Holiday Tradition Ideas Needed

Do Christmas ornaments with a little twist, like for example, buy ornaments for something he was into that year, like Elmo, or Soccer, or whatever hobby he may have picked up that year. That is one I am starting with my little angel. Another idea would be to buy ornaments you can insert a pic into and take one of him by the tree each year and put it in there. When he is old enough to be on his own and have a tree it would be a sweet trip down memory lane.

A.,

I do Hallmark ornaments for my kids but I think snowglobes would be cool if you want something bigger. Hallmark puts out collectible ones each year and I'd think other companies do too.

T.

Hi, A.. I agree with D.. When my kids were small, I picked out a dated ornament for them. Now they look forward to the tradition of picking out their own. We have a great time looking through them and remembering Christmases past. One year, my daughter picked out an ugly blown glass santa thing. Every year we laugh when she unwraps it and laments about what in the world she could have been thinking....
Merry Christmas!

-You could go to a ceramic place to decorate dishes, etc. with his handprints or paintings as he gets older.
-How about buying a Christmas book every year that he can read to his children one day. Write the date, a little note about him or to the future grandkids.
-My kids do pick out ornaments every year so they will have some when they move out that will be meaningfull. My hubby and I's first Christmas we only had a handful of special ornaments. The rest were just store bought fillers. Now after 13 years we've acquirred quite a collection. I pick up ornaments from places we travel.

I just read on mamasource a similar post and thought the idea of buygin an ornament each year was cool. I'm going to begin this tradition : ) Also, if you are in San Diego, I just visited City Light in the Morena District for the first time and it is sooo cool. They have a ton of little villages. All different ones - North Pole, Victorian, Chicago, Farm House, Circus etc. There are thousands of little structures to buy. It's kind of expensive, but would be very cool to have and collect over the years. I might start that this year as well. You should check it out for sure.

When my daughter was little she would open one present on x-mas eve that was from me. It was always a set of x-mas pajamas and a christmas book. I would write the year in the book so she would know what year she got it. And then she always had new clean pajamas for x-mas morning pictures.

I actually do Christmas ornaments each year for my step-sons. I buy them based on something new in their life each year. The oldest played Pop Warner this year for the first time so I'm looking for a football ornament. The youngest was thrilled with the Golden Gate Bridge during a trip to San Francisco this summer. There have been musical notes for when a musical instrument was learned for the first time and baseball ornaments for the first year playing baseball. I have a special box for each of them to keep their collection in that gets packed with our Christmas decorations.

Something else my husband and I started the year we got married was to cut a disk off the trunk of our tree, write the year on it and make an ornament out of it. That's something just for us.

I do the ornaments--- they LOVE them and they are pretty inexpensive. You can always have him make an ornament every year. Handprint projects are always great, either in ceramic form, or with paint. You can have him also start a scrapbook of every christmas. Have him put in a writing sample, color a picture and take a picture of all his gifts each year.( he is young now, but you can talk him through it and help him). Eventually, he will be old enough to do this himself (with your guidance) and it will be a fun project for the family.

We also make it a tradition to pick out our christmas tree as a family every year. the kids LOVE doing this and we take pics to document. We always include a family pic at the tree lot with our new tree. fun for the scrapbook too!

Christmas morning- we always take a family pic in our pj's, hair a mess and all. It is fun to see how the family changes year after year.. may not be "tangable" traditions... but they sure great for us.

Hope it helps- merry christmas!

Hi. My mom always got my brother and I an ornament and we really loved it because they were always unique and special (like a cowboy, raggity ann and andy, nutcrackers that when you pull the string their arms and legs move, etc.). It's great now that we're grown because we have all those memories on our trees now. Also, my brother loved Nutcrackers so my mom started a little nutcracker collection for him when he was old enough to play with them and he loved it. It's extra special because they only come out at Christmas time.

Honestly, no matter what you decide to do it will be special and fun to him because it is your tradition. That's what makes those things so great, because it's what your family did to celebrate and bring each other joy. The feelings traditions bring are what memories are made of, more so I think than the actual gifts or items that were given. My brother and my favorite tradition that we continued until I moved out was that every Christmas Eve we would sleep next to the tree :) No presents were involved, just christmas lights and feelings of joy. Merry Christmas!

