Disclosure: We are brand ambassadors for The Elf on the Shelf® and am a sponsored blog partner. As always here at Naptime Tales, our thoughts and opinions are our own. Please see the bottom of this post for additional disclosure info.
Long time followers of ours know how much we love The Elf on the Shelf. Both Ashley W and Ashley B’s families have scout elves that arrive from the North Pole right after Thanksgiving to make sure our kids behave and deserve to be on Santa’s “nice” list. Our elves are known for their games of hide and seek– the kids love to see what their little elf friend is up to each morning. Saying “good bye” to our elf every Christmas Eve always makes my kids a little teary eyed, we sure wish our elf, Buddy Griswold, could stay with us all year round.
Thanks to scout elves all over the world, many kids are familiar with how Santa manages his naughty list. But have you ever wondered how Santa is able to send his elves all over the world? How they get to and from your homes? Or what about how Santa carries all those presents on Christmas Eve and manages to make it around the entire world in one night? My almost seven year old daughter has been asking A LOT of these questions as we make our Christmas lists this year. Luckily our Elf on the Shelf friends on the North Pole sent us a special delivery to answer some of those Christmas magic questions-
The kids had fun looking at all the postal stamps on the box- it sure went to a lot of places before getting to Pennsylvania! I wanted to keep pointing out all the fun stamps but they were SO ready to see what was inside- what on Earth could be so special that it came directly from the North Pole? They had so much fun “unboxing” this surprise- check out Jack’s face at the end of this video when he learned “we can keep him”. Haha!
The kids named our Elf Pet “Brownie” and couldn’t wait to sit down and read his story with Grandma (Jack even had to pull his ear out of his hat so he could hear better):
Brownie is a part of Elf Pets: A Saint Bernard Tradition– Santa’s special team of puppies that help create and store the magic of Christmas Spirit by being kind and helping others. His story is so sweet, the kids really enjoyed hearing Grandma read the book that came along with him. The book encourages children to do acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, to generate a magical trail of holiday cheer that fills the barrel their puppy holds around his or her neck. Their puppy will keep the cheer safe until Christmas Eve night when kids set their pets on a window sill and the cheer is collected and used to fuel the spirit of Christmas.
These pups are a great way to get young children excited about the many opportunities that present themselves to give back during the holidays. You can check out more information about how your family can adopt your very own Saint Bernard here on Elf on the Shelf’s site. Of course the site is also a great resource for all things Elves- make sure you check out and share all the fun stuff for kids!
As for my kids- they have already taken turns sleeping and snuggling Brownie at night. They want him to feel loved in his new home and really fill his bucket to the tip top! The kids have really be struggling to get along lately (you guys didn’t see the fighting that occurred about who was going to open the box prior to me hitting “record” for our unboxing video) so Brownie comes at a perfect time to encourage the kids to work together and be a good friend to one another. It’s been a great way to put the focus on being kind for the RIGHT reasons, not just because Santa is watching or my favorite- “Mommy says so”.
We are also making a list (and checking it twice to make Santa proud) of good deeds the kids can do in our community. I will keep you updated in a few weeks with some of the things we’ve done to fill Brownie’s barrel but first I’d like to kick off our spirit of giving season by providing your family a chance to win your very own Elf Pet! Brownie traveled to Pennsylvania with a reindeer friend from the Elf Pets: A Reindeer Tradition team who needs a family to stay with for not only this holiday season, but for years to come.
Enter below for a chance to make this cutie a part of your family and get in on the fun.
We volunteer at church
We volunteer to cook food at a homeless shelter most years.
We loves shopping for Toys for Tots!