plan to make a fantastic, cheery balloon garland for our weekend movie night.

It’s amazing how much holiday spirit our elf brings every morning. Her hot air balloon was decorated with sweet marshmallows and peppermint candies. This might have been her most adventurous moment yet!

Another reason we enjoyed the balloons was that there was a pink swirl balloon that looked just like one of the candy canes we had been crafting with. My daughter wondered if maybe Sparkle Snowflake had somehow magically created the balloon with one of our candy canes!

For the past few nights, I’m sure Sparkle Snowflake watched as we crafted a Christmas tree out of candy canes with peppermint candy ornaments. It was simple to make using pyramid-shaped craft foam and hot glue.

This craft brought my children and me together because we had a reason to slow down for an hour each night, to put away our work and chores, and to simply be present with one another. With the season of Advent here, I want to make every moment count.

We also watched The Legend of the Candy Cane – The Candymaker’s Gift to learn about the religious symbolism and meaning in the candy cane. It’s nice to tie in the meaning of the holiday in a simple craft like this.

Since I also picked up a smaller pyramid-shaped craft foam, my daughter got creative with the smaller peppermint candies. It didn’t fill in the space as well as the candy canes did, but we might still add in another layer of candies to fill it out more.

Having candy-inspired decorations is a playful touch to a home that brings joy, especially with children who are dazzled by holiday magic and sweet traditions. I’m sure I’ll enjoy snacking on the candies as much as they will!