Elf on the Shelf

I'm in Georgia now, spending the holiday with my sister's family. I discovered a new holiday "tradition" that started there. It is called the "elf on the shelf" and I think it is pretty cool.

In short summary, a family in southern Georgia started this tradition when their kids were little. Now it has taken off and gone mass media, but it is still a wonderful concept. Especially since it was started by a real family and not some conglomerate. Here's the story:

Sometime after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas, an elf descends on your family. All day and all evening it watches the children. After everyone is in bed and sound asleep, the elf flies up to the North Poles and tells Santa if the children of his/her household has been "naughty or nice." Before everyone wakes up, the elf flies back down to the house and perches in a different location. When the children wake up, they have to find the elf. The rules are that the children cannot ever, ever touch the elf. It will loose its magical powers for the day and give Santa a bad report.

This is HUGE down here. And, fun, too. Each child knows exactly where the elf has perched throughout the season and I have heard delightful tales of elves on the TV, on the chandelier, on top of the cabinet. Most families have named their elf. The kids will tell you, with their wide-eyed seriousness, that they cannot touch the elf. Heaven forbid Santa gets a bad report! Sometimes the elf can be mischievous. One child told the story of how the elf knocked down the Christmas three at 3:00 A.M! Mommy and Daddy (who might have been assisting the elf) had to put the tree back up, ornaments and all and were very tired the next day. So much for the elf perching on the tip top of the tree!

It is a darling idea. I'm going to find an elf for Shannon who will visit her and here new sibling next Christmas.

Holiday tradition are fun and each family has their own with stories to go along with them. I have a feeling within the next 4-5 years, almost every family in America will have an elf on the shelf!