Chip-Chip-Churray!

When people ask me what my favorite memory of Christmas is, I always say Santa!  I remember Santa leaving boots behind in the fireplace.  And reindeer footprints in the yard.  And pieces of Santas beard left on fireplace grates.  I never once saw Santa, but I knew he'd been there.  And Rudolph, too!  He always ate the carrots we left behind and I'm willing to bet he shared some of them with his reindeer friends...Rudolph's cool like that!

But, what I didn't have as a kid, was an Elf!  Apparently, Santa has just started lending out Elves recently and only some kids these days are lucky enough to reap the rewards.  Some Elves are naughty and play tricks on the kids they're watching over.  Other Elves bring treats and toys and sometimes even messages from Santa!

Last year, my kids were lucky enough to be sent Boppy Doodlebop.  Boppy watched over the kids every day and made sure they behaved like good boys.  Boppy quickly became a fifth family member and the boys absolutely adored him.He brought books almost every day from the North Pole...except for the day Santa didn't send him back because the boys were very bad.

This year, the kids were a little sad when Chippy arrived instead of Boppy.  I'm not sure what happened to Boppy but obviously Santa wanted to send them a bigger, happier looking elf this year.  I've tried to explain to the boys that Boppy has either retired, or he did such a good job with them last year, that he's moved on to mentoring those aforementioned naughty elves to help them become better elves.

But, alas, Boppy is still highly missed around these here parts...Small even went as far as asking Santa for a book about Boppy Doodlebop for Christmas because he wants "to figure out how the elves go home by magic!"

Any idea where I could find a book like that?  You know, just in case Santa forgets :)

Although we still think (and talk) a lot about Boppy, Santa has been gracious enough to send us a new elf this year.  We've named him Chippy and he's a delightful little fella!  He sends the kids books almost every day still.  But, he's even sent the kids candy and treats!  As long as Small brushes his teeth!!  At least, that's what the letter from Santa said!  So far, Small has been a teeth brushing star and Santa has kept his word by continuing to send him candy!  Three cheers for Santa!

Every morning, I'm woken up to sounds of, "Where's Chippy??"  "Have you found Chippy yet?"  "Look!  There's Chippy!!  Chippy, you're so funny!!  You can't fish in the fish tank!" "Chippy's snoozing in my pirate ship!!"  "Chippy!  You silly elf!  You're not supposed to put your head in the chocolate chips bucket!"  Chippy has been busy around our house landing in all sorts of adventurous spots!  You'd think his GPS was all messed up or something by the completely random places he's deciding to land in.  But I guess that's part of the adventure and part of what makes Chippy so fun to have around!

Some days I wish Santa had sent me an elf when I was a kid.  I'm sure I'd have talked to him and shared my dinner with him and mad sure he shared my blanket while watching TV with me...just like my boys do!   Other days, though, I realize just how special these two little elves are!  They have given me a whole new memory of Christmas that is purely from my boys!

Sure, I love Christmas and everything that goes along with it.  But, seeing the joy on my kids faces when they find their elf and watching them say thank you to their elf for the treats they bring and all the messages and cookies they send to Santa through him is definitely the highlight of Christmas for me now!  How lucky am I to have such a variety of cool Christmas memories!

Boppy! We miss you!!  We hope you're enjoying your retirement or your new family or your rest before   the rush on Christmas Eve or ....???

Chippy!  We love you!  Thanks for always bringing smiles to my kids faces!  We'll miss you when you're gone after Christmas!

Santa!  I'm still holding out hope that you'll send me a new elf each month of the year so my kids behave as well as they do in December!  I know I asked you last year but I promise to be even better this year!  Come on...you know you wanna :)