Wednesday, December 14, 2016

North Pole Breakfast 2016

One of my absolute favorite mornings of the year is the morning we do our Elf on the Shelf returns and brings a North Pole Breakfast.  We started this tradition back in 2012 and I have an absolute blast putting it together for the kids.  

We were a little later than normal this year because our elf is actually MIA.  Apparently I hid him in a really great spot before/after we moved because I have torn our house apart and can't find him.  Thankfully a friend (who was in the same situation last year and bought an extra elf) found her original and loaned me her replacement :) 




I bought the dishes at Hobby Lobby back in 2012 (I was pregnant with G) for half off at Hobby Lobby.  I fell in love with the pattern and wanted something really special that we'd use year after year.
  



I change out a few details every year, but the majority of things stay the same.


This year I added a garland to the table instead of the little tree that I've used in years past.  The ornaments, picks and candy canes I had on hand and the garland was an extra that I bought for the banister that I didn't end up using.  SCORE!


Nothing was wired in... I just kind of stuck everything in there for the morning.





The cake stands I had around the house (I use them often) as well as the latte bowls, sundae dishes and glass bottles with straws.


First up on the menu was hot cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows.



... and of course, powdered sugar donuts!  (you can find similar little picks HERE).


I grabbed the picks (they're actually part of a cupcake kit) at Homegoods.



Love how a simple little pick can make donuts so festive!



We also had vanilla yogurt (with sprinkles that the kids could put on top), strawberries and sausage links.







Buddy left the kids each a little note (normally there would be one each, but he ran out of stickers. hahaha)

  


Here come the kids!





They each had new pjs waiting on their chairs which ended up being so cute!!!



There were elf Christmas crackers next to their plates which were so fun!
(I found them at Homegoods as well and there were 6 in a set which means I set 3 aside for next year!)








There were little toys and HATS inside!  Look how excited Mason is ;) hahaha




Time for hot cocoa!!!



















Buddy typically brings the kids each an ornament and a little surprise, but since Mason found the ornaments early this year (ooops!) he just brought them each a little gift.  In the past he's brought Christmas socks, movies, etc. but this year he mixed it up (since we just recorded a ton of movies on DirecTV hahaha) and brought them each a little surprise.

(the sparkle boxes I bought the first year we did the breakfast... I think at the dollar store!)


The boys got a set of walkie talkies (there was one in each of their boxes) and they LOVE them!!!  They figured them out super quickly and were immediately all over the house calling each other :)



And Griffin got a "baby puppy" to go with her "baby kitty" :)  Thrilled is an understatement.







It was SUCH a sweet morning!!!


 I know it looks kind of crazy and over the top (because it kind of is)... but this year the only things I purchased were the extra picks, elf Christmas crackers and roll of wrapping paper (that I found at Homegoods).  I keep the picks year to year so next year I'll either reuse these or bring back the ones from last year, I only used half the elves and the wrapping paper I'll get another year out of as well!


Thanks for wading through all my pictures :)  I hope you're feeling a little festive after all of this!  If your elf has already arrived and you want to do something fun you could do this on a morning after a day with really great behavior or as a Farewell Feast on Christmas Eve!  If you're looking to shop for a breakfast of your own here are a few cute finds (you can click on the pic to shop!)...




MERRY Wednesday, Friends!!!

PS - This post contained affiliate links which means that if you clicked on a link and made a purchase I may receive a commission.  THANK YOU!!!

34 comments :

  1. Ahhh I look forward to this post every year!!! I so wanted to do a North Pole breakfast this year, but it didn't happen. Luckily my 8 month old doesn't know the difference, lol! I will definitely plan ahead for next year though. Question though...it struck me bc Luke looks SO grown up...have you dealt with questions about Santa yet, and how do you plan on approaching that? Just curious!

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  2. I love it!! Our Elf is bringing our North Pole Breakfast on Monday! (the first day of Christmas break) Can't wait!!

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  3. ALWAYS one of my favorite posts of the year!!!!

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  4. Beyond adorable! Looks like so much fun!

