Day Three Hundred Fifty Three 2012

Grandson Elijah looked everywhere for our crazed version of elf on the shelf this afternoon after school and could not find him anywhere—not even upstairs. And then his sister Shelby was surprised to find the elf lurking in the freezer, just waiting for little kids to open it up for a tasty frozen treat, which is usually the first thing Elijah does when he gets here after school each day. He was too freaked out just looking for the elf to even think about grabbing a Bomb Pop. The elf didn’t mind the freezing cold, by the way. After all, he lives at the North Pole. So now he’s moved on. Who knows where he’ll appear next. You better watch out!

Day Three Hundred Forty Five 2012

YOU BETTER BEHAVE! ELF ON THE SHELF IS WATCHING.

I think last Christmas was the first time I’d ever heard of The Elf On The Shelf. According to Wikipedia, once everyone goes to bed, the elf—which apparently sits on a shelf and spies on the kiddos all day long  (which supposedly encourages them to behave themselves so Santa will bring lots of presents)  flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa about what activities, good and bad, took place throughout the day. Before the family wakes up each night, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house, the scout elf and the family play an on-going game of hide and seek. The original story was created in the 1960s but these shelf elves have been around since the fifties. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elf_on_the_Shelf

Neil and I have had this kind of creepy and crazed looking elf for as long as I can remember, and Neil insists of dragging it out every Christmas. Last year, grandson Elijah noticed it, so Neil started moving it around when Elijah wasn’t looking. At one point during our family Christmas dinner, the elf ended up sitting right beside Elijah at the table. Needless to say, it freaked him out. But, as freaked out as he was, the first thing Elijah asked about when Christmastime rolled around again this year was the elf. He saw it sitting on the shelf after school this afternoon. And it freaked him out all over again. But he’ll be looking for it tomorrow. Who knows where it will be sitting next. Waiting. And watching.