Imaginative Ice Skating Rink Adventure

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The other day at a friend's house, the discussion turned to Elf on the Shelf.

We don't do the elf thing around here (it's just never something I'd heard of until recently, and I see no reason to add it to all our other activities), but it was fun to hear all the cute ideas my creative friend had come up with.

She was mulling over a new idea, to freeze some water on a tray and then have the elf skating on it in the morning.

I, of course, thought that was the best idea in the world and realized that there was absolutely no reason why I couldn't create an ice rink at home the next day and just let Gv choose a few ornaments off the tree (the entire thing is full of them, after all) and then play "skating" for some fun.

That evening, I pulled out two cookie sheets to prepare the rink.  I figured it would be smart to nestle a smaller tray inside a larger one, knowing that there would inevitably be spillage due to my clumsiness.

This was such a fabulous idea, because not only did it contain the overflow, but when it all froze, it helped to insulate the smaller tray, keeping the rink alive a bit longer.

I let Gv pick three ornaments off the tree and then we came back to the rink for our practice session.

Oh, the fun we had!  She had these skaters falling down, helping each other up, then taking a rest before getting back out there again.

A little tip: lay everything out on a big towel to make cleaning up a breeze

I walked away without her noticing to get some things done and she continued to play for what seemed like forever.  It might have been an hour, really.

I watched as she finally put the skaters to bed and then she disappeared for a few minutes.

She returned with her watercolors and began to paint on the ice.

Hello, where did that amazing idea come from?

That stage of play lasted probably another 30 minutes, which was then followed by splashing about in the melted water and then using it with the paint to create all sorts of masterpieces on some construction paper she'd pulled out.

I probably had a good two hours to get something done, which was uh-MA-zing.

Of course, what did I use that precious time for?  

Folding laundry.

But I was able to do it right there on the floor next to Gv and enjoy all her adorable conversations and pretend play, which made it totally worth it.

So, whether you do the Elf on the Shelf thing or not, this is an idea that can potentially give you two hours of uninterrupted time without resorting to electronics at all!

Do you do the Elf on the Shelf?  Is it something fun you enjoy, or are you constantly wracking your brain, trying to come up with new, clever ideas?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

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