a new tradition, and an old one

When you're 4 or 7, is there anything more magical than Christmas?  Everything glows and sparkles, brightly wrapped packages hold the promise of something new, sweet aromas waft from the kitchen and the days are filled with parties and family.  In fact, I believe Christmas is magical, no matter your age.  Its a time for being cozy, and a time for being together.  A time for honoring traditions that are meaningful to your family.

Tomorrow, December 1st, we can officially start the 'real' countdown to Christmas.  This year, we're introducing a new family tradition, and bringing out an old one as well.

Last year, I started hearing from friends about the Elf on the Shelf, and I fell in love with the idea.  The premise - one of Santa's magical elves appears in your home this time of the year.  The kids get to name him, and every night when everyone is sleeping, he magically goes to the North Pole, reporting into Santa all that happened at your house that day.  Then he magically travels back, 'hides' in another spot in your house until the kids wake the next morning and search the house to find him.   He can get into mischief... he can be found at the top of a snowy mountain of powdered doughnuts, or hiding behind a wall of cottonballs.   He's not allowed to talk or move until everyone is asleep, and he travels to the North Pole each night.

I'm so thrilled that Dylan still believes in Santa.  He's never yet questioned or doubted, and even when he does, I know he'll still believe in the magic of Christmas as we do, and he'll still keep it magical for Logan until Logan finds out on his own.

So today when I sat the boys down to read them The Elf on the Shelf book, they were completely silent.  I told them our magic elf was hidden somewhere in the house, and they had to find him and name him.  I told the boys our elf can't talk, but he's watching for Santa and reporting in every night while we're sleeping. And each morning, they'll have to find him all over again.  They could barely wait to look all over the house.  It took a little while, but they found him in a pile of ornaments:

Isn't he precious?  They decided to name him Tyler.  Tyler Snowy Claus.  He must be a distant relative of St. Nick himself.

The boys stood there, mesmerized, waiting to see if he would move.   Dylan swore he saw him move his eyes. Then later, Logan said he heard him talk.  They bought the whole story.  And I love it.

And tomorrow morning, Tyler Snowy Claus, our new tradition, will overlap with one of our other older family Christmas traditions.  I love this Advent calendar.  Every year I fill it with treats and let the boys enjoy a little surprise when they pull out a drawer each morning.  This year, Tyler will be filling it up and hanging out on the roof tomorrow morning, beckoning the boys to partake in the goodies and counting down the next 24 days with sweet anticipation.

In case you can't resist the Elf on the Shelf idea either, you can get it here.