Santa Claus Is Coming To Lunch Bento Hop

Bento Bloggers & Friends are celebrating the season with a series of themed blog hops. I am joining in on the last hop in the four part series. Today's hop theme is "Santa Claus is Coming to Lunch". How fun! Most school days I base my son's lunch on books we have read. So, I found a couple of fun books about Old Saint Nick and used them for lunch inspiration.


The Night Before Chistmas: A Goblin Tale by Clement C. Moore, Illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers

I love Clement C. Moore's classic Christmas poem and Boogs' favorite holiday is Halloween. We found the perfect book at our public library to give us a combination of both holidays. The text in this book is strictly Moore's Night Before Christmas poem. What makes this telling of the poem different are the illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers. Santa slides down the chimney into a tree house full of goblins. The little goblins are so curious and excited that they trip Santa and climb all over him. The goblins are causing a lot of mischief. Santa gently picks each goblin up and hangs them up on stocking hooks by the back of their shirts. Santa looks all worn out by the end of his visit. Boogs laughed and really enjoyed looking at each goblin filled page.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: 
 Salami and cheese Santa sandwich
 Candy stockings to hang on the chimney
 Coal raisins and dried apricots
 Red Santa bag filled with Chex Mix toys
 Apple goblin
 Salad with radish star ornaments

Santa Claus the World's Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee

Ever wonder why Santa is so good at figuring out the perfect give for every child? Well, it is because he works hard all year, listens to kids, watches kids, does his research, tests out toys, and then finally finds the perfect toy for each child. Boogs had fun looking at the illustrations in this book. His favorite drawings were the pages showing how Santa tests out the toys to make sure they are sturdy and fun to play with.

 In the ELB lunchbox:

  TOY spelled out in bread with a cheese background
  Cheese Santa hopping on a pogo stick on top of a ham & cheese sandwich
  Mini ham & cheese sandwich presents with letter picks spelling EXPERT
  Red & orange tomato balls
  Santa pick with broccoli Christmas trees
  Santa pick with berries

Now that you have seen my Santa lunches, click the button below to hop over to Bent On Better Lunches to see Cristi's Santa lunch creation.

After you hop through the entire Santa hop and come back here, be sure to go to Bento Bloggers & Friends to start the other three hops in our seasonal celebration of bentos - Winter Wonderlunch, Season's Eatings, and Jolly Holiday hops.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Cutesy At Animal Kingdom Lodge

Poor Cutesy had a rough week in our hotel room at the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was difficult for Cutesy to move around the room with Boogs staying up until we all went to sleep. We did not see our luggage the first night of our stay, luckily Cutesy hitched a ride in my carry-on bag. Unfortunately, he did not have his daily joke with him the first morning of our stay.

Cutesy simply made himself comfortable in the Mickey towels.

The second morning, Cutesy climbed on the headboard with a joke and Lego Mini Figure in his pocket.

Boogs was thrilled to get the Abominable Snowman Lego Mini Figure.

The third morning, Cutesy climbed up on the top of the curtains with a joke in his pocket.

Cutesy must have done some souvenir shopping because he had a giant Disney pencil when Boogs found him hanging on the balcony door on our fourth morning.

Boogs choose to get a purple Minion for his souvenir from Universal Studios. On our last morning at the lodge, the purple Minion was dangling Cutesy from the ceiling fan. Boogs had a hard time deciding if the Minion was messing with Cutesy or trying to save him.

After seeing Cutesy with the Minion, Boogs said, "Cutesy can really move at night and he has the power to make other things move. That is how the Minion was able to save Cutesy on the ceiling fan."

Cutesy's elf cousins have been busy this holiday season. You can see some of their fun adventures or link up your own elf's adventure here:



Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! You can see all of Cutesy's adventures on his Cutesy the Elf Pinterest board.

More Fun With Cutesy

Cutesy brought back Boogs little Christmas tree. This is the third year he has brought this tree. Each time he brings a few more ornaments for Boogs to add to it.

I got a surprise under Cutesy's tree this year. Cutesy and Daddy must have worked together. There was a wrapped gift under the tree For Momma From Cutesy. It was a new camera! Just in time for our Disney trip. Boogs said, "Wow, Cutesy brought you a camera and it didn't cost us anything!"

Boogs got to work adding the new decorations to his little tree.

The morning of our trip, Cutesy left this little game for us to play on the plane.

Looks like Cutesy and the Reindeer had fun playing before we woke up.

Boogs loves making up and answering "Would you rather" questions.

