11.25.2012

Starting a new family tradition

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My kids are getting more and more excited about Christmas and the holiday season, I'm so excited for them and for their excitement. 
For the first time this year we have a new friend visiting our home, "The Elf on the Shelf" we're pretty excited about him and he really is helping out with behavior here. 
Along with helping with behavior he will be delivering a small gift, if the kids are well behaved that day, a book. I read about a similar idea but decided to put my own twist on it. I joined in with all the crazies and hit some great deals on black Friday on kids books. I've wrapped each of the books up individually and then when they wake up in the morning there will be a new book for them, which we will read at bedtime that night. 
So far it's worked great. We love to read to our kids at night and the few books that we had in our collection, well we were all getting a little burned out on.
I'm thinking that next year the elf may just wrap books that we already have, but it'll still be a fun surprise!

Do you have any fun Christmas traditions? Or any that you are starting this year?

7 comments:

  1. One of our favorite traditions centers around books as well - every year I wrapped all the Christmas books and set them in a wooden chest 12 days before Christmas. Each night, each child (we have 2) would take turns choosing a book and we would read it before bedtime. Eventually - because we can never have enough books - we had 24 so we read 2 books each night. The kids looked forward to their favorites each year.

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  2. Christmas pajamas for all of the grandchildren. Since there are so many different sizes I have to make them now. They get their pj's at Thanksgiving so that they wear them the whole season.

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  3. I love the book idea! Personally, the Elf creeps me out. He looks to much like a garden gnome. Now, here's an idea that I can get behind - the Troll in the Hole from Domestic Diva http://www.divinesecretsofadomesticdiva.com/2012/11/15/troll-in-the-hole/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=troll-in-the-hole

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  4. We have some very cute books that even as my kids are now teenagers, I still hold onto. One of their favorite Christmas books was the Jolly Christmas Postman. It had little letters in the book in pockets that the kids LOVED to get in and out. Our tradition is to get a photo with Santa every year. The SAME guy has been at the mall we go to for 16 years in a row. He remembers them and when they were small they were soooo impressed that he called them by name. They were convinced that he was the REAL Santa. Now I make them go whether they want to or not, as "It's tradition!"

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  5. I love this idea. I need the elf! Where can I get this Elf? Anything to help me with behavior over here will be soooooo appreciative. Tell me more about this? I love this idea!

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  6. I blogged about this same idea (ie book a day wrapped) and it is going to be a new tradition in our house as of this year too. We have quite a collection of books so I am mixing in some family favs, with some new ones and also some new to us from thrift shops also. I just have to start wrapping them in readiness for the 25 day countdown :o)

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  7. This year we are going to go through the book Truth in the Tinsel, and do the ornament crafts each day. Usually, on Christmas day, we bake an angel food cake and decorate it, and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus! :)

    Love your idea of a new book each day. We are book junkies around here too!

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