Elf on the Shelf

We bought an "Elf on the Shelf" for Laney this year and so far it has been a fun purchase. We got out the Elf on Thanksgiving Day and read the book that came along with him. It explained what he was in our house for. Pretty much he watches Laney and goes to report to Santa on how she behaved that day, then he returns the next morning and he always lands in a new spot. The first thing to do is give him a name. We asked Laney what she would like to call him and the only two things she kept saying were Jesus and Santa. Well of course those names were not going to work or else she would be really confused, so her dad came up with the name Ryko (a name he has always wanted to name a son... but I always thought it sounded like a dog name, so needless to say he thought this was his only chance to use that name :)) At first I wasn't so sure that Laney got it, but she is starting to understand and it is so fun to watch her wake u every morning and find "Ryko" in a different spot. She talks to him and tells him things to tell Santa. She usually says, "Ryko, I'm a good girl and I want pizza and a pillow pet".

We obviously know that Christmas is not about Santa and being good so you get presents but it is a fun tradition we decided to start with our family. We will defintley be teaching Laney what Christmas is all about and why we celebrate this very important season!