Elf on the Shelf – Making Family Memories

by Gwen I am big on traditions in my home so I’m always looking for ways to create new memories with my children. Some of the fondest memories of my childhood revolve around the holidays, so when I heard about Elf on the Shelf, I knew that we could have lots of fun with it.

Elf on the Shelf has been around for many years, but the idea only became a household name when the digitally animated television special entitled An Elf's Story: The Elf on the Shelf premiered in 2011. Because of this TV special, Elf on the Shelf hit the big-time. Craziness ensued which caused stores everywhere to sell out, but we were lucky enough to snag ourselves the very last Elf on a Shelf from our Chapters Indigo store last year.

When our elf was “delivered” to us, the kids quickly named him Andy (because they think he resembles Andy from the Toy Story movies). The pictures in this post are of Andy and some of the trouble he got himself into last year!

Now, the whole idea around Elf on the Shelf is that he comes to live with your family in the weeks leading up to the big day. Each night he travels back to the North Pole to bring Santa a report on how the kids he belongs to behaved that day. When he returns each morning, he sometimes gets into a little mischief and this is the fun part.

There are many sites on the web showing different situations elves have gotten themselves into, so the sky is the limit when it comes to the fun things you can come up with for your elf. The true fun though, is seeing the kids find the elf each morning and giggling about the silliness they discover. And the best part of this whole thing? You will be creating holiday memories that your children will remember for a lifetime.

Keep your eyes open for the Elf on the Shelf television special, I am certain it will air again this year, and if you do decide you want to get your family its own elf, hurry, because they sell out fast!

Have fun!

Where to find Elf on the Shelf in Ottawa: Tag Along Toys Kanata Chapters/Indigo In store and online

Gwen is a mom of 2 and owns/operates Nayla Natural Care, an online store that specializes in carrying the best organic, natural and eco-friendly products.

Roger's Santa Call-In - Last minute requests, December 19-23

Know any little ones who would like a one-on-one with Santa?

From December 19th to 23rd kids will get a chance to talk with Santa Live From the North Pole - Monday to Friday from 4:30pm to 6:00pm on Rogers TV, Cable 22. The special show features Santa and his helpers having fun and taking calls for gift requests. Children of all ages are invited to call in, chat with Santa and make their holiday wishes or to send an e-mail to Santa for him to read on television by visiting the Talk to Santa Web site!

Canadian Mint Family Pass Giveaway

Our fourth winner of a Family Pass to the Canadian Mint is @amandac_young!

Methodology: Tweets and comments are put in chronological order and a random number is generated by Random.org. The number today was 1.

HOW TO ENTER We are going to be giving out one pass a day for the next 8 days. To enter leave a comment on the post from that day or tweet the following (it's different every day, by the way!):

I’d love to win a family pass to the @canadianmint from #kidsinthecapital this holiday season! http://www.kidsinthecapital.ca/?p=6717

You can enter every day, but you can only win once. One entry per day per family.

Winners will be picked each day from all comments and tweets received by 8:00pm of the same day. If you'd like to know more about this giveaway and the Canadian Mint, please read our introduction post.