Our New Holiday Tradition: Elf Magic!

Sometime before Thanksgiving, the girls and I were driving home from school, having our usual conversations about the crafts that they had made that day, the snacks that they had eaten, and the friends that they had played with.

Suddenly, Big Sister E added, Some of my friends were talking about the elves that are going to come to their houses soon.

Elves? Really? What about them?

Yeah. They come to their house and they do funny stuff.

Hmm, that sounds interesting. How do you think that the elves got there?

After it was quiet in the car long enough, I asked her if she thought maybe they came from Santa. And maybe, just maybe, should we write him a letter and see if he'll send one of his elves to our house, too?

Magically appearing at our front door complete with his SnowCase, passport, quilt, pillow, North Pole Snowflakes, book, Magical Reindeer, and more, life has been a little more fun preparing for the holidays now that Tripp is here.

Both Big Sister E and Little Sister B were immediately thrilled with his endearing smile and his curious, friendly eyes. Not to mention the fact that Santa had received our letter and sent one of his genuine elves right here to our house... along with surprising us with the job of helping take care of one of his baby reindeer (which Big Sister E promptly named Sam). That big guy does it all!

It wasn't a surprise that Tripp and Sam were pretty worn out after traveling all the way from the North Pole, so we quietly set up the SnowCase and rolled out the blanket and pillow so that they could rest for a while.

By the time the girls were heading to bed, they were a little disappointed that Tripp was still sleeping, but they understood that it had been a long day for him. Thinking that he might wake up hungry, we left out his favorite snack of crackers (the crunching reminds him of snow) and water (just like snowflakes melting!) and Big Sister E sprinkled a on few Magical North Pole Snowflakes to see if they would help bring he and Sam to life.

Climbing into her own bed, I could see that Big Sister E was cynical that Tripp was going to do much more than sleep the entire time he was here. Don't worry, I assured her, he will. Remember, Santa's letter says that Tripp will stay with us until Christmas Eve when he has to leave to go help deliver toys. Until then, he's here to stay with us and help spread love and kindness.

Little did either of us know that along with their good deeds, Tripp and Sam would be getting into a great deal of mischief as well.

From turning up in the car or kitchen cabinets to rearranging the girls' toys to goofing off in our shoes, we're never quite sure where Tripp and Sam will be when we wake up in the morning... and what they will have done while we were sleeping.

One common spot that they seem to really enjoy is by pictures we have hanging from the holidays last year. Apparently seeing Big Sister E and Little Sister B dressed as elves themselves is a real treat!

The elfcapades that Tripp and Sam have had have left us scratching our heads (getting tangled trying to "swim" in our Under the Sea Hideaway) and have also left us giggling with happiness (who doesn't love waking up to a cleaned bathroom?) and the combination has added just the right dose of excitement in the air.

Unsurprisingly, Tripp and Sam tend to do a lot of resting during the day after their sometimes wild and crazy antics at night, so they usually just enjoy getting cuddled and hanging out on the couch. Often Big Sister E will bring Tripp to her room to read him some books and Little Sister B enjoys pushing Sam around in her doll stroller so that he can take advantage of the soothing ride.

Although I do find myself shaking my head when Tripp has hidden the remote control or when Sam is hanging from the lights, when I see how much fun the girls are having with our visitors, I know that they are going to be a part of our holiday celebrations for years to come. It's no wonder they're called Elf Magic, they really do spread a magical feeling everywhere they go!

Speaking of everywhere they go, our family is taking a beach vacation soon and already the girls have asked what Tripp and Sam are going to do around the house while we're gone. Will they finish putting up decorations? Will they bake Christmas cookies? Can we bring them home presents?

I don't know, I guess we'll have to wait and see. We never know where they're going to turn up or what they're going to do, now do we?

Will you start a tradition of Elf Magic in your house this season? There's still plenty of time to write a letter to Santa requesting that he send one of his boy or girl elves (in a wide variety of different skin and hair tones) to visit and partake in plenty of wacky elfcapades to surprise and delight your family.

Be sure to visit Elf-magic.com to find out more about this classic tradition (and read about many of the magical and mischievous adventures that elves have gotten into all over the world) and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter as well.

(Other than Tripp, Sam, and their accompaniments arriving by sleigh at our door, we were not provided anything or enticed to do this review in any way. This post is solely a recount of the joy and fun that Elf Magic can bring each holiday season.)