One tradition I started with my daughter 16 years ago was I bought her a Christmas book everyear and I would open it Christmas eve and read it to her. Then the next year I would wrap up the old book and then buy a new one, and read the old one the day before Christmas Eve and then the new one on Christmas. I have done this for 16 years. Now some of the books are chapter books so read just read the first chapter but its such cool tradition. I always write a note on the inside of the cover and date it.

Hi A.,
You make think its boring, but the kids will enjoy it! My daughter is 9 and LOVES all the ornaments she has received in the past 8 years! My son is 4 and he enjoys putting HIS ornaments on the tree. I got the idea from a friend so I can't take the credit but this way they will have a start of their own ornaments when they grow up and start their own family or are away at college. Hallmark has the ones that have the year on it---My First Christmas, My 2nd, etc... up to about 4 or 5. Then I would get personalized ones with their name on it. They really do love them.

Good luck with your search!
J.

Hi, i know you said the hristmas ornament thing is kinds boring, and sure, it may very well be the first 5-6 years. However, i must say i have a collection of angels my great grandma got me every year, and they are still soooo special. My daughter gets to hang my angels on grandmas christmas tree every year. My mom started the same thing with my first daghter, getting her ballerinas. She is 9 now, and is so excited to hang them all over the tree. They too will be handed down to her children. Now my mom is starting it with my daughter 10 mo old, and i think her theme is stars or birds...i will have to wait and see. It does become fun in time, once ownership is realized and there is a collection going. Have fun!

We do the ornament thing. We got one for our daughter for her first Xmas because she was only a few months old. The following year she was over a year and I let her choose it. Now she gets to choose her ornament every year and it's a really fun thing for her, getting to look at all of the ornaments and then picking the one that she wants to take home. Every year I'll have her pick out her own ornament - I thought it would be fun to look at them every year and remember why she chose them.
Also this year we are making ornaments for our tree - that should provide some great memories as well.

I have seen Christmas "villages" at stores like Michaels and Stats - maybe you could buy another little house or building and some accessories each year.
Also I think the Hallmark Stores have little Christmas keepsake type of items.

Hi A.,
If you do not want to do the tipical ornament, how about a $100.00 savings bond, or opening up a bank account that he will not know about until you give it to him when he wants to get married or buy a house. D.

We have 4 kids. The best year-to-year keepsake, in my opinion, is a photo. Every year make sure you get the same type of photo, whether it's tearing off wrapping paper Christmas morning or sitting on Santa's lap. It's great fun to look through them together and see the changes and similarities.

We do an ornament every year, too, and try to make it reflect something about that year. We actually buy some while on vacation, so it's a double memory. We have ornaments with baseball, soccer and dance themes, as well as some from the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and San Francisco.

My kids also get a party outfit every year. When he was little, my son loved little suits and ties, because it made him feel grown up. Now that he's a teenager, I'm lucky to get him into a polo shirt instead of a T-shirt. :)

As boring as ornaments sound, that is what I had as a child. I remember picking out all the ones that were mine to hang on the tree and now as an adult I remember all those times and do cherish having them on my own tree. They aren't exciting but they are something I can get out every year and actually use. I.m sure there are many things you could collect but most would be things that just sit on a shelf and collect dust.

I have to say the ornament thing is the best tradition ever. I am having Christmas in my own home for the first time ever this year and today I spent 2 hours at my mom's going through her ornaments picking out the ones that belonged to myself and my son. It was so neat to pull one out and go "Oh this is the one Esther gave me the year I got my first horse" or "Look here is the one Dilly got last year from Great Grandma". It was neat, I made sure I wrote on the backs of them his name and how old he was when he got his ornament. There are tons of memories in those ornaments. Each year we pick out a special one for him, based on his interests that year, and it gets added.

I look forward to sharing all these new memories with him when he gets his own first tree.

A.,
Even though you think giving a Christmas ornament is boring, I can tell you first hand that it is indeed the most special "tradition" I started for my two daughters. Why? Because when they finished college and had a place of their own, I presented them with 22 ornaments as their "starter" collection for their own tree. They were thrilled! And as they unwrap them every year, they have fond memories of how special Christmas and family is.
They are now 30 and 34 years old and I STILL give them a special ornament every year and they STILL get excited about it. It is a tradition they will pass on to their own kids and believe me....it isn't boring at all!

