Audrey of Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats recently hosted the most precious Elf Adoption Party.  Not all of her friends had little elf visitors during the holidays to watch over the children’s behavior, so what better than to let them adopt and name elves at the party!

Audrey reached out to us earlier this year and asked if we could create a Magical Elf themed party printable package for her holiday party. We were thrilled about the idea because we had been wanting to have a party to honor little elves since they are such a wonderful tradition.

As a treat to you, we have a special 4 day sale on our Magical Elf printables (see the bottom of the post)

Some of our favorite tidbits from Audrey’s Magical Elf Adoption Party:
– Elf Adoption Table complete with elves, name tags (using our printable labels), clothing & accessories.  They made the adoption official with our printable Elf Adoption Certificate!
– Elf Dessert Table – the dollhouse party has been taken to the next level! (but for Elves!) Desserts for the little ones and smaller versions for the elves! Mini cake pops, cookies and more! Those cake pops are tiny and so detailed!
– Adorable Cookies and Stockings from some fabulous vendors (find at the bottom of the post)

Find the complete set of printables in our shop here.

 

Here is the party writeup by Audrey herself!

“So…I have a little confession. I’m ELF OBSESSED. Seriously. It’s one of those things that started innocently enough, as a family tradition YEARS in the making, but has now taken on a life of its own. I can’t control it, or at least I choose NOT to. But I do find comfort in the thousands of Elf-tastic pins on Pinterest and the incessant Elf-related Facebook posts of my friends…it’s nice to know I’m not alone!

We’ve had some vintage Christmas Elves in our family for years. We call them our Disco Elves because they (there are 3 of them) are wearing shiny, metallic outfits and look like they’re ready to party ALL the time. My Grandma used to tell us they were watching us and would tell Santa if we were being naughty…not sure if word ever got back to him about any of the “nice” stuff.

Last year we added an Elf on the Shelf to our collection, the kiddos named him Mack, and our little Elf family was complete. The kids love waking up in the morning and rushing out to see what shenanigans the elves have gotten into…it’s become one of their favorite things (and mine too, since this is a safe place and I can be honest – right?!?)

I’ve been mulling over the idea of hosting an ELF PARTY since LAST Christmas. SO many of our friends have Elves now too, I knew the kids would really be into it. Also…it would give me an outlet for my party planning energy since I have a bit of a dry spell between Halloween and Harpers birthday in March 😉

So that’s the WHY…and here is ALL the rest! I hope you enjoy!

PARTY DETAIL
I worked with the talented ladies of Anders Ruff Custom Designs for the printables. They totally “GOT” my vision and their creations were absolutely perfect! You can see their own photo shoot featuring this printable line HERE.

Since our guest list was very short for this party, I planned on hand delivering all the invites. I printed the invitations large, 8×10, rolled them up and tied with a ribbon. We all know that the Number 1 Rule when it comes to Christmas Elves is you CANNOT touch them…or they lose their magic! To solve that problem, each guest also received an Elf-sized stocking. This way they could come along without being touched!

The stockings were created by Puddin’ Pies, and were absolutely DARLING! We’ll be using ours to give our Elves special notes and surprises here and there.
When our guests arrived they were directed to the “Elf Check-in” area. Each Elf had a name tag waiting for him or her…we didn’t want anyone going home with the wrong Elf! After the kiddos deposited their Elves and went downstairs, the Elves jumped out of their stockings, put on their nametags and had their own little Mixer.

ELF ADOPTION CENTER
At our ELF ADOPTION center, we had several Elves just waiting to find their own family! Some of our guests added another Elf to their family, and one family got their very FIRST Elf at our party.  (Elf Adoption printable certificates were also assigned!)

I also had some Elf attire available for our guests to take home. Included were pretty skirt-sets and bows for the lady elves.
We also had some tiny Elf scarves that were a BIG hit with our guests!

THE DESSERT DISPLAY
I knew the desserts for this party were going to be a LOT of fun. With so many teeny-tiny guests, I planned on making some mini-versions of some of our favorite treats!

I made Elf Cake Pops and Swirl Cake Pops. I love using the striped paper straws as “sticks” for my Cake Pops…it really adds something special! Green Party Goods has an amazing line of eco-friendly paper straws that I absolutely adore!

I also made some MINI Cake Pops. These are REAL Cake Pops ya’ll. I rolled them super small, used a cut-off toothpick as the stick, and then dipped them just like the full-size pops. Easy. Cute. Good.

So then, I wanted a bit of a challenge – lol! I thought it would be fun to try to make mini versions of the Elf Cake Pops too. I used a toothpick to add-on the details, but they were pretty basic so it wasn’t too bad. Totally worth the extra effort…they were SO cute!

Local Cookie artist Emily of Emi’s Treats made some AMAZING cookies for our party. She created a “Peeking Elf” design that I just loved…it was beyond perfect! She also made stockings, mittens and candy canes. Emily’s cookies are equal parts delicious and adorable, I just love her work!
Even cuter…she made MINI cookies for our Elf guests too! They were SO sweet! When we were all downstairs, each of the Elves helped themselves to a cookie…they were a BIG hit with our littlest guests.

