Elf on the Shelf - (Candy Cane)

Last night Tina told me that the big thing with all the kids right now is the Elf on the Shelf. I had never heard of this and given that she told me about it on November 30th then I had very little time to consider purchasing one for December the 1st. Not only that we had a quick look on Amazon and these things sell for £30-£40!!!!! So given the lack of time, Tina managed to purchase us an Elf from a shop in Wickford High Street and I managed to download the Elf on the Shelf Welcome Letter. So when I got home tonight I cunningly positioned the Elf on the sofa without anyone noticing and rolled up the letter and stuck it on the Elf's lap.

 

Brandon was first to find the Elf and after reading the Welcome letter he was extremely excited. Although he was a bit worried when he realised he shouldn't have touched the Elf as it removes the magic and therefore he had to lay the Elf on the floor and dance around him singing jingle bells. The next job once Joshua returned from Cubs was to agree on a name for our Elf. After making a lengthy short list the two buys finally agreed on the name "Candy Cane".

 

The Elf on the Shelf is an absolutely genius idea to get kids really into the Christmas spirit and to count down those long days until December 25th. It also seems to really have an impact on the kids behaviour and Joshua went to bed really worried tonight about what Candy Cane was going to report back to Santa tonight. I think the two boys will be really excited tomorrow morning to see if Candy Cane has caused any mischief or whether he is playing hide-and-seek.

 

Our Elf on the Shelf waits patiently on the sofa to be found by one of the boys.

The letter that Santa sent with the Elf explaining all the rules.

On Day 1 Candy Cane immediately got into mischief and has been making snow angels out of flour on the conservatory floor.

 

For those not familiar with the "Elf on the Shelf", this is what the Welcome letter from Santa said.

 

Hello new family! I'm very excited to finally meet you! I am your new Elf! Santa has sent me here to help you and help him. My job is to report back to Santa on how you are doing this year. We all know that things can get crazy right before Christmas but I am here to help. You can tell me things on your wish list and I will report them back to Santa. I also report back to Santa when you have been good and when you have been, well, not so good. (We always want to do our best to be good).

 

Each night while you sleep, I fly back to the North Pole to give Santa my report. Don't worry though, I'm not gone long. We elves have magic powers that allow us to travel very quickly. I'll be back before you wake each morning (sometimes I bring mischief and sometimes I just hide - I'm great at hide and seek)!

 

While I am here you have to remember that you cannot touch me. When you do, I lose my magic powers and I cannot fly back to Santa that night. If you do accidentally touch me, lay me on the floor and dance around me singing Jingle Bells. That tends to give me just enough of my magic back to make the nightly trip.

 

Please do not tell your friends at school about me. There is a wait list and not everyone has their own special elf just yet. We don't want to make our friends at school sad for those who are still on the wait list with Santa. I need one special thing from you. I need you to give me a name. Santa said you would know the perfect name for me - and I think he's right!

 

I'm so happy to be part of your family. I look forward to many years of holiday joy together.