We started a new tradition this year, The Elf on the Shelf. He is a lifesaver! It's amazing how good your kids will act when there is an elf living with you.
The creator of The Elf on the Shelf was brilliant! What is it you ask? The Elf on the Shelf is a little Elf that comes with a story book that tells a story of how your elf works.
We were having the worst time getting the kids to behave last year around Christmas. Threats of Santa not coming and telling them Santa was watching, didn't even phase them. I was running out of ideas and was worried about it this year when I heard about The Elf on the Shelf from a lady at the toy store and the lady who wrote it happen to be at the toy store the next day for a book signing. I researched it and decided to give it a try. I prepared the kids for it by telling them we were going to have a visitor, one of Santa's Elves coming to live with us until Christmas Eve to report his behavior back to Santa. I told him he was going to be on the first flight from The North Pole and that I was going to pick him up. The "box arrived" from the North Pole and we read the book to the kids which explains everything about your elf. You then can go to The Elf on the Shelf website and register your elf. You can even print out a personalized letter from Santa.
Let me introduce our elf, Frankie He has been a part of our family since November 2010. He is one of the best investments we have ever made for good behavior! Both of the kids named him after much pondering and long thoughts. Everyday when we wake up he is in a different place and he even travels with us when we go away for a couple days and are not in the house. Santa needs to know their behavior all the time :)
You see, Frankie sits anywhere around the house watching the kids and their behavior. At night, he flies to the North Pole and reports what he has seen each day, to Santa. The kids cannot touch Frankie or he looses his magic. Parents can hear what he says, but he doesn't talk to kids. He just watches and listens.
http://www.elfontheshelf.com