North Pole Breakfast
Do you do a North Pole breakfast at your house? This is a tradition that we set up when Reagan was almost 2 years old and Derek was a newborn. We have done it for three years and it is a Christmas tradition that I absolutely adore. This special Christmas breakfast is so much fun for me to set up because it allows me to bring a little magic to my kids’ holiday season.
So here’s the rundown, the North Pole Breakfast is when our scout elf (Elf on the Shelf) arrives for the first time of the season. Sally, as Reagan named her, brings our holiday decor and sets-up a magical breakfast for our family. This means that she arrives before everyone in the house wakes up, decorates our breakfast table and makes breakfast for everyone so that we all wake up to a surprise.
Sally typically comes for the first time of the season on a weekend between Thanksgiving and December 1st.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while and especially if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I like to keep things fairly simple, fairly practical, and on budget. Though the holidays do make me a little extra and I like to think of this is as being extra-ish. Let me explain.
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Set Up
Decor:
- Table Cloth – A solid white cloth table cloth will serve you well over and over again. It acts as a blank canvas for you to set the tone. Solid white butcher paper is another fun way to set the table and it allows you to draw on the table and then toss everything when you’re done.
- Table Runner or Placemats – This is a super simple way to dress up and fill up the table quickly and easily. It will also double as decor for the entire month or at the very least on Christmas.
- A stand or landing spot for your Scout Elf – Your elf brought all this magic and will need a place to sit. I recommend a spot on top of a box or cake stand so that they are visible and up high. It can even be a wrapped Amazon box.
- Decorative pieces – Think about using mini trees, stacks of Christmas books, jingle bell necklaces, ornaments, nutcrackers, cookie cutters, gift tags, and a sign that says North Pole Breakfast.
Place Settings:
- Festive Christmas tableware (Bowls & Plates) – These can be quality festive pieces, Dollar Spot plates, or even paper plates.
- Christmas Coffee Mugs – Whether you like ginormous mugs, matching Christmas mugs, or a more eclectic collection; holiday mugs are essential at a North Pole breakfast. Even the kids get a mug at their place setting, it just makes the table look balanced, festive, and fuller.
- Milk Jugs – This is an item that I invested in after my first party and I am so glad I did. Nothing looks as cute as milk served in an old fashioned milk jug.
Big Take Away:
You do not need a bunch of fancy dishes or decor to make this happen. Dollar Spot or even everyday dishes will make this moment magical. (Heck last year my we were living with my parents and their house was under construction so paper plates were what we used. My kids still thought it was magical and were beyond excited.) Use the Christmas decor you have. If you are just starting your collection, $5 at Dollar Tree can go a long way for decor.
Our North Pole Breakfast set up has changed a little bit each year as we have acquired more holiday decorations. But for the most part, I am using the same decor and dishes year after year. The first time I set up the North Pole breakfast I did spend a little more on the set-up then I do now because I was buying everything for the first time. I didn’t have any holiday decor or dishes. Now that I have a basic collection I am comfortable adding 1 to 2 more high-value pieces per year so that I can slowly accumulate a nice set of Christmas dishes.
Food
The food for your North Pole breakfast is where you get be creative and have some fun. Many of these items would also double as Christmas breakfast foods. You can go for a full-on sugar fest here or just give some simple upgrades to your basic pancake breakfast.
Main Dish:
- Pancakes, bacon, and eggs are a staple breakfast in our house on Sundays. You can totally turn them into Rudolf or a Snowman for your North Pole Breakfast.
- You also can’t go wrong with cinnamon rolls. Simply add some holiday sprinkles on top and voila they are North Pole Rolls.
Drinks:
- Sprinkle Rimmed Milk Jug – My absolute favorite detail in the food department is the chocolate and sprinkle rimmed milk jug. This is a very simple process. Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in a small deep bowl. Pour sprinkles in a separate bowl. Dip your glass in the melted chocolate so that the rim is covered. Let it cool for just a minute and dip it in the sprinkles. If your chocolate is too warm the sprinkles and chocolate will drip down. You can either start over or just put them directly in the freezer and enjoy the drippy look. I have done both options.
- Coffee – This is an essential item for all parents, especially if you are waking up early to help your scout elf cook.
- Hot Cocoa – I mean is there anything cuter than seeing little kids drink hot cocoa during Christmas.
Sweets:
A few other items that you can add to make the table more festive and your sweet-tooth a little happier:
- Snowflake Shaped Marshmallows
- Holiday Shaped Chocolates
- Rolled Wafer Cookies
- Candy Canes
- Holiday shaped Little Debbies
- Holiday shaped syrup
I have found these items at places like Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, World Market, and Home Goods.
The first year that I made our North Pole breakfast, I made “candy cane” apples and snowmen donuts. Honestly, they were cute but went uneaten because we are pancake breakfast kind of people.
Extras
These extra ideas are ones that you can certainly skip, but they are traditions I enjoy so I wanted to share.
Gifts:
Every year our scout elf, Sally, arrives at our house with the North Pole breakfast and two gifts for each kid. Both kids receive a new Christmas book, an ornament to represent their year, and new Christmas jammies. This is one of the VERY FEW gifts that Sally will bring. For the most part, Sally lands in a different place each morning and rarely does silly things or brings gifts. That isn’t her job. (Just sayin’) But I love that she brings jammies and a book to start the season and honestly these are items I would have bought my kids each year anyway so I let Sally give them instead.
Activities:
The last thing Sally brings is supplies to write our letters to Santa. We finish our breakfast by writing letters to Santa and then we start opening all of the holiday boxes to decorate the house. This year we are using the Elf on the Shelf Letters to Santa kit. I was able to snag it on sale, and with 8 pieces of “special paper” we can use it for 4 years. (A budget-friendly mama can hope right.)
Are you going to try a North Pole Breakfast with your kids this year?
Let me know in the comments and tag me in your North Pole breakfast posts and stories. I can’t wait to see how you celebrate.
I have created a Christmas Shop for your ease on Amazon. I greatly appreciate when you make a purchase based on my recommendation as I earn a small commission at no cost to you.
