Meet our Elf on the Shelf

Monday, December 6, 2010
Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you are well aware of the Elf on the Shelf. I first learned of this little guy last year when one of Emma's classmates brought her Elf to school. Ever since, I've heard nothing but how we MUST get the Elf this year. And so, we did.

Emma and Harper were overly excited to welcome the Elf into our home. He was promptly given a name, which is done online at http://www.elfontheshelf.com/. We carefully read the accompanying book so that we knew exactly what could be expected from the Elf. Apparently, he leaves every night to visit Santa at the North Pole and to report on the behavior, both good and bad, of E and H. Yes, he's always watching. And each day when he returns from the North Pole in the wee hours of the morning, he finds a new spot around the house. {Parents, be prepared to do a little leg work here. Some creativity is involved.} But be warned, if the Elf is handled too much by children, he may lose his magical powers.

The girls wake each morning in a frenzy to find the Elf. They scurry all over the house searching high and low for the Elf. It's really quite cute.

After Christmas, the Elf will leave to return to the North Pole until next holiday season when he will magically appear in our home around Thanksgiving. We've had the Elf for a week, and he's already become part of our Christmas traditions. I allowed the girls to take a few photos with the Elf, but only after asking the Elf if it would be OK. See, although the Elf cannot talk to children, he's always more than happy to chat with adults!

If you don't yet have an Elf, what are you waiting for? This is a great addition to your holiday traditions, and kids will immediately fall in love.

The Elf on the Shelf can be found here, here, and here.

2 comments

Pootsie said...

Elf on the Shelf is adorable. We have C.E.(Christmas Elf) who brought teeny tiny stockings on Dec. 1. If things went well during the day...little C.E. left a piece of candy in the stocking....a very small piece since he is a very small elf. If things hadn't gone too well, he would leave a note with a little encouragement for tomorrow. The kids left notes for C.E. Our kids are now 22 and 27 and they still love C.E. He can be pretty creative when the kids don't live at home anymore. I think this is one of our kids' favorite Christmas traditions.

Sheila said...

Awww, thanks for sharing that tidbit, Pootsie. I've gotten pretty creative with our Elf. The kids really love looking for him in the mornings. It's one of those traditions that kids remember forever. I hope my girls want to keep the Elf going into their young adulthood!