The Whereabouts of Walker 2

Yes, we have an Elf on the Shelf. It is one of my favorite traditions during the Christmas season. His name is Walker and this year was his second year to visit the Snyder house. If you follow me on Instagram you know all about Walker's antics- this year he might have been a little less creative than last year, but a certain 4 year old LOVED every minute of it. He would squeal in the mornings when he found him. Most days they are all still in bed when I leave for work and if that happened he would make his daddy take a picture of Walker and text it to me so I could be in on the fun- love his heart! Last year my mother in law made a Shutterfly book with all Walker's spots and it is a year round favorite around here. So I took a picture of Walker each day in hopes of another book. (HintHint Grammy!)

Just in case you are not familiar with the Elf on the Shelf, it is a little doll that acts as a scout elf for Santa. He or she shows up sometime during the Christmas season to monitor children's behavior and report back to Santa each night. Part of the fun of the elf is that children are not allowed to touch him in fear that he may loose his magic. It is so much fun each day to find out where the elf has placed himself upon his return from the North Pole. There is a book that goes along with the elf that explains the story and this year there was merchandise everywhere. Shep even got in on the action this year which made me even more excited for the years to come. Walker is quite the behavior motivator and fun too.  If you have small children and do not have an elf I would highly recommend it.

Day One- Walker Arrived.

Clark spotted him! He was so excited that his buddy was back.

Here are some of the other fun places we found Walker each day. All these pictures are from my phone and there is not one from each day, just most.

Another fun tradition we have is to open a Christmas book each night in December. Walker arrived one morning with all the wrapped books.

Walker checking out his book from last year's antics.

This was the day. This was the day Shepard took an interest in Walker and decided to pick him up and carry them around. I only found about about this because of the screams. Clark spotted the whole thing and was beside himself. He was in tears that Walker would lose his magic. No worries. We were headed to see Santa the next day and Clark told him all about it. Santa ensured Clark that it was okay and that Shepard was a baby and did not understand the magic. Crisis averted. shew!

 

 

This was the morning of the church Christmas program. Clark played the part of the camel.:)

Walker brought an advent calendar my mom made for Clark.
(This was soooo cute. She spray painted a muffin tin and filled each one with little treats like candy, tiny toys and stickers. He LOVED it. )

Walker brought plush elves that would be safe to touch. BIG HIT. Especially with Shep.

Walker decorated the tree with Clark's undies. ha!

This one lead to lots of laughter. We woke up to him shrieking- it was so cute.

 

On his last night he reminded us the true meaning of the season.

As you can see, we love Walker. He is a lot of fun and brought many smiles over the last month or so. Needless to say  we will be excited to see him again next November. Do you have a scout elf?

Walker, Not the Texas Ranger

Meet the newest member of the Snyder family... WALKER. No, not the Texas Ranger- our elf.

This year we began the fun tradition of using the Elf on a Shelf. If you are not familiar with it, he is a little elf that according to the story visits your house everyday to check on you and report back to Santa each night. So every morning we hunt for Walker to see if he is in the same place or if he really did leave to go see Santa. Walker is usually in a funny place, he is becoming quite a  naughty elf and Clark is loving it.

You get to name your elf and I suggested all kinds of fun names like Otis, Artie, Walter, Nolan but Clark chose Walker. We just spent some time in VA with Stuart's family and Clark LOVED Stuart's cousins Hunter and Walker. Walker was great with Clark and I guess it stuck. So Walker it is.

Walker was eyeballing Clark's gingerbread house!

Rub a Dub Dub. Marshmallow bath for Walker.

We remind Clark ALL.THE.TIME. that Walker is watching him in hopes that he will make good choices and I will say it works MOST of the time. We have even caught him talking to Walker and telling him what he wants for Christmas so Walker will tell Santa. So cute!

The number one elf rule is that you can't touch him or he will lose his magic. This was the hardest part the first few days because Clark was so curious about him. But now he tells us not to touch him. It is so much fun and I just love the idea that we get to do this every year! I just love that it is all so magical to Clark and know that Shepard and Sara Kate will love Walker one day too. (if the poor elf makes it that long!ha!)



We introduced Clark and Walker a few days before Thanksgiving in hopes it would curb a few 3 year old behavior issues we were having and I am glad we did. However, we still have quite a bit of time until Christmas Eve and I hope I can keep up with him and keep finding new spots for him. Thank goodness for Pinterest. I just pinned some good ideas tonight. If you don't have an elf and you have small children The Snyders recommend it. It is our newest tradition and one that I am hoping will produce many fun Christmas memories for our kiddos (and for us too!).

C was not too fond of this spot.
He was a little upset that Walker was playing with his toys.

Wonder where Walker will end up tomorrow?