The Mischievous Elf on the Shelf

    The Elf on the Shelf tradition is based on a children's book written by Carol Aebersold and Chandra Bell to explain how Santa knows who's naughty and nice. 

    The story describes how "scout elves" hide in people's homes and watch over the daily events. When the family has gone to bed, the scout elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa the activities, good and bad, that have taken place throughout the day. Before the family wakes each morning, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning, the scout elf plays an ongoing game of hide and seek.

    Scout elves get their magic by being named and loved by a child. There's only one rule you must follow and that is not to touch the elf as the magic will disappear and Santa won't hear all that was seen. Although it can't be touched, they may speak to the scout elf and tell all of their Christmas wishes so that the elf can report back to Santa accurately. 
    Since the elf moves daily from Thanksgiving until Christmas, parents have found some creative ways to make him hide. My long-time friend, Mandy Engelbrecht, has to be one of the most creative Elf on the Shelf masters I've ever seen. Her pictures of their mischievous elf named Chippy are featured in this blog. Even after a long day of "momming" where I'm sure she would just like to go to bed, she always comes up with a fun way for her kids to wake up and find Chippy waiting. What an awesome tradition her kids will remember always!

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Favorite Holiday Traditions

What is your favorite holiday tradition? The one that I love most is designing and planning my annual family photo Christmas card. Now that my family is grown I include my kids, grandkids and even my granddogs. This is something I've done for over 40 years. I look back in awe as I see the way everyone has changed over the years. 

I'm not really sure how I got anything done before Pinterest but it is definitely my go-to for any and all ideas in every aspect of my life. The possibilities are endless! Whether you want to include your entire family, just the kids or even your furbaby, follow my Christmas Card board to find your own inspiration. Now is the time to start planning the perfect holiday greeting!
The first known personalized Christmas card was sent in 1891 by Annie Oakley, the famous American sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. She was in Glasgow, Scotland at Christmas time that year and sent cards back to her friends and family in the states featuring a photo of her on it. 
As you can see in the photo, honoring her time in Scotland, she's wearing a tartan (a pattern consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands). Annie reportedly designed the cards herself and had them printed by a local printer. We found this great story at whychristmas.com.
Stay tuned...each week we'll be blogging on all of the wonderful and unique traditions during this magical holiday season.

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Ornaments in the Carribean

I recently visited the island of Curacao on vacation. It is a Dutch colony with unique and unusual culture. The water was turquoise and the sun was warm! On one of our island adventures we went into Willemstad to do a little shopping. The buildings of old architecture are beautiful. They were painted in vibrant colors...blue, turquoise, green, yellow and orange...amazing! They have a wonderful shopping district. 

We went into two stores and I was shocked to find many of my ornaments! It was so surprising but really neat. Always remember a personalized ornament is the perfect way to have a memory of your vacation or each life event. Check us out online at ornamentsforkeeps.com to see the entire line.

As I return and settle back into the cold, I will start designing and making our new collection of bread dough ornaments for Christmas 2018. We will keep you updated! Happy February!

Christmas is only 315 days away!

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