The Elf on the Shelf

Last year for Christmas Scot's sister bought the family a gift set of "The Elf on the Shelf" complete with our very own Santa's Spying Elf (tm). Liam was so busy with his own gifts that he never noticed it and I tucked it away to be used this year.

Well, it's December now so on Wednesday I pulled out the book and read it with Liam. They had already read it at preschool so he knew about it. When I asked him what we should name our elf he insisted to me that it wasn't real.

"That's not real, Mommy! It's just a book!"

"What are you going to do tomorrow if there's an elf here?"

"It's not real, Mommy."

He gave me The Look that said "Mom, you are *such* an idiot." I'm sure I'll see a lot of that in the teen years.

I let it go but told him that he might be surprised in the morning when there was an elf here.

When he woke up Thursday morning, he found this:



Meet Kipperbuckles. Yes, that's what the kiddo chose to name him. Don't ask because I don't know. It's a 4 year old made up word but he likes it.

Anyway, he tried to tell me again that it wasn't real. Man, nothing gets past this kid.

"That's not real, Mommy!"

"How do you know?" I ask.

"He's not moving."

"He's not supposed to move, sweetheart. He sits and watches all day long and after you go to bed, he flies away to Santa to tell him how you've been that day. Then, in the morning, he'll be watching you from a new place."

He absorbed that for awhile.

Then...

"I'm going to be good, Mommy, because I want presents from Santa."

EPIC WIN.