Assuming you have small children, they're more than likely already becoming fired up thinking of the holiday season and all which it brings with it. An Elf on The shelf is an ideal Christmas tradition to introduce into your home. Yes, your children will enjoy it but you'll likely find they behave much better than usual, since they will believe that the Elf will report back to Santa, which will only be an a valuable thing.
It's a lovely book to read to your young children at bedtime and can get everyone into the Christmas mood. The idea behind the story is the fact Santa has to find out if a child has behaved well or otherwise before he gives out the presents on Christmas Eve. He sends his Elf to go and watch over the youngsters in each house. The Elf rests on the shelf (or mantlepiece or dining room table) and after watching over the children each day, comes back to Santa every evening to report back. It's key to make sure you shift the Elf around because he will forfeit his magic if the young children find him in the very same position every breakfast. He is supposed to have been all the way to the North Pole and back after all. The kids can register the Elf on the web and will be required to give him his own name.
The Elf comes along with the hardback book and a treasure box for your kids to keep their Christmas paintings and decorations in. There's also an action book as part of the series and a few additional dolls like a Female and Male Elf which you can get if your children really get into this story.
Christmas is really a time for fun so it is great to see children fall completely under the spell of Santa Claus with his fantastic Elves especially when the current financial crisis means that some families have been under pressure just lately.
If you value creating the magic of Christmas in your home some other great books to share with kids include the timeless "It was the night before Christmas" plus the many different Christmas offerings from their treasured characters including Barney, Thomas the Train, Barbie etc. More recent books include the fantastic "A Bit of Applause for Mrs Claus". Many people may also want to mix in the religious aspect of Christmas and will be able to get stories created particularly for youngsters to help them understand that special message.
The Elf on the Shelf is a wonderful present for almost any household which has little ones - perhaps you should pick up yours today and open it up on Thanksgiving?