M. D.

HI, A., I have a few family traditions that I do for Christmas, and that is, I have a 20 year old son and a 14 year old son. We have NEVER missed a Santa picture, and they're all out for display every Christmas. It so nice to see the different years growing up. I also take my own camera and take holiday pictures at the malls since they are so beautifully decorated, and I also have a CHRISTMAS Photo album that I put all my Christmas pictures in from the ones that friends and families have sent as in Christmas cards and every year it's so nice to look at seeing my friends' kids growing up too. The Christmas picture cards are usually the most beautiful of the kids and families that I could not bear to put them in some box, so they are displayed every year in the Christmas Photo album that is truly one of my best keep sakes. And they are my kids' friends so they love looking at the album too, and that is the book that gets the most use. OH, AND ONE MORE THING. I have a complete set of Christmas Plates and "PLatters, Bowls, etc." for Christmas. I decided one year to have the family go to Color me mine and paint their own Plate for Christmas Dinner. We did this every year until I have a full set of 16 and they're beautiful in they're own sort of way. And the Christmas Platter we all did together.

And for Easter.... Get back with me.

I don't know if a boy would like it as much (I should have asked my husband) but my mom got each of us a unique Christmas ornament for my last several years at home (she would have when I was younger, too, but couldn't afford it!:) So, when I moved out, I had my own little collection of Christmas ornaments, and each had a memory. I loved it. So I am doing this for my boys now, too. I don't know how much they will appreciate it when they move out with a box of their own Christmas ornaments, but I think it is a great idea, and if they get married, at least their wives will appreciate it!

Donoate a toy in your sons name every year, take him shopping for it, and to the place to give it, each year, he will learn the gift of giving and receiving, you can also buy a small ornament, and each year have his picture taken with a santa put that picture in it, or start a train set that goes around the xmas tree each yr build to the scenery of the train set.. best time to buy the extras for the train is after xmas clearence sales excellent prices on stuff. Next yr comes get out the new stuff to build around the tree ... it really should come from the heart yours & his, be creative..

I also buy my sons a new Christmas book every year. Sometimes they get it on Christmas but I usually like to give it to them early so we can read it along with the others that I've purchased for them in previous years. I also put them away and only bring them out around Thanksgiving and through December so we can enjoy them all month long. They really enjoy this tradition.

It's nice that you're starting traditions. Your kids will cherish them no matter what you come up with.

Dear A.,
My sister bought both my boys nutcrackers one year (they were 3 and 18 mo. at the time) and they LOVED them. We have been buying them ever since. My daughter loves them too. We find large ones, small ones, ornament ones, books about them, movies about them. Eventually we will take them to see the ballet. It's a fun tradition for our little family, now 8, 6 and 4.

Each year the whole family decorates ornaments. I go to Michaels, or anywhere they sell clear glass balls and buy them. I make sure we have all shapes and sizes from teardrops, large round, oval, twisty, small etc. My oldest is now fourteen and we've been doing this since he was one. The whole family sits around our table and decorates balls, I am including the grandparents! We each decorate at least four balls. When done I hang them on hangers to dry. I buy all kinds of gorgeous paints, golds, purples, some with sparkles,(whatever I want on the tree!!) we have snow and glitter you name it!..just look all around Michael's they have great stuff for this. I put the designers name and year with a paint pen on the bottom of the ornament.
My oldest has been doing this since he was one year old. I must say, my 12 and 14 year old boys cannot wait to do this each year...they also are the ones who ever so carefully unwrap the balls. Each one has a memory of family around the table. Sadly my Mom and Dad are gone, but each year as they unwrap their balls they remember that particular Christmas. They also both know that once they have a place of their own and want their own tree, we will pack them up with at least one ball from each member of the family from every year. Already, they are putting dibs on the ones they want! If you're worried that your tree might not look well put together..well you'd be astonished, the balls are beautiful and as it's now been thirteen years of balls our tree is alomost completely decorated with homemade balls. (which is why we have an extra tree outside for all those wonderful bought decorations!) Bottom line is that they do look forward to this each year, (as do all the adults!)and have some beautiful treasures to keep.
Good luck with your tradition hunt!!

