Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Elf on the Shelf

I have had several questions about Elf on the Shelf, so I thought I would give ya the low down. Elf on the Shelf is a little elf that is accompanied by a book. The premise is that the elf watches you and then reports your behavior to Santa (whether or not you have been naughty or nice). Many people do elf on the shelf differently and for different reasons. A lot of my friends who have little children use it for the naughty or nice reason. For example, my friend Carol Ann has a five year old little boy, Lance. She told me today that last night Lance drew on his bedroom wall with a crayon. She wasn't going to pull out her elf until after Thanksgiving, but she thought it was in order seeing that she didn't want a budding artist in Lance (well, not on the walls anyway). So this morning, Lance awoke to his elf on his bedroom chest of drawers. A little funny...she said he started crying as soon as he woke up and apologized to the elf and begged him not to tell Santa : )

I am using Elf on the Shelf to keep the spirit of Santa alive in Miss Paige's little mind. Too many of her friends are not believers anymore and she is questioning Santa and all of the logistics.

Elf (Paige named him Binky) appeared tonight. He was on our mantle with a note written very sloppily ( I know, not a word, work with me here : )) The note said, "Hi Paige. I decided to make an early appearance so that I could keep a close eye on you and report to the Big Man. He is hoping that I have good reports to share, so be on your best behavior and help make my job easy. PS- I get awfully thirsty every night on my way to the Pole, so could you help a brother out and leave me some water and a saltine? Love, Binky"

We had already gone to www.elfontheshelf.com and registered Binky and printed off a certificate and then tonight he magically "appeared".

It has CRACKED me up, because she will walk through the den and will glance his way and then start "fast walking". I think he freaks her out a bit. Of course, the goal is NOT to scare the child, but to help them to believe or behave.

Most gift shops carry the Elf on the Shelf kit. In the kit, there is a little elf and then a copy of the book. It is about $30, but so worth it to create some extra magic.

She is now asleep, so I am going to nibble the cracker she left, drink the water and move Binky to a plant that is right near where she has left her backpack. You can move your elf every night or as much as you'd like.

Hope this all helps!

I have a feeling that this is the last year that my mom and I can play "you know who" : ( We are going to work it this year, so we create some lasting memories!

Now run out tomorrow and get your elf. If you get one, leave me a comment and share how it is going!

12 comments:

Colleen said...

Love the concept! Linlee just wouldn't get it yet (she doesn't even understand about Santa), but maybe next year...

Thanks for the info!

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

This is such a great idea!!

Unfortunately, Nick is beyond this and Sarah is a little too young, but I will be purchasing one for next year!

Enjoy your crackers and water.....too bad Blinky doesn't prefer Wine with his crackers:)

Lisa

Jboo said...

Hmmm-- I think I will be finding that elf and book! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

Janet

Gail said...

All I can say is...you are the best sister a little girl could EVER have! I am familiar with Elf on the Shelf as a friend uses it with her kids. So cute. We may be using it next year!

Jodee said...

We will definitely be getting an elf and probably sooner, than later! Thanks for telling us about it! It sounds like so much fun!

Jennifer said...

I didn't even know about elf on a shelf. I am going to look into it. I love this idea.

I will let you know how I make out.

Jen

The Byrd's Nest said...

Alot of people at our church don't like the idea of "Santa". I disagree. I heard Dr. Dobson say that children are more apt to believe in a God that can't see, hear or feel if they believe in people like Santa. Great huh?

Pixel Fairy Princess said...

OMG - WE Love our Elf on the shelf ;-D I think we are really going to enjoy this year!
She is SO ready to believe!!!
Ladybug hugs,
;D

Sherri said...

Hi Missy,
I have not heard from Michelle at all, but noticed she posted 3 pics on her photo blog today. I'm worried about her too and hoping she is alright.

♥Sherri

Mama P said...

I understand completely about you wanting your 10 year old to still believe in Santa. I have twin boys who just turned 11 a couple of weeks ago and a 5 year old little girl. The boys have been saying that they are the only ones in their class who don't believe in Santa, which breaks my heart! I think they know the truth but are so desperate to believe that it's not true (or that they don't want to hurt their Mom's Holiday Spirit!) that they are trying to believe in all of their hearts that Santa does exist.
The story of the elf that we have always used is that whenever a family is made, an elf is assigned by Mr. Claus himself to sit watch all year long to monitor the kids' behaviors. He is only visible to adults and to those who don't believe. He travels with us everywhere and (so conveniently) whenever they fight, Elmer Elf seems to always be watching and shaking his head in disappointment! It works EVERY TIME!
The motto in our house around Chrismtas time has always been and will always be....If You Don't Believe, You Don't Receive!

Nicole said...

The Elf on the Shelf is available at Barnes and Noble too!

Deb said...

Thanks so much for the reminder of Elf on the Shelf Missy! I remember reading about it last year...but had not seen any around.....I purchased a set today and our Elf has now been named "Elfie"!! :) We had so much fun tonight....Elfie was showing up everywhere! :) It is going to be one fun month! Sophie made one mistake tonight and while she was taking her bath....she said how horrible she felt that Elfie was going to have to fly back to report to the Noth Pole tonight to report what she had done!!:) What a fun tradition this is going to be...thanks for sharing!! :)