Elwood, our house Christmas elf, showed up yesterday morning. He joined our family about two years ago and the kids look forward to his return every Christmas season.
We got a letter from Santa in the mail the first day Elwood came to our home. The letter explained who Elwood was and what he was to do. And it gave us a few instructions. Here is a short sample of the letter. Click here if you would like to read the complete letter.
We’ve learned that Elwood likes to move around a lot so that he has different vantage points on the kids. We find him in a new place every morning.
He loves to ride the reindeer. Giddy up!
Or sometimes he snuggles in to smell the fresh pine wreath.
He takes late night rides on great grandma’s train. Choo! Choo!
And sometimes he joins his buddies over in the Nativity scene.
We never quite know where we will find Elwood, which keeps us on our toes and on our best behavior. One time the kids had a major fight and they looked up to see Elwood’s eyes peering down on them. They still talk about that creepy moment.
I grew up with Elmer the Elf watching our every move. (And my sisters have Eddie the Elf and Eber the Elf. Maybe they are brothers?) It is one of my family’s favorite Christmas memories and I hope my kids love Elwood just as much as we loved Elmer.
![I spoke in church today and said the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest act of Charity. I read Moroni 7:45-47 to make my point. But wherever there was the word ‘Charity’ I substituted it out for ‘the Atonement of Jesus Christ.’ See if these scripture verses now have new meaning for you:
“And the Atonement of Jesus Christ suffererth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth in the truth,
[The Atonement of Jesus Christ] beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ye are nothing, for the Atonement of Jesus Christ never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-
But the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”
So Easter really reminds us of love. The first and greatest commandment.](https://www.raisinglemons.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
Last year I had some preschoolers who would come to school and tell me about their elf that they had at their house, one morning they woke up to little elf prints all over the cupboard. (because the elf had been in the floor!) They were so excited for all the things their elf did. So, this year I looked into “The elf on the shelf” book, along with some other blogs. and now my family has an elf in which they look all over the house to see where he is hiding.
The elf has been busy checking up on our kids since the day after Thanksgiving! I love this tradition! 🙂
I’m so bummed that I didn’t learn about the “Elf on the Shelf” tradition until this year…the year my child learned the Santa secret. Would have loved this one!!!