My kids usually get ornaments that are of things that are they are interested in. It's actually kind of fun to see the different ornaments throughout the years. My oldest started out with simple things like small toy ornaments, moved on to Lion King and other Disney movies, then cartoons like the Power Puff Girls and the Simpsons, and now he gets surfing ornaments. My youngest has consistently loved fish, so we have a ton of fish ornaments. When I put the tree up, it's a little schizophrenic and childish, but I feel it captures the personality of our family well.

I too had a huge collection of ornaments from over the years when I moved out. My husband didn't have them from every year, but he had many from his childhood as well. I love taking them out each year and looking at the ornaments from Christmas past! I've somewhat started it with my son as well. For example, he was very into VeggieTales last year so he now has a VeggieTales bulb ornament on the tree. This year, he was so excited to get it out and put it on the tree. He often asks about it and makes sure it is still well displayed on the tree. I'll likely keep this up yearly so that he too will have ornaments for his tree when he moves out many years down the road. It helped make my first Christmas tree very warm and added a lot of holiday charm because the decorations came with special memories. As one other mom mentioned, I've heard of people collecting the little structures that make a town at Christmas. Perhaps you could give him a little building each year and build out a town that he can take with him he gets older if you don't like the ornament idea. I don't really have room for something like that, so the ornament collection works well for us.

Best of luck to you! No matter what you choose, it will be special for both you and your son! I'm sure he will greatly appreciate whatever you decide!

What about starting a train collection so that he could eventually have a full train set to run around the tree? I know nothing about train collections...but the idea popped into my head when I read your request.

I know Ornaments SEEM boring, but at age 30 I cherish my own ornament collection that my Mom started for me. My sister and I every year, made a special shopping trip to the mall with our Mom and picked out whatever ornament we wanted.

I've started the same thing with my son and now we have a collaboration of his and mine!

My friend does snowmen and another does santa's that her kids pick out.

But, its really about sharing the experience and not the actual item.

HI A....how about snow globes? I don't know if that's a girl thing but my 14 year old has a great collection. Books are a good thing, then when he has children one day he can share them with them. You can get a photo album and put a picture every year...those are a few suggestions, i am having fun just reading the other mamas comments....Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

M.

Hi I think outside the box alot and I thought "life lessons" like going to the mall and getting an Angel Tree Child the same age as your son and and granting that childs gift wish. You could document on film or video and keep a journal on the childs gift, and about how much your son has gown physically and each year how his emotions change. Hope you have a blessed Holiday and enjoy your new tradition.

Hi A.,

My husband and I , have gotten one special ornament each year, (we always get them from Hallmark) we have been married for 9 years. And as soon as my first son was born we have always gotten him one as well. he loves picking out his own ornament, and we let him choose a special place to put it on the tree every year. Also my husband has been getting me a Pez despencer every years since we have been married as well, so that is an Idea also.

Merry Christmas

A. M.

I always give each of my daughters a holiday book on Christmas and I write a short "letter" in the back of each book about the past year together. Before Christmas we take out all the Christmas books and read one each night and reminisce about the past years :)

Hi A.. My boys will be one this year and when they were born (5 days before christmas) we decided to order the coin set for their birth year. And now we have decided to order then the set every year until they are 18. The set we ordered has the 5 one dollar coins that were released, the 4 quarters that were released and then one of each of the other coins. Since you are looking for a boy maybe thats a possibility...I saw other moms offer snow globes and christmas ornaments...but why not pick something that isnt of the christmas variety?

My son is 2 and he is really into trains. Maybe you can start your son off with a basic train set, and add a Christmas village piece every year. I would love to do that for my son, it would be wonderful even for him to pass down to his own children

Hi Holly,

I have actually done the Christmas ornament for my kids. I picked them out at first, now that they are old enough they have fun picking them out each year. This is something both my boys look forward to each year. They know that when they leave home they will have their own box of special ornaments to put on their own tree.
Each year I put down where the ornament is from and why it was chosen. We have a Family Memories Christmas book that it is written in. It has been fun to see where they have collected them from.

