The Elf on the Shelf

Our family has a new addition as of today!! It's an ELF!! I had heard about "The Elf on the Shelf" for a few years from friends, but when Justin came home from a business trip last night talking about it (I guess the guys he traveled with are all Dads & were talking about it too), we decided it was time to just go get our own!!

Do any of you have "The Elf on the Shelf"? It's the cutest tradition... The box comes with a little elf and a book inside. The book is all about the story of the elf, so here it is in a nutshell:

Santa sends the elf, who is essentially a spy for Santa, to each little kid's house around Thanksgiving. The elf's job is to keep an eye on the kids during the day and then report back to Santa at the North Pole each night. Each morning, the elf returns to our home, but always in a new location. The kids get to have fun finding the elf, but are told to never touch or play with the elf. They are, however, encouraged to talk to the elf and tell him things they want Santa to know. (Sometimes, the elf even brings little small gifts back from the North Pole as well!) On Christmas morning, the elf "disappears" & heads back to the North Pole to help Santa until he is needed again in our home next year.

We are SO excited to start this tradition with our kids. We honestly can't wait until tonight when we can read the kids the story & then leave the little elf sitting out & ready to report to Santa before returning in the morning.

I've even read some cute ideas online about where & how to put the elf for the kids to find him: Once suggested leaving him by a plate of cookies & leaving cookie crumbs on his shirt; another suggested dumping out a tub of toys in the living room & making it look like the elf had played with their toys during the night. ....any other suggestions out there?? ;)

The elf will be joining us on our holiday trip home to Arkansas/Oklahoma, so it'll bound to end up being lots of fun for everyone!