Elfie is here!

This year we are starting a new tradition in our house. We are going to have a little visitor for the month of December that I am hoping will help keep the kids in line. Hey, a mom needs all the help she can get!! I am talking about our new elf, Elfie. He was assigned to our family by Santa to watch the kids and report their behavior directly to Santa each night. He showed up this morning with a little gift for the kids:

Elfie with the advent calendars

I got this idea from Hallmark who sells Elf on A Shelf, a book and creepy little elf doll. I decided I would rather have this chubby faced elf to look at each day so I bought my own. Not to mention, I got it for $8.00 versus the $30.00 Hallmark was charging. I set this up by telling the kids last night all about Elfie and how he was going to show up each morning while they were sleeping and watch them throughout the day. Every night when they fall asleep he will go back to the North Pole to tell Santa how they did that day. The rule is that they are not allowed to touch him because he will lose his magic and won't be able to get back to the North Pole and Santa will assume they have been naughty. On Christmas Eve he will go back home with Santa for good. I also told them that he may occasionally bring back gifts from Santa. I have to say this morning was a little anti-climatic...I got up and the kids hadn't even noticed him. We went on a hunt and when I finally pointed him out Nathan exclaimed, "He's not real mom." He was looking for a REAL elf. Not as excited as I thought they would be but I am hoping as each day goes by they will get more into it.

I have gotten some really cute ideas on different ways to set him up each day so I am going to have fun playing around with that. Expect a weekly update with pictures of Elfie and his adventures. What are some traditions you are starting in your house this year?