We also had some ridiculously cute miniatures on the dessert table! Little Things by Anna created the TINY layered cake and TEENSY cupcakes. Seriously, these things are SO adorable and incredibly detailed…I can’t lie…I squealed OUT-LOUD when I opened the box they were shipped in.
What’s great about having these miniatures on-hand is that you can use them again and again! She also made the pennant-style bunting on the mini dessert buffet, and the cute little stocking in the center of the wreath!

ACTIVITIES
My sister volunteered to read The Elf on the Shelf to the kiddos while I was upstairs making sure our Elf guests were “comfortable”.

We had a few activity stations set-up for the kiddos. They were free to go from one to the other at their own pace.
First was the Jingle Bell Bracelet table. A tray of pipe cleaners, a container full of jingle bells…easy…and they loved it. Even better, after they finished their bracelets they got to go jump in the trampoline to hear how they sounded 

We also had a mini tree decorating station. You know the drill…a package of foam Christmas trees, with about a million little sticker pieces to peel and place. A little cheesy maybe, but I tell ya what…my kids NEVER get sick of these things! Like ever…so I go with it!

There was also a table full of Elf-sizes treats. The kids got to pick out an assortment of goodies to “take-home” for their Elves. That was the idea. In reality, most of them chowed-down on their Elves goodies…I’m sure it was from a quality control standpoint.

Each of the guests had the chance, one-by-one, to put on an apron and join me in my kitchen to make a few EXTRA special Elf treats. I had three melters going, one with chocolate, white chocolate and green candy melts. They got to dip a mini sugar cookie, mini Oreo and a Cheerio (to make an Elf donut). I also had an assortment of sprinkles out so they could decorate their creations however they chose!

Word must have got out at the North Pole because we had a LOT of Elves show-up for this party. They were hiding ALL over the house! The kiddos went on anELF HUNT to find all of our Elfish visitors. I used the printable Advent Calendar Tags from Anders Ruff (1 through 5) to label our “scenes”. That way the kids knew they had 5 different Elves (or in some cases, groups of Elves) to find. They did a great job hunting!

#1 – These vintage Elves were hanging in my Sweet Cheeks kitchen, ready to bake!  Notice the Elf on the right…Mmmmhmmm…that’s an ELF-SIZED apron, chef’s hat and baking mitt…cute right??? I found the set on eBay HERE.
#2 – We found this Elf hiding with some old toys. He looked right at home!
#3 – This Elf likes to monkey around….sorry…couldn’t help it 
#4 – The ORIGINAL Disco Elves. Just chillin’ on one of their favorite shelves.
#5 – These cuties had their own Elf-sized Radio Flyer sled. It looked like they were ready for a snowball fight!

When it was time for our guests to head for home, I used a pair of decorated kitchen tongs to carefully put each Elf in a basket for the ride home (the stockings are a tight squeeze and we didn’t want to risk any accidental touching!)
The kids, Elves and grown-ups all had a GREAT time at our Elf Party! The Christmas season is so magical, and being able to create these memories, to me, really is priceless.
If you’re into the whole ELF-thing, be sure to follow me on Facebook! I post a lot of our Elves daily shenanigans there…frequently…too much…I know I have a problem.

A SIDENOTE ABOUT OUR ELVES
I’ve had several inquiries already, so thought I’d share a little bit more about our Elf Family and how they came to us. These little Christmas Elves have been around for decades, a lot of you may have even had some decorating your house when you were younger. The original vintage Elves were made mostly in Japan starting in the 50s.  My Grandma had some of the vintage Elves that we’ve used for years and years. We also have one Elf on the Shelf. This year, I added SEVERAL more vintage Elves to our family, through online “adoptions” (i.e. auctions). So…we have a LOT of elves around here. We have our faves…the “main” ones who make the mischief and report to Santa.

Those of you who would like to add another Elf (or several) Elves to your family, here are some good places to look:
EBay search for “Knee Hugger Elf or Elves”
Hobby Lobby: I found all of the Elves that were in our adoption center at Hobby Lobby  (before Halloween mind-you) in the Christmas decoration aisle.
We added scarves to some, and bows to give them a little extra personality.
Antique Shops: Hit-up your local antique shops to find vintage elves!
Happy Elfing everyone!!!!
~Audrey”

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Thanks for sharing, Audrey! We love what you did and are sure the kids had a memorable day!

As a treat to you, Items from Our Magical Elf Printable Collection can be purchased for 50% OFF until 12/25/12 with code MAGICELF

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CREDITS + SOURCES:
Event Styling, Photography, Dessert Table Treats- Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats
Printable Magical Elf Christmas Collection (Printable Invitation & Paper Details) – Anders Ruff Custom Designs
Party Goods (Eco Friendly Straws, Baking Cups, etc)  : Green Party Goods
Custom Elf Stockings, Table Runners, Pennant Banner- Puddin’ Pies
Custom Decorated Sugar Cookies- Emi’s Treats
Minatures (layer cake, cupcakes, pennant banner, stocking)- Little Things By Anna
Elf-sized baking set, apron, oven mitt, and chef’s hat- BJWildey
Custom children’s clothing, Christmas dress, applique shirt and cardigan- Lottie Da Baby