Cutesy's elf cousins have been busy this holiday season. You can see some of their fun adventures or link up your own elf's adventure here:


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! You can see all of Cutesy's adventures on his Cutesy the Elf Pinterest board.

More Adventure with Cutesy the Elf

Cutesy the Elf has been having fun and playing all over the house. Boogs eagerly searches the house each morning to see what Cutesy has done. Cutesy has remembered to bring a reindeer joke every day.


Cutesy made a labyrinth of cars. There was a motorcycle at the center of the labyrinth.

Boogs decided he was supposed to guide the motorcycle through the labyrinth without bumping any of the cars. It was quite a challenge!

Cutesy must have been thinking about Grandmaman and Grandpapa. He took out our giant Canada puzzle and started putting it together during the night.

Boogs helped Cutesy complete the puzzle.

Cutesy was feeling sporty but must have had some sort of mishap. He was stuck in the net when Boogs found him.

Boogs shot baskets for quite a while until he had three baskets in a row.

We love having Cutesy visit during the holiday. He is different from his cousin, The Elf on the Shelf, in that he can be played with and held. Cutesy visits to bring some fun holiday spirit. He is not Santa's spy.

Cutesy's elf cousins are certainly busy this holiday season. You can see some of their fun adventures or link up your own elf's adventure here:


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! You can see all of Cutesy's adventures on his Cutesy the Elf Pinterest board.

Lunches December 2nd - 6th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. We like to pack our lunches in ELBs and Laptop Lunchboxes.  

The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

We love to read Jan Brett books this time of year. Brett's illustrations are so beautiful and detailed. In this story, Santa assigned Teeka the task of rounding up the wild reindeer and getting them trained for Christmas Eve. Teeka tried her best to work with the reindeer. She shouted out commands, brushed them until their ears turned pink, and pushed them into unfamiliar places in line. The reindeer ended up frustrated and scared. Eventually, the reindeer got their antlers so tangled they could not get loose. Teeka learned it was better to work with others by using a soft voice instead of yelling, screaming, and bossing.

Boogs and I had just been discussing how to redirect/correct someone nicely before we read this book. At the after school Math Pentathlon group, Boogs' partner for the FIAR game was not paying attention and kept letting the other team easily win. Boogs started to get frustrated and his voice began to get very loud. I helped him out by reminding him to use quiet questioning rather than yelling. After group was over, we talked about which way worked best with his partner, yelling or questioning. Boogs said he felt it was more effective when he asked, "Is that the best move? Can you see where they can go next?" rather than yelling at his friend, "Not there!!!" I love that Boogs chose this book for our bedtime reading and it reinforced something he had experienced that day. 

In the ELB lunchbox: almond butter & jelly reindeer sandwiches with locked horns, strawberries, salad, olives, cheese, and yogurt.



Three French Hens by Margie Palatini

A mademoiselle from Paris wants to send her true love parts of the 12 Days of Christmas song. The partridge in a pear tree and the two turtledoves arrive on schedule. Unfortunately, the three French hens (Poulette, Colette, and Fifi) were accidentally shipped to New York City. The hens tried to find the mademoiselle's true love. They knew his name was Philippe Renard. When they looked for him in the phone book they discovered a name that matched when translated, Phil Fox. The hens immediately went to Phil Fox's apartment to deliver themselves. The kindness of the hens and their holiday spirit worked to transform Phil Fox's life and luck. Boogs liked this story. He really enjoyed looking at the cute and quirky illustrations, especially the drawings of Phil's cockroach friend.

In the ELB lunchbox: salami & cheese fox sandwich, cheese Christmas tree, candied sunflower seed bulbs for decorating the tree, yogurt "parfait", berries, and salad. Bento-logy's "What Does the Fox Say?" post was the inspiration for the fox sandwich made with a star shaped cookie cutter. What a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing it Caren.

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Christmas by Melanie Watt

While I was at work, I stopped by the school library to pick up a few holiday books. The public library we go to had already been wiped out. I checked out two books and then the school librarian told me I should check out this holiday Scaredy Squirrel book. She said she would love to see me make a lunch from it. So, I made this lunch and gave it to my school librarian. Even grown-ups like story themed lunches.

Scaredy Squirrel is constantly in a state of panic and on high alert to avoid dangers. In this book, Scaredy Squirrel explains exactly how to have a safe holiday season. Boogs read this book out loud to me while we were in the car. He thought it was hilarious, especially Scaredy Squirrel's extreme dislike of mistletoe.

