The Elf on the Shelf

We have an elf in our house.

He is a cute little guy with a red suit who only comes during the month of December. Every day he keeps watch over the house, and those who live in it, and at night he scurries back to St. Nick and reports in about the days activities. The next morning he has moved to another part of the house to keep an eye on everyone.

Now the girls love our elf. Every morning they jump out of bed and run around the house trying to find him. Yesterday he was sitting on top of a light fixture in the kitchen, and when discovered shouts were made to us parents that we could not turn the light on because we did want to "burn the elf's butt."

As parents we are always nervous that the elf will forget to move the overnight.

As a little game of hide and seek, the elf on the shelf is fun. As a tool to teach kids to be good, well, I don't think the elf really works, nor should he (in my opinion).

But what I like most about the elf on the shelf is the fact that this is the second year he has appeared at our house and he is becoming a family tradition. At the end of November Sierra was already asking us where the elf was and when he would be back.

And I like family traditions. They are things we do that are special to us, to our families, to those we love. Traditions like this help to strengthen the bonds of family and grow in unique ways.

So what are some of your family traditions and how did they get started?