Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Th Elf on the Shelf... a New Holiday Tradition

Have you ever heard of the game "Elf on the Shelf"? I hadn't, until Finn received it as an early Christmas present this year from his grandma. Here's the scoop: You get a cute little elf (and a book to go with it). You name your elf (Finn named ours Muga). Then you stick him on a shelf somewhere. Each night, the elf flies to the North Pole to report to Santa, give naught/nice reports, Christmas wish lists, etc. and when he comes back, he sits in a different spot (this means you have to move the elf each night moms and dads!). When your kiddos wake up in the morning, they have to try and find the elf's new spot.
This game has been a total hoot for Finn, and his morning search for Muga is the first thing he does right out of bed. I have also found (in a few of my moments of weakness) that a threat that Muga will make bad reports to Santa can actually make a child start behaving better. I hate to use the holiday that way, as it takes away some of its beauty, but let's be realistic.... we all deserve a little bit of a break every now and then, right? Or at least an end to your child's tantrums when you have been up late making his Christmas gifts??
Anyways, this game would make a wonderful gift for any family with young children and I think this will be a lovely tradition in our home in the years to come!
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4 comments:

  1. What a great idea- I've never heard of him- I think it is totally acceptable to use him as a behavior modifier- I mean it is only for a short time this will work- my monkeys would roll their eyes at me at this point if I tried a trick like this.

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  2. This is such a great idea! I'm not sure if they move him around, but friends of ours are using the little Elf as a behavior modifier and it's working like a charm. They said their little guy even apologizes to the Elf when he knows he's done something bad so the Elf gives him a good report with Santa at the North Pole.

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  3. I love the Elf on the Shelf! I am thinking about getting one for my kiddos for next year, since they will be a little older..!

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  4. I wish that would still work for a 9 year old!

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