You’ve seen the ‘Santa cams’ on Pinterest, but have you seen a blinking Santa surveillance camera? Well, I hadn’t either but it would make one so much more interesting, wouldn’t it?
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The Elf on the Shelf book and doll caught my attention in a little shop when Dave and I were vacationing in Beaufort, N.C. several years ago. I had never even heard of the Elf on the Shelf! Aidan and Sophia would love this! So, of course, I bought one for them. Their mother, Tiffany, was living in an apartment at the time, so we felt the best plan was to have it at Papa and Grammy’s house.
Well, we had such fun with this little guy. I read the story to Aidan and Sophia and they chose the name ‘Jingles’ for their elf.
They’re too old for Jingles now but he has been all over our home. The kids loved finding him and laughing over his antics. At times he even mocked them.
Inspiration and Plan For The Santa Cam
This blinking Santa cam project is one of my favorite ideas for the elf. When I saw this idea on Pinterest, there were several Christmas ornament versions. At the time, I thought that adding lights, it would make it more believable to the kids. Then, the dilemma was how to make that happen and fortunately, I figured out how! Lol!
At the time, Quaker’s Overnight Oats had just come out and the shape of the container just seemed to be perfect for the faux camera. By cutting it down and using the lower portion, it works perfectly.
How To Make The Santa Surveillance Camera
Supplies Needed
- Empty Quaker Overnight Oats container
- Blinking Jewelry
- Plastic lens-look item
- Black interfacing
- Black paint
- Scissors
- Compass with a blade for cutting circles
- Black Acrylic Paint
- Printer and paper
- ► Santa Cam Printout
Santa Cam Printout
Directions for the Santa Surveillance Camera
Cut the plastic cup down to 1-1/2-inches around the lower portion of the oatmeal cup. You can cut the plastic easily with scissors. The cut should be roughly 1/4-inch above the triangular indentations on the cup.
Paint The Oatmeal Cup With Black Acrylic Paint
Using the black acrylic craft paint, paint the inside of the cup avoiding the circular indentation on the bottom of the cup. (The ‘lens’ will cover this area and the lights will be visible through it.) Paint one coat of paint on the inside and allow the paint to dry. If necessary, paint a second coat.
To fit the Quaker Oat container, cut a 2-7/8-inch circle from the black foam board. Use a compass fitted with a blade or another circle-cutting tool, to cut out the black foam board circle and the Santa Cam circle. Cut out the inner gray circle of the Santa Cam, too.
Use Tacky Glue on the back of the Santa Cam circle and adhere it to the painted Oatmeal cup.
You’ll push the foam board circle gently into the back of the camera to hide the flashing light mechanism.
The Lens For The Santa Surveillance Camera Ornament
I’m not sure what the black round plastic ‘lens-like’ thing is. I just happened to see it and thought it would work nicely as a lens. There is a clear plastic piece in the center of this one.
Be on the lookout for one or a reasonable alternative! If it’s not black, you can always paint it.
You don’t want to be able to see the light mechanism through the ‘lens’, just the lights blinking, so cut some black interfacing to cover the ‘lens’ on the inside. You can use chalk to draw around the lens, cut out the circle, and then, glue the edges to the inside of the black plastic circle.
The Blinking Mechanism
Someone gave me the Christmas tree light-up jewelry pin but I’ve seen these inexpensive pins at shops like Dollar Tree during the holidays. Carefully, pull the mechanism away from the pin. This is pretty easy to do.
This little pin has to be turned on and off. That is why you need to use the foam board circle to cover the back and keep it removable. You can see the push button in the picture below. Use a little strip of Velcro on the black foam board and the light to keep it in place.
Don’t know what I’m doing with adding music to a video! Lol! Wanted you to be able to see the blinking lights more than I cared about how inept my video/audio skills are!
As you can see, I set Jingles on the branches of the Christmas tree. As soon as Aidan and Sophie came into the house, they began looking for Jingles and ultimately, found him here. Of course, I had turned on the lights just before they arrived. The red and green lights were blinking and they were convinced it was a Santa cam!
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