Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Elf on the Shelf

Last night we attended a Christmas dinner at our friend’s house who also happens to be our son’s Godmother. She gave the kids an “Elf on the Shelf” doll and book, and it’s a huge hit in our household.

To be honest, I had not heard of “Elf on the Shelf” until this year. My neighbor and fellow blogger Crafty Paper Girl posted about their elf recently and then I started hearing about it from other moms. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, the kids name the elf (ours is Jack) and then place it in a location in the house. The elf is supposed to watch what the kids are doing and then report back to Santa each night with a naughty or nice update. Then, the next morning, the elf has moved to a different location, so the kids think he or she actually left and came back at some point in the night.

When we got home last night, Miss E. put Jack on the kitchen counter, by the phone. Early this morning before everyone woke up, I got my coffee, moved Jack to the mantle and then drafted a quick letter to the kids. Jack told them how good they behaved at dinner last night and how Santa was so pleased with this news. Santa said to “keep up the good work” and that Jack would report back the next night. On the way to school, Miss E. told Little Man that he better stop fussing because Jack will tell Santa. Ohh, Elf on the Shelf, where have you been all my life??

A cute tradition for the holidays. Not sure if I can keep up with the letter-writing, but I’ll certainly try, to keep that holiday magic in the air.

Tomorrow I travel to Lexington on business and then we’re heading down to North Carolina to celebrate an early Christmas with Hubby’s family. I’ll check back in with y’all this weekend. Have fun preparing for the holidays!

8 comments:

QueenBeeSwain said...

My mom has that elf, but the original one from the 70's- a college roomie gave it to her. It's perched on the top of her gardening station in the garage now :) I think the Elf on a Shelf tradition is charming and is one that I can't wait to share with my family when I get to have one :)

xoox

kHm

A Refocused Life said...

I just purchased the 'Elf on the Shelf' boxed kit this weekend. I wasn't sure if I should give it to my daughter this year or wait, but your post has made my decision...he needs a shelf 'this' year. My granddaughters will love it.

Jo said...

It's a very cute concept ~ sadly, my son is too old.

Jo

bevy said...

ALL of my students have Elf on a Shelf! And they love to tell me the stories about him every day. (And I do mean EVERY day! LOL)

We don't in our house, though I do think they are cute... BUT Santa has called us every Christmas Eve since S was a preschooler!

Jessica Ryan said...

We love our elf, Sammy! We have such fun with it --except when Momma forgets to move it! I have taken pictures of his hiding spots for a blog post! Some elves are mischievous little creatures... you should hear about all the trouble they get into!

I too hadn't heard about it until this year. I wish I had known about it sooner!

Anastasia Schembri said...

I just recently came across the Elf and ordered one from Amazon, but it hasn't arrived yet, hopefully it won't be too much longer. I can't wait for my kids to see him, I wish I had heard of it earlier

Nikki said...

We have the Elf as well... Our kids LOVE him! Just don't forget the rules in the book! Never touch him or he'll lose his magic (except late at night when all are asleep :) And don't forget to take him out next Thanksgiving day. Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing your blog!
Nikki

Ange said...

That's a fabulous idea. It's amazing what some clever people come up with! Not available here for the moment but I must look into it. I still have at least one who will play along.