The Elf on the Shelf

He's baaacckkk! Our favorite friend from the North Pole comes to visit every year around this time. We first invited the Elf on the Shelf into our home about two years ago. He arrives every year around the first of December and takes his job as a scout elf for Santa very seriously.
Here's how the elf works in a nutshell. He shows up one day in some unexpected place, like on the Christmas tree. All day long he keeps an eye on the kids, making note of behavior problems as well as good deeds. At night after everyone's asleep, he flies back to the North Pole to give a daily report to the big guy in red. The next morning, he's back in some new and unexpected location. Alvin, our elf, does seem to get his days and nights mixed up at times though. Some days we'll wake up and he'll be in the exact same location as he was the day before. Then he'll zoom off to the North Pole when no one is watching and show up again somewhere else in the house. The other day he had the bright idea of hiding in an apothecary jar. Apparently, he got stuck because he was still there the next morning, much to Spice's chagrin. I took the lid off the jar very carefully (you're not supposed to touch the elf) so he was able to make his rounds later that day while we were at church. He does do a good job of keeping the kids in line during this very exciting time of year though. Anytime a behavior problem begins to rear its ugly head, a quick reminder that Alvin is watching is usually enough to set everyone straight again.
If your family hasn't invited one of Santa's helpers into your home yet, we highly recommend it. The Elf on the Shelf works for us. For more great tips, visit We Are That Family.