Santa's Little Helper

Today was a dull day for the most part. We did, however, get some new stuff in for the shoppe! I love getting shipments...it's like Christmas, digging into the boxes to see what's come. What we got today apparently shipped a week early, which is cool. I wasn't expecting it till the first week of July. It's called The Elf on the Shelf. Parents can buy the gift set, which includes a story book and a little elf that can be posed. He's adorable...he looks like a doll from the 50s. Parents read the book with their kids, and the kids can handle the doll. At the end of the story, though, the kids are asked to name their elf, at which point he becomes magic, and they aren't supposed to touch him anymore. They can talk to him, though, and tell him what they want for Christmas. Every night, after the kids have gone to bed, he leaves and reports to Santa. That's how he knows if they've been good or not. Every day, the elf comes back, and perches in a different place in the house. It becomes a game for the kids to find him. Anyway...I think it's adorable, and a neat tradition (and from what I hear, it works really well to get kids to behave...after all, Santa is really watching!)Other than that, not much happened today. I did get some new jewelry, though...Anne, from the store across the hall, makes custom jewelry, and it is all really pretty stuff. She'd made a necklace with matching bracelet and earrings that I loved...pearls and light blue Swarovski crystals. Earlier in the week, my shoppe and hers bought some advertising together, and my shoppe paid for it upfront. Instead of giving me money, Anne gave me the necklace :-) I went on and bought the bracelet and earrings before they disappeared :-) They're REALLY pretty! As soon as I find the connector for my camera, I'll post a picture of them.