Elf on the shelf...

This little guy is going to be making his first appearance in our home this year....

Have you heard about the Elf on the Shelf? The story behind this guy is that at the start of the holidays, he magically appears (well, you put him out) on the shelf/mantle etc. His sole responsibility is to watch your kids to see how they are behaving......and then every night he flies back to Santa to report what they have been up to. Kinda like big brother watching you. Hey, if this little guy might help my kids be a little nicer to each other around the holidays, what's wrong with that? Anyways, every morning he returns back to our home in a new location and the kids have to try and find him. The only thing is that they can't touch him or he loses his magic.

So I picked up the elf kit that contains the doll and the story at Barnes and Nobles a few weeks ago. As soon as I got home I opened the box to get a good look at him. What I really like about him is his 50's panache, long and thin felt body and all around good looks. Nissa likes how he looks like he has to go to the bathroom real bad. But then I got a closer look....

Can you not tell me that you don't think this little elf might have had a few problems in his life? Look at his neck....was he a bad elf and Santa tried to knock him off? I was a bit sad to see his poor bloody neck and told Nissa that I wanted to exchange him for one with....well, a less 'suicidal' look.....but she told me not to so I guess he's staying with us. Actually it's pretty funny and I bet it might prove to be a fun trait of his to exploit over the years.