Fisbee the Elf

I bought the Elf on the Shelf book for Vinny. It is a story where the Elf comes to life at night and goes and tells Santa if you were good or bad each day. Each morning you look for the Elf and see where he moved to when he came back. When we got done reading the book, I told Vinny to blow the elf kisses and we would put him up on the shelf. Vinny said, "Mom, why are you blowing kisses? He's not real. Only the elves at the North Pole are real." I explained that he became real at night because he was magic. Vinny asked me to show him the magic. I told him I couldn't because Santa had to ring his bell and call the elf to the North Pole in order to see the magic. He just looked annoyed with me for being so stupid. I put the elf up on the shelve and we went on with our day. I was starting to think the whole thing was a failure when Vinny says. "Maybe the magic is in his heart and tummy." I just responded that I bet it was. Then he blew him a bunch of kisses. Now everytime he sees a toy he wants on TV he asks the elf if he saw it, so he can tell Santa.
Part of the book is to name your Elf. Vinny named him Fisbee, which is one of the names in the book.


This morning, I moved Fisbee to the Christmas tree. The first thing Vinny said to me this morning was "Did my Elf turn to real?" I told him that I thought so and we went out and looked for Fisbee. Vinny found him quickly and was so excited that he really went and saw Santa.
Vinny told me that he was a good boy all day, and he can't wait to see if he "turns real" again tonight and where we will find him tomorrow.



Here is the story of the tradition from the website www.elfontheshelf.com

From My Family to Yours,

My earliest memories of this charming tradition began when my brother and I asked the all-too-familiar question, "How does Santa really know if we are being 'naughty or nice?'" The answer came in the form of a small pixie elf. Our mother told us how special this elf was. We learned the elf acted as Santa's eyes and ears, reported our behavior to St. Nick himself, and was our very own friend from the North Pole. Each year the elf returned to perform its assigned task.

To my delight, the elf continued its yearly visits as I married and started a family of my own. The children fell in love with the little red elf that arrived every holiday season to watch and listen. "Fisbee," as he had come to be known, became a treasured member of our family. Two of their favorite memories are racing each other out of bed to see where Fisbee had landed after his long return flight from the North Pole, and telling him their treasured Christmas secrets.

There was only one simple rule, and the kids had no problem sticking to it: They were not allowed to touch Fisbee for fear his Christmas magic might disappear. No one wanted to take a chance that Santa wouldn't get to hear how good they had been!

Fisbee, like all scout elves, was under orders not to speak to the children, but grown-ups have been known to send and receive occasional messages through the elf to Santa. One message I sent to Santa was to request his permission to write our story so others could share in this fun tradition. After hours of persuasive negotiation (with a good word from Fisbee and Mrs. Claus,) Santa granted his blessing to the project. To insure only families who wanted a scout elf received one, he arranged for each elf coming from the North Pole to hibernate in its box until it was adopted by its new human family. Being given a name would cause the elf to receive its Christmas magic.

Unwittingly, the tradition provided an added benefit. It helped the children to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that "the elf is watching," for errant behavior to be quickly modified.

I never dreamed this simple tradition would lead to so many treasured memories for our entire family. It is my earnest desire that The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition® will bring as much joy to your family as it has to mine.

Enjoy this tradition, and MAKE IT YOUR OWN!

With my best wishes for you and those you love,

Carol