Holiday traditions

I wanted to take a minute and record some of the traditions we are trying to keep at our house.  We just started a new one this year at the urging of several friends and have liked it so much that I wanted to pass it along.  (although we are probably the very last family to start this one)  

The Elf on the Shelf

We started this at the beginning of the week when the kids arrived home from school.  This little elf was sitting on our mantle amid the other holiday decorations with the book on the counter.  I read it with the kids and they loved it.  It is a very simple, sweet story about this elf who visits your home in the weeks before Christmas, watching and listening to the children to see if they are being good, saying their prayers, and listening to their parents.  Each night the elf "flies" back to the North Pole to report to Santa on how the kids are behaving.  Then, when they wake up, he has flown back to our house and is perched in a new spot for them to discover.  So far he has landed in some very silly and interesting locations each morning.  I really wish I would have started this a few years back when Jordan was more of a believer.  (he says that he still believes in Santa and that stuff BUT this elf is obviously a fake)  As for the girls, they are completely engulfed in the magic, can be observed having daily conversations with said elf on their deepest Christmas morning desires, and love to see where he will be each day.  Halle is the funniest with her face turned upwards and with a very serious tone,  imploring the elf for "a Belle and Sleeping Beauty thing, thats all".  Also, fun to go on their website and name your elf and get a note back from Santa.  

The Last Straw

Its funny, Travis and I both did this one growing up and now are trying to make it work with our kids to bring out the true Spirit of service during the holidays.  We read this book at the beginning of December about a family who was having trouble getting their kids to be kind to one another and found a simple solution.  It is a cute story and is even better when you transpose your kids' names with the characters in the book.  As in the story, we have a manger set up in front of our fireplace with a box of straw nearby.  Each week, we all draw names to pick a "secret friend" to do kind acts for in secret.  Each nice thing we do earns a piece of straw for the manger to hopefully be soft and cushiony by the time Christmas rolls around and we celebrate the birth of our Saviour who needed a soft place to sleep.  

I wish that I could say that now, a couple of weeks into it, that we were already well on our way to reaching our goal.  Unfortunately, we are going to have to do some major niceties in the coming 12 days.  This is really good for my two oldest who are either best friends or bitter enemies (nothing in between), and have drawn each others names already.  Funny to see a shove or mean face one minute and then a secretly made bed or nice note within a short time thereafter.  

Some others:

*giving out homemade goodies to neighbors and friends

*opening 1 gift on Christmas Eve

*waiting on the staircase until Dad reports back if Santa came or not

*sending out a holiday letter with our Christmas card (this WILL be done by Sunday night!    No ifs, ands, or buts)  

*putting on the Nativity play on Christmas Eve

*Each child picks out an ornament each year to adorn the "kids tree" which is a sight to behold with all the school-made ornaments and kid decor we have amassed

*mailing letters to Santa.....I think each kid has at least 8 drafts at this point....unfortunately the Nintendo DS will not be making an appearance under our tree:(  much to my kids dismay

*NOT working out the entire month of December.......okay, that's only my tradition but it proves very useful in making New Year's resolutions come January

*posting all our Christmas cards from friends and family on the back of our laundry room door.  We love looking at all the pictures, especially at the end of the month when it is completely filled up.

Thats all I can think of for now.  I am sure there are lots of you that I don't have addresses for so if anyone wants to trade holiday cards, let me know and we can swap mailing info.