ELF ON THE SHELF

THE BEST CHRISTMAS INVESTMENT
If you have a 2-7 year old and you haven’t already then run, don’t walk, in to get an Elf on the Shelf. This will be our third Christmas with “Looper Duper” and she has added so much fun and magic to our lives. Zeke (7) and Josephine (5) have been talking non-stop about how they can NOT wait until she comes back this year, which will be the day after Thanksgiving. Our kids have been wondering what she is doing right now, whether she is helping Mrs. Klaus, fixing sleighs, feeding reindeer or, according to Josephine, “working with the handicapped” (which we assume has something to do with hand-crafting toys with the other workshop elves).

Here’s how it works. You get your own Elf on the Shelf and bring it home. We would suggest unleashing your elf the day after Thanksgiving by placing it somewhere special where your little one can discover it. Say near the fireplace. Put the book that comes with it next to your elf. When your child or children discover the elf, read the book. The book explains a lot about your elf and how s/he came to be and how she operates. You get to name your elf and write it in the book and even register your elf online. The kids get to touch and feel the elf once and then she is put in an out-of-reach spot.

The basic idea is that your elf watches over your children in a magical way and flies back to the North Pole each night to report to Santa on your child’s behavior, be it good or bad. When s/he returns the next day s/he will be in a different out-of-reach place. Your kids will love it…and BEST OF ALL, your elf will help improve your child’s behavior. I can’t tell you how many times Wooten and I have silently thanked Looper Duper when we have been able to turn getting ready for the bath from a 15 minute drag-‘em out ordeal to a one minute affair. You’d be surprised how easily you can improve your child’s behavior just by saying, “You don’t want Looper Duper to report back to Santa about x, y, or z.” They snap right back into shape and actually like it. Then when they do something good you can tell them how much Santa will love hearing about their good behavior when your elf flies back to the North Pole tonight and reports to the Big Guy.