On the Third Day of December
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 12:22AM 
Is anyone else doing the Elf on the Shelf with your kiddos? I thought it was a cute idea so we are doing it this year. At our house, the girls know that I bought the Elf book and that the elf showed up at our house on Dec. 1. They named him Hurmey. The elf shows up and sits in random places and watches throughout the day. After bedtime he magically flies to the North Pole to report to Santa. Vienne was exstatic about the whole idea. She couldn't wait to see him, couldn't wait to watch him. I would have loved to be in her fantastically imaginative mind trying to figure out what he looked like, how he does it. So the girls wake up and go searching for Hurmey. Well, miss Too Big for her Britches has had some doubts. Natalya has had a dozen questions: "How can he be real?", "How does he watch us when we're outside?", "How did he know to come to our house?" She came home from school yesterday, somehow the topic must have come up. She says that someone at school told her that she wasn't supposed to believe in things like that. Blasted! How could 7 and 8 year olds be so caught up in the reality of life to not make believe anymore? So, tonight she wrote a letter for Hurmey. Her way of making sense of the whole thing:
Hurmey's response will be:
Have a magical day.
MelodyA.
Thanks goodness she is a believer again. She was elated when she got her letter from Hurmey this morning. Is it sad that I was worried that she wanted to bring his letter to school with ther today? My tender hearted girl. Stay strong!
Reader Comments (21)
awwww....sniff...eyes are welling up. You are a great mom.
Oh how I love this!!! We do have an elf that hides in a different spot everyday, but I thought that was just us - didn't know it was a "real" thing! I will have to add in the part about reporting back to Santa. :)
i read about this LAST year and totally forgot about it!! oh, i want to do it, too!
i may have to sneak out and get an elf today. it is a great idea...and the girls would love to make it into a game, too.
i love the letter back to N. it reminds me of a letter i got from Santa many years ago when we decided we were too old to believe in Santa. it still makes me weepy!
Wow! I've really never heard of this.. Seems like a great idea!!! And nice save, Mom!!! Have a magical day!
Hey, I saw your comment on my post today, but can't find your e-mail addy. Are you guys Russian? My hubby is, and his Mom is Baba. Nadia's great grandma (who just died) was sometimes Valiki Baba too.
I've never heard to the Elf. What a cute idea. I may have to try this one next year. Thanks for sharing.
cool memories! My mom used to do that w/ me... Mine was just "elfo" ...
i thought my MOM made it up.
love your blog title too!
tfs.
toni
You are a awesome mom! I love this time of year!
Our elf's name is Joy. Zoe is obsessed with Joy... and I truly believe he (she) is magical. I mean... anything that can help me stop a tantrum, or get a meal eaten, or just get a question answered... it's magic. This morning Zoe was dilly dallying and all I had to say was "you know... Joy sees that you're not listening to mommy." Off went Zoe quick as a wink to find her shoes and coat. "I'm listening Joy! See! I'm listening!" I don't know what I'm going to do after Christmas.
I will say that the hardest part about Joy is remembering to move him. And sometimes... Zoe just doesn't understand why he's sitting wherever he is.
i KNEW i should have got the elf! i love him... the idea... what fun!
the elf actually reminds me of ornaments back when we were kids!
this post... magical for sure!
Wow!
I just went to the website to register Joy. How cool? Did you do it?
You can print out a letter from Santa thanking you for adopting your elf... and a certificate of adoption from Mrs. Claus.
So fun.
what a great note :) i love that tradition-- smart girl you have there ha ha
What a great idea! I think I will need to do that next year. I don't think I have the energy this year. I'm glad that Hurmey made her a beleiver again. It's too bad that the kids at school have to ruin it for other kids.
My twin girls are just 14 months this year, but as soon as the Christmas magic starts to fill their tender little hearts this Elf idea will be at the top of my list! I am going to pass this idea along to all of my other mommy friends. You are in inspiration to all of us, Thank you for your heartfelt posts.
Happy Holidays!
Teresa
PS - I can't wait to see your Christmas picture. We tried desperately to get both of our girls to smile and sit still at the same time(not an easy task)...our picture is cute, but wish we lived in Texas so we could have a session with you. Your photography is amazing. Your girls are so lucky to have such a talented mom capturing all of these wonderful moments.
Oh, I LOVE the Elf idea...can't wait until the kiddos are old enough to have fun with it! And those letters, well those are just precious and something you should keep forever!
I just heard about this the other day! I love it! It's such a great idea!
I had never heard of this before. What a great idea! I will have to remember this for when Morgan is little older!
How great is this...I haven't heard of it until this year and it was already after 12/1...you think it's too late?
you are precious mom, i hope i will be like this!
So sweet! We have elves everywhere, but not like that one. What a great idea.
In my experience, 7 or 8 is EXACTLY the age when they start to ask questions. And 11 is the age where they finally refuse to write a Christmas letter to Santa. (although they can be cajoled to play along) And 13 is the age where they spend Christmas with someone other than you. Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!