Elf on the Shelf



For those of you that don't know, the "Elf on the Shelf" is an elf and book combo that you buy at Hallmark or even Target. You hide him somewhere in your house for your kids to find. When they do find him, you tell them that this elf is Santa's helper and he has come to watch over them to make sure they are being good. They have to name him too. And every night, he flies back to Santa to report all that he's seen and heard. When the elf comes back, he's always in a different place, so as soon as the kids wake up, they have to go and find him. But they can't touch or play with him or he'll lose his magic. The book that comes with the elf explains all of the rules and is really cute! So anyway, I heard about this idea several years ago. I was going to get it last year for Nathan, but I never did. This year, I was going to get it right at the beginning of December, but completely forgot about it. Well, right before I went to Austin for Carrie's baby shower, Nathan went to one of his friend's houses to play. Apparently, Jake already had his elf. When Nathan came home, he told me all about Jake's elf and asked if an elf was going to come to his house and wondered why he didn't have one yet. I was leaving the next day for Austin, but knew I had to get that Elf on the Shelf as soon as I got back! Well, while I was at lunch with my mom, Carrie, and her mother-in-law, I told them about the elf and what Nathan said. So as soon as lunch was finished, we headed to Hallmark where Mama bought Nathan his elf!

When I got home, Wayne kept Nathan occupied while I hid him in the tree. When Nathan finally saw him, he was so excited! He honestly couldn't believe he got his very own elf! We found the book next and read the story. Nathan couldn't wait to think of a name. He finally said, "I know! Let's name him Melf!" Wayne and I just about died laughing because he's learning rhyming words at school and loves to rhyme everything with "M" words! So of course, he'd name his elf MELF. Melf it is! It is so funny to watch Nathan wake up every morning and want to search for Melf first thing. Even Charlotte knows what we're doing now. The hard part is that I have to always remember to move him the night before. One morning, I did forget to move him, but luckily Nathan didn't notice right away, and I had a chance to move him while he ate breakfast. Right now Melf is hanging from the chain of Nathan's fan in his room! It really is amazing how much he believes in Melf and what we can get him to do since Melf is always watching! I need Melf year-round!