I can understand if its boring, but I am 25 and those 25 or so ornaments are the only thing on my tree but lights and garland! It is one of the BEST things I do every year to put up my ornaments and remember the years and memories. Now I get to put up my husbands from every year and our baby's too! It is awesome and while boring can be lame, sometimes boring is actually the tip of the awesome iceberg.

We just put up our new 1st home ornament and wow, it made us both smile to be able to have little tidbits to talk about. I was so honored to go home after my first Christmas away and have them passed on to me officially.

My parents also gave me a special Holiday Edition Barbie every year, but I'll bet he would appreciate that a whole lot less! :)

My son is 2.5 and is facinated with nutcrackers. I'm going to buy him one each year and he can have "his" Christmas collection.

M.

I know you said ornaments sound boring - but my kids love it. Every year I buy each of my kid a new ornament to put on the three. They put their initials and the year. Tonight we put up a tree and my kids (16, 13, 6) love to get out "their" box and put up "their" ornaments. My parents didn't do this with me, but I have one ornament that was given to me when I was 2 and it's always special to put it up each year. You could possibly start building the Christmas village by purchasing a new building each year. You could also start building a collection of Christmas movies or books.

Ornaments are NOT boring. My father is a carpenter and every year he would make my sister and I ornaments from the trunk of each Christmas tree we had. They are so beautiful and amazing and I would not trade them for anything! They might be boring for him now, but trust me when he is a man with his family at Christmas he will love those ornamens and they will be very special. Take care and Happy Holidays.

i dont really think the ornament is boring. it is something that he would actually be able to use as an adult and wouldnt take up too much space. when i moved out of the house my step mom gave me every ornament that had ever been given to me. it meant a lot to me. i also have all the ornaments that my mom purchased over the years. she would buy at least one dated hallmark ornament each year. it was something we would pick out together and it is fun to look back at them and remember. i was born in 72 and have ornaments that date back to the mid 70s. a different idea might be snow globes.

good luck.

Every year, we take a Christmas card picture, which we send to all of our relatives. I have then taken this picture and ordered a Christmas ornament through Kodak Gallery (or I'm sure shutterfly or many other websites do this.) I have made 2 of each, since I have 2 kids. They will be able to put these on their trees and show their kids when they have families. This year, I also let each of them pick out an ornament at a local craft fair that they will be able to keep as well. As he gets older, you can get him ornaments that are in sync with his interests, I also have ornaments from my youth that are ballet dancers, Tae Kwon Do fighters, and piano keys. I think ornaments are a great idea, as long as they have a story behind them that your boy will be able to talk about with his family.

I know that you said ornaments are boring, however my daughter at 35 is still using all of her's. There are different ones that can go along with his interests as he grows.

a pic with santa :-) xmas stamps of the year to organize in album.
cheers,
a.

Hi, A.

I know you said ornaments are kind of boring, but that's what we do each year. I purchase an ornament each year representative of what their interest is that year. We have a great time remembering each phase of our lives by what ornament is placed on the tree. We have things from books (learned to read) a kitty (when she adopted our beloved cat), eye glasses (she got glasses for the first time), Tinkerbell (she was obsessed, and no longer is).. It's fun to go back to what was important each year. Also, we put the year on the ornament if it isn't already on there. So, anyway, that's what we do.

Happy Holidays!

L. M

I haven't had a chance to read through all the posts, so please excuse me if I duplicate another post. What about a Christmas book? When I was a kid, every night my mom would read me a different holiday story. I still have the books to this day. I also think the ornament idea is a lovely one. My husband and I started it ourselves when we got married. Now that we have our son (he just turned one)we plan on making the annual ornament our family holiday photo. Whatever you decide, I'm sure that your son will love it. Happy Holidays!

My Dh would always get an Advent Calendar, the ones with a piece of chocolate for each day. I plan to start that tradition with my kids this year.

We also have each child donate a toy every year. This year we did it through our church, last year we donated toys through Toys For Tots.

Growing up my sister and I always spent one day making cookies with my Mom for the holidays. I can't wait for my kids to get a little older so they can help out too.

