The Elf on the Shelf - A Christmas Tradition

More than a month later I am FINALLY blogging again. October has been notoriously my busiest month with photoshoots & weddings. Fall color & nice weather has kept my bum working from sun up to sunset every weekend & several days during the week. I can't lie, I am glad that is has significantly slowed down. While I can't figure out what to do on weekends yet, I really like being home with my kiddos & actually being able to see my family. That is really nice.

So, back to what this blog post is really about. The Elf on the Shelf. You may or may not know what this is. It is pretty awesome so if you don't, get on it. We started ours a few days early but we also have our Christmas tree up & almost all our Christmas decor. lol

The Elf on the Shelf is a fantastic kids book that comes with an adorable little Elf. According to the book he is YOUR Elf. You get to name him. We named ours Drew. Each night Drew flies back to the North Pole to tell Santa how the kids were each day. Then he comes home early each morning & hides. Apparently Elves really like to play hide & seek. Perfect for Kegan & Karie who are always up for a game. The game is supposed to start after Thanksgiving, but since we got Drew yesterday it was almost impossible to wait! Plus, like I said, we are already well into the Christmas Spirit so why not.

This is something I have wanted to do with the kids for a few years now. I love having traditions. I am such a sucker for Holidays/Birthday's so this is just perfect for us. Unfortunately a few years ago the kids were too small to really understand what the Elf on the Shelf was. But this year being 5 and almost 4 I thought it was a perfect year to start this tradition!

Last night was our first night with Drew. We sat in Kegan's bed & read the story with Drew sitting on Kegan's shelf listening to us tell his story. The kids loved the book. They asked 7,000 questions & couldn't wait for the morning to find him!

Since we have dogs and we have one, Kooper, who likes to chew things I told the kids that Drew likes to hide up high. The last night we'd want is for the kids to wake up & find Drew's head on the floor & his chewed body spread all over the living room! Yikes!

This morning the kids woke up & had to look for him! I hid him pretty easy (in the Christmas tree) so it took Kegan less than a minute to spot him. He is still currently sitting up there. Why you ask? Well, Kegan said that Drew likes to be up there because he can see everything going on in the living room & kitchen and that it is his job to tell Santa what we do so he can see it better there. lol Smart kiddo!

Of course what would a blog post be without some pictures! So without further adieu, I'd love to share some pictures of the newest member of our family, Drew!

Pretty easy hiding spot huh! lol I have lots of ideas on where to hide him & I am sure the internet can help me with some as well. They will only get more creative & more fun as the days past. I hope to document each night as well!