Santa's Elf - Our Christmas Tradition

I love Christmas and the holiday season in its entirety. Now that I have children the magic and the excitement of believing is overwhelming. At 3 years old Sophie is in awe of the beauty and miraculous happenings that come with the season.

I get a certain tingly feeling everytime Sophie's eyes light up in amazement. So for my own indulgent reasons I decided to begin a new Christmas tradition to ensure that those bright eyes would grace our home every single day without fail. I am an avid Pinterest pinner and have come across several pins about the Elf on the Shelf. One can purchase the whole kit and caboodle somewhere, but instead of spending money I decided to adopt the general idea and run with it.

I started by purchasing this little figurine from my local dollar store for $1.50. 

With the addition of some craft felt, hot glue, a couple of gems, and my handy sewing machine the little diva was transformed into Trixie, one of Santa's elves from the North Pole.

The Story

On the night of November 30th this sparkly gold package arrived on our front step.

Attached to it was a very important letter to Sophie from Santa Claus.

Dear Sophie,

It was very nice seeing you at the Zoo Lights on Monday and I’ll see if I can put a Spiderman under the tree for you this year. You’re getting so big. That’s why I’ve sent this special gift for you. In this box is someone very important and I would like you to take good care of her.

Her name is Trixie. She is one of my elves. She will need to stay with you until Christmas Day. I am counting on you to look after her. Trixie has a job to do while she’s staying with you too. When you go to bed each night she will come back to the North Pole and tell me how good you’ve been. When you wake up in the morning Trixie will be back at your house.

Trixie, like all elves, can be a bit mischievous. When you find her in the morning she might be doing something silly. I hope she doesn’t cause too much trouble for you.

Remember to be a good girl and take care of Trixie for me.

Love Santa 

As you can see, it was love at first sight. Unlike the original Elf on the Shelf, Trixie doesn't lose her magic when someone touches her so Sophie is free to play with our little visitor to her hearts content.

And without fail each and every morning Trixie is up to something silly and Sophie's eyes light up in amazement every time.

A snack with a new friend.

An early breakfast.

Kisses from the salt & pepper Claus's.

A pony ride.

Stocking acrobatics.

A drawing for Sophie.

Story time with the fairies.

I'll post more pictures of Trixie's antics as the days go by and Christmas approaches.