The Elves have Arrived..

STRIPE-Abigail's Elf

FROSTY and CRYSTAL: Victoria and Holly's Elves

SPARKLES--Meredith's ELF

One of my kid's very favorite Christmas traditions is that each of them has an Elf that arrives on December 1st.

These Elves come from the North Pole and arrive on our Christmas tree. Santa lets the Elves off work every other day to spend time with the girls. Sometimes the Elves even bring little treats and toys they have been working on back in Santa's workshop!

Unfortunately, the Elves can't come when they have a messy room, or when they are not getting along. They usually leave a note when this happens, so the kids know exactly how to fix their behavior for tomorrow.

If you are ever visited by an ELF, here are some things you can do to ensure they come back EVERY December......

1. Treat your elf like a real person. Perhaps you could make your ELF a dress. Victoria took an American Girl doll dress and BEDAZZLED it with jewels for FROSTY. She also made a beaded necklace for her with the key to her diary as a charm.

2. HUG your Elf. It wants to know you care. Meredith's elf came this year for the first time. She is quite excited by it all...

3. Carry your ELF with you at all times. They love being in the "action". Holly is great at this--as I'm typing, she's trying to make carmel apples with her elf in one arm. Here we see her at her birthday party with her elf in tow. She's even asked for matching "crystal necklaces" for her and her elf CRYSTAL for Christmas from Santa.

4. PLAY with your ELF. Here we see Abby doing flips with STRIPE. They don't have many trampolines in the North Pole, so these ELVES love to Jump!

5. Make your ELF a BED. And, don't forget-- they LOVE to Cuddle!