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  5. Such a thrilling morning for your kids! LOVE all of the decor!

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  6. Absolutely magical. I wish my teens would be excited about Elf on the Shelf. Lol.

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  7. It looks exactly like our breakfast except our elf brought donuts in the original packaging, paper plates, and no decorations for the table. Ha!!

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  8. Great job, friend!!! The breakfast is just magical!

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  9. This is one of my favorite things you do every year! I feel your pain in the found ornaments. One of my boys found ALL OF OUR PRESENTS. Gah!

    http://www.lettinginthelightblog.com

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  10. SUPER CUTE!!! We don't have an Elf because all of that didn't really become popular until after our oldest was past the prime time, but I do enjoy seeing your North Pole breakfast every year. It's simply darling and I know the kids look forward to it every year. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Awesome job! I love how everything turned out, you always do it so well! I need those elf crackers!!

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  12. Magical as always :) The joy on GG's face when seeing her baby puppy is priceless.

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  13. What fun! I wish the elf had been around when my kids were little. We would have loved it! Lov the wrapping paper as the table covering. May have to steal that idea for Christmas day. :)

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  14. My kids would LOVE this. Our elf returns with doughnuts, but that is all the special he brings with him that first day :) I love your idea about a farewell celebration as well. Have a great day!

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  15. super cute and fun! My son and his wife would be in trouble if they misplaced their elf...the first year, he got his little bottom burned on a light bulb (lesson learned on where NOT to put your elf!) and my granddaughter always checks Jimmy's bottom each year and tells the story about how he burned it! LOL

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  16. how darling this is the cutest :) Chelsea @ thewilliamsjourney1.blogspot.com/

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  17. Thanks to your wonderful ideas we did our first North Pole breakfast this year. My kids were finally old enough to get it. I told them that our elf sent a special message for Mommy and told me what he wanted me to buy at the store to get the meal ready. How have you handled that in the past? Do they know you do it for them? They both got some jingle bell necklaces, elf hat and Christmas movies. The Dollar Tree saved us on all that and it was so fun! They've still been talking about it.

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  18. Hi Andrea! That was such a cute idea for the North Pole Breakfast! You have the sweetest kids :) I just have a quck question, in your previous post you Griffin has a " Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy" shirt that I loved!! Where did you buy it?? I wonder if they sell it for adults? Thank you :)

    -Mariely

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  19. Your elf is in two different spots in your pictures. Do you not do the no touching rule? If my daughter saw me touch him, she would freak out! haha

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  20. What fun memories you are creating for your kids!

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  21. This is precious. It is award winning! Thank you for sharing and inspiring.

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  22. This post always makes me happy and gets me so pumped for Christmas. You are so creative! This is something I'll definitely be doing with any kiddies God blesses us with.

    http://jessforhim.blogspot.com/

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  23. So cute! We've been having so much fun with this tradition too. I think I might enjoy it more than the kids, but seeing their faces is the absolute best. You did great this year, momma! Beautifully Candid

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  24. This is all so stinking cute! We are going to do one for our kids next year so this is great inspiration!

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  25. Oh what a sweet morning! The kids only enjoyed it a little bit, huh?! ;)

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  26. You amaze me! Do you ever sleep? I am impressed with all you do.

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  27. As always, so cute and festive! I love how you make it so special every year!

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  28. I absolutely love this idea so much. I went to your post from last year and bought everything I needed to re create it this year for my two girls. They were over the moon excited! Thanks for the creativity and fantastic ideas! You and your family are just darling. Happy holidays! :)

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  29. You are so creative! I look forward to these posts every year! Thank you! My kids are too old for this now so I love to live vicariously through you!

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  30. We have had an elf for the past three years and did our first North Pole breakfast this year. I love yours so much. I just have one question. (We're not hard core on our elf or anything) but...I noticed that's Buddy moved from next to the book to the cake stand - did you move him? Do your kids believe in his magic going away if you touch him? Just curious about the logistics of that. We tell Ellie she isn't supposed to touch ours but she has seen me move her a couple of times...

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