"Delf"

A friend of mine shared a favorite holiday tradition with us last year, which we have begun in our family as well. It is "Elf on a Shelf." Basically, the story is that Santa is so busy with getting ready for Christmas, that he sends an elf to all the kids' homes to watch and see if they are being naughty or nice. Then, every night, the elf magically flies back to Santa to give his report, and makes it back to the kids' house before they wake up the next morning.

(Behind the scenes, it does require the parents to move the elf every night after bed, so the kids wake up and find where the elf is watching from the next day).

It is a GREAT behavior modification tool... as is anything to do with the big man in red... and my kids have fully bought into the concept. They have named their elf "Delf," and scramble madly in the morning to find where he is to say good morning.

They have repeated their present requests to Delf, just in case Santa forgot, and rush to tell him when they have done something nice. They also ask permission from Delf before they wrestle (just in case he thinks they are fighting for real), and tattle on each other to Delf when one has done something naughty.

Glen is a little freaked out by Delf - he is convinced that he is real, and doesn't like it when Delf chooses his room to watch from for the day. Maddox asked why Delf was so small, and how he got here (I finally realized that he was asking how Delf got born, not how he physically got to our house - that was an interesting conversation).

Most of all, Delf is fun, because with just 12 days until Christmas Eve, the magic of the season is in full force.