A friend here in San Antonio (with twin girls) introduced me to "
Elf on a Shelf" (available at bookstores, Target, etc). He comes with a book that tells the kids all about him. He shows up sometime around the Thanksgiving holiday, sent by Santa himself to watch and report back to the North Pole. He's a magical elf who flies to the North Pole each night and lets Santa know if the children have been naughty or nice. But you can't touch him or he'll loose his magical powers and won't be able to tell Santa your wishes or good behaviour.
"Friedrich" (Ella is obsessed with
Sound of Music and named him after the oldest boy) made his appearance when we got back from Atlanta. And each night he's gone back to the North Pole. How do we know this? Because each morning, he is in a different place somewhere in the house. My girlfriend with the twins told me they wake up each morning joyously trying to find their elf. Ella, too, has taken to bounding out of bed to find Friendrich and squeals with joy when she finds him. We tease her and say, "Let me just put him over here..." To which she cries, "NOOOOOOOO! He'll loose his magic!" Of course we're just teasing. I don't know about you, but I want Santa to bring me some camera equipment! :)
I wish I had known about this earlier, it would have made a great 'family' gift for a few close friends. Anyway, here are just a few of the places Friedrich has perched.... and of course, if Ella asks, we all have elves, I mean how else would Santa know we've been good this year :)