In the ELB lunchbox: salami & cheese Scaredy Squirrel sandwich with cheese shirt, hat and list. I colored in the details with Foodwriter markers. Cheese Christmas tree with candied sunflower seed Christmas lights, spinach, tomatoes, pesto sauce in a Mini Dipper (I like pesto & salami, I put it on the side in case the Librarian didn't like it), and apricots. 


King Hugo's Huge Ego by Chris Van Dusen

Boogs is a big fan of Chris Van Dusen as an author and as an illustrator. Van Dusen's If I Built A Car is one of Boogs favorite books. He also loves the Mercy Watson series which Van Dusen illustrated. Boogs thoroughly enjoyed this book, too. Tiny King Hugo had such a big ego that he only cared for himself. One day, he crossed the wrong villager. She was a sorceress who cast a spell that made Hugo's head swell larger and larger whenever he was being arrogant or pompous. Boogs laughed out loud when he saw the illustrations of Hugo's giant head on top of a teeny tiny body.

In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j giant headed King Hugo sandwich, crackers, Babybel cheese, blueberries, applesauce, broccoli and tomatoes.

Snacky Lunch

I was in a rush this morning so I threw this food in an ELB in about three minutes. I did not have an extra 10 to 15 minutes for a story themed lunch.  In the ELB: pretzels, salami, olives, tomatoes, Babybel cheese, blackberries, and half of a homemade zucchini muffin.


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Math Activity From Our Elf

Cutesy the Elf really loves for Boogs to use his brain! Today, Cutesy left a secret coded message for Boogs. The note said, "You have to break the code to find a small gift from me. Good luck!"

 Cutesy found the 2nd grade Math Fact Code Sheet on education.com

Boogs quickly decoded the message. He did not even complain about having to do extra math work.

 The decoded message said, "Look under couch cushion for a fun painting book."

 I am pretty sure Cutesy found the Magic Paint Poster book in the dollar bin area at Michael's.

Boogs loves having Cutesy around, even when that elf makes him work. 

Last year, Cutesy had a couple of fun and sneaky learning activities for Boogs. You can read about them HERE.

Do you have an elf with a fun picture to share? If so, you can link your post to the Ultimate Elf On A Shelf Link Party HERE. 

Be sure to check my side bar for the great sites I link to. I also linked this post to:

  
You can see all of Cutesy's escapades from the previous two years by clicking the "elf" label at the bottom of this post or by visiting my Cutesy the Elf Pinterest Board.

Cutesy the Elf is Back!

Boogs has been asking when or if Cutesy the Elf will return. He reminded me several times during our Thanksgiving break from school that Cutesy usually returns the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Well, Cutesy could not disappoint Boogs, so he came back to start his fun and mischief on Saturday, November 30th. You can see how we first got Cutesy HERE.

Cutesy Day 1

 

Cutesy arrived with a package and a note. The note says, "I am so happy to visit you again this year. This package got lost at the post office. I wanted you to get it on time for your trip." 

Inside the package were our tickets to Disney World. My husband and I have been waiting to tell Boogs about the trip. We decided that Cutesy could help us out. We explained to Boogs that we were waiting for the package with our tickets to arrive, just to make sure we got them, before we told him about the trip. Boogs was very excited about the trip but also very excited to see Cutesy again. Boogs insisted that Cutesy will have to go on the trip with us. Cutesy will be around until Christmas Eve, so he should be able to tag along. Now, Boogs has a lot of waiting to do before the trip. He has been "researching" the different parks to see what he wants to do most. I also had to assure Boogs that my friend will be staying at our house while we are gone so that his animals will be fed every day.

Cutesy Day 2

Cutesy decided to take over the kitchen during the night. He made Boogs some heart shaped pancakes and spelled out I (heart) U with them. My camera was out, so we think Cutesy must have used the timer on the camera to take a picture of himself before he put the pancakes in the fridge. Then he climbed on the fridge to wait for Boogs to wake up. Cutesy had a reindeer joke to share. He probably downloaded a set of reindeer jokes HERE.

Boogs was pretty impressed with Cutesy's pancakes. He said, "These pancakes taste better than Momma's but not quite as good as Daddy's chocolate chip pancakes." Then Boogs asked, "How did Cutesy do this? He doesn't even have opposable thumbs."

We are so happy to have Cutesy back again this year. You can see all of his escapades from the previous two years by clicking the "elf" label at the bottom of this post or by visiting my Cutesy the Elf Pinterest Board.

Cutesy and a bunch of other elves are leaving links to posts of their mischief on the Ultimate Elf linky:


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar!