Fun Christmas Ideas

When my mom came over a few weeks ago, she brought with her a box containing the "Elf on a Shelf." In the box was a stuffed toy Christmas elf and a book. The book is to be read to children to explain who the elf is and why he is there. Essentially, the book is a cute story that tells the kids that the elf watches over them in the Christmas season and reports back to Santa each night whether the kids have been bad or good. The next morning, the kids would discover the elf had returned from the North Pole and was hiding on a different shelf or place in the house to watch them. While not only serving as perhaps extra incentive to be on their best behavior, it provides fun as they race out of their beds to try and find the elf each morning. They are not allowed to touch him (just talk to him) and he (obviously) does not reply. And it is up to your family to give him a name. A very cute, entertaining idea for the little ones and a fun tradition. The link and story of his origin - http://www.elfontheshelf.com/#/home.