Timber the Elf

Holiday traditions are what they are. Some are an absolute waste of time that we do out of habit, some we do because it makes sense to put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Some people open one present on Christmas eve and some open all of them Christmas morning. Some have the exact same breakfast every year and some people actually make those fruitcakes that circulate this time of year.
In our house, we have the tradition of Timber the Elf, and he continues to be the holiday favorite. Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, Timber shows up. He is a 10 inch stuffed elf who moves around the house each night and hides in a different locations (usually up high). Every morning, the kids wake us up and we go searching for Timber. Currently Lauren (our three year old) is leading the daily brigade, but Hunter (8 1/2) will almost always join us when Lauren comes to cajole him from his slumber to let him know that the Timber hunt is beginning.
Now we don't have a huge house, and there are only a number of good hiding places, but it doesn't make it any less thrilling for Lauren or Hunter to find him perched next to the rolling pin behind the stove or hanging from one of the Bose speakers in the living room ceiling. Each morning is met with equal excitement and exuberance. For a month, we have a morning routine that cannot begin without finding our elf.
Once Timber has been located, the kids make sure that they are behaving themselves in his presence. Timber, it turns out works for the big man himself and is here for a month to make sure that our kids are placed on the right list each year. He hangs out with us until Christmas eve and then leaves a coin for each of the kids (at this point we are up to one of those Sakajawea Sacageweah, Sakkaj--whatever dollars), some fairy dust and off to the North Pole to give the report. The kids also are well aware that if they touch Timber, he loses all of his magic, and can't return to the North Pole to give Santa the big thumbs up.
This tradition was not started in our house. Kim's mom, whom we affectionately refer to as Meemaw did the same thing when they were kids, and all of Kim's brothers have their own elves. We have shared the elf thing with friends over the years, and this year my sister Rebecca received her elf, Fergus to start her own family tradition for my neice Leynie who turned two in October.
Look, I realize that adding the Santa version of Big Brother to your house every Christmas can be seen as an underhanded way to make your kids behave for a month. I understand that many of you out there look at this elf thing like those parents who tie their kids to leashes when they bring them out in public because they couldn't get a Lhasa Apso and were stuck with a kid--sorry off topic again. All I know is that, once Timber shows up, our house can start getting ready for the holidays. My kids look forward to seeing him almost as much as they enjoy waking up to the ridiculous pile of toys that accumulates over the weeks leading up to Christmas morning.
One day soon, I am sure that Hunter will outgrow the Timber thing, but we will continue to bring him out every year and try to hold on to some semblance of his innocence and childhood. The holidays without Timber would be pretty sad around here