Advent Elves

one of my elves

 How often do you jump into something without thinking it all the way through? Me? It seems I do it often. This was definitely the case when I decided to make 44 inch advent elves for my two great nieces, Alexis (11 years old) and Makayla (6 years old) and cousins. I saw some elves in a calendar and thought they were cute and would make the perfect gift. However, the price tag of $187 (each) plus shipping made them too expensive for my pocketbook. Hence, the idea of making them. I didn't think that I would be sewing 50 pockets or how much stuffing they required (48 ounces) or how much time they would take to construct. I wasn't sure once they were finished that the girls would even like them. Shipping also posed problems. They would only fit in a golf box so that cost me $20 then another $30 to ship. It's always good to have a friend who follows along in your folly as my friend Barbara did.

I wrote stories that I put in each pocket along with some props--tissues when the story gets sad, envelopes with the letters that are written in the story and a sparkly notebook to write answers to questions. I plan to do this every year and want to add more props next year.

Barbara's elf

I am also happy to report that the elves were a hit! Both girls are sleeping with them nightly and they are placed on the couch side-by-side with a blanket placed over their legs while the girls are in school. They also wait for each other to read their stories out loud to one another. So it was worth all the time, effort and money.

Each year I seem to find a project that takes more time than I imagined so I'm curious to see what happens next year. Enjoy!