Elf on the Shelf

Meet Mr. Cowboy (Our Elf)
One of Mr. Elf's Hiding places

Day 1...Mr. Elf on the Shelf

The boys are looking for Mr. Elf

I am not sure how many of you have heard of "Elf on the Shelf" book and/or activity. My sister gave us this as a gift for Luke and Liam's first Christmas. At the time, I thought it was such a cute idea, but I honestly could not imagine adding anything else to our already difficult bedtime routine. Until now, that is. We started the Elf thing this year and the boys love it. The basic story line is that there is an Elf that you hide in various places throughout your house and each morning the boys are supposed to go and find the Elf. You have to give the Elf a name and all day long he is watching over the boys and then at night he goes and reports back to Santa on their behavior so that Santa knows whether they have been "naughty or nice." The only rule is that you cannot touch Mr. Elf. He can hide anywhere in the house and you have to find him, but you cannot play with him. Honestly, it is the best incentive/bribery tool that we have found so far! All I have to say is, "Remember boys, Mr. Elf is watching you and he is going to tell Santa..." Perfect! We need one of these all year around. The boys named the Elf "Cowboy." They recently watched a little of the movie Toy Story and I think Buzz calls Woody "Cowboy" a few times and they thought that was really funny. So, Mr. Cowboy is always watching!!