A.,

I know you think that having him collect christmas ornaments as a tradition is boring, but my son now 9 years old always look forward to it. He tells me that he hopes none will break or get lost by the time he has his own place and own family, and hope that he can pass on his ornament collecting christmas tradition to his Children, and grand children.

We do the Christmas ornament every year because then when they move out, they'll have a lot of ornaments to put on their own tree. Each is meaningful because it reflects what they're into that year: i.e. my middle child is into legos, my youngest loves dolphins, my oldest likes fairies. It changes almost every year so it's kinda fun when we're unpacking them and they're reminded of Christmas past.

If you don't like the ornament idea you could pick a theme. like snowmen, or angels. And every year get a new one. It could be a snowman ornament, or snow man snow globe, or snow man cookie cutter etc...

My mom gave me and my brother all of our kid ornaments a few years ago. It was great. And every year I get the kids ornaments. Usually in the theme of what ever they are into. Elmo, Thomas the tank engine, Legos etc...

Have fun.

I love the ornaments idea. I have a few friends that do it, every year I say I'm going to start - I have yet to start! Who knows what he'll appreciate as an adult, so keep that in mind too. Since he is a boy, something that could be fun is every year buy something towards a train set/city of some sort that he'll be able to decorate his home with or place around his tree. My Mom used to buy my little brother something from Lionel every year (good train stuff). Now my brother is 33ish? and puts the train up every year at Christmas.
M.

Hello A.,

I admire your commitment to start a tradition in the early years of life. I'm a mom of a 21yr old college Jr. He attends college out of state. After he left for college a young co-worker (around his age) mentioned how her Grandma made a quilt out of old T-shirts from her childhood. She talked about how curling up with the quilt reminded her of how much she's grown and is loved. Of course, it was too late for me to do this.

My suggestion is every Holiday take a photo in a Holiday sweater or T-shirt. Keep the T's or sweaters and place the date on the tag. You can also keep any special T's (clubs, sports, etc.) that he may have over the years. Then on his first official Holiday away send him the photo's with the quilt or something special that you make out them.

I think he'll appreciate the memories and he'll have something to share with his own son, one day.

Love,

D. W.

Christmas ornament IS a good idea.... for me, each year I order a PHOTO Christmas Ornament of my children, from Kodak www.kodakgallery.com

Thereby, we are able to "see" our kids grow and change each year, and later when they become adults & have their own families, I will give it to them as a "gift" so that they can put it on their own Christmas tree... and then THEIR kids can see them when they were children too.

It is an "heirloom" and timeless loving gift...which for me, I am thinking years down the road... each year I get their photo ornament and then over the years, our tree will be filled with these ornaments...creating a great theme and an enjoyment in looking at them. My daughter loves looking at their photo ornaments, and each year she asks me if I got the "new" one yet. And they themselves can see how they have grown up annually, on their ornament.

I'm sure the kids would appreciate and love to have them when they become adults.

Good luck,
Susan

Hi A.,

Here are some ideas. A picture of the family from that year, so each year you can see the progression; a scrapbook or photo album from the year, for the same reason. Then there's the other boring stuff like coins and stamps. Also what about something that he is really into? You could do something like mugs or playing cards with different themes or something that applies to the current year or from some special place you visited that year. Hopefully this helps. By the way, I love your idea!

Hi A.,
I think you idea is a great one! I wish that I had thought of it. There are little porcelein boxes made. Some are pretty expensive, like Limoge. They are made in a little French town and they are exquisite and very imaginative. Right now I am looking at my collection and I see a hunk of Swiss cheese that when you open the top a mouse is inside! There are all sorts of ones that are perfect for every occasion. I have a beautiful box with the World Trade Towers on it, an adorable one with a bichon frise on top (our dogs!) etc, etc. Some are wimsical and others serious. If you can't afford Limoge (they can go up to $300 each) you can find imitations but just as cute. By the time he is grown up he will have quite a collection. My husband and friends buy me one for my birthday each year. You should see my collection. Let us know what you decide to do. Oh, I just looked at my collection and there are boxes made my Halcyon Days Ceramics that are great too. Google Limoge boxes and Halcyon Days to see what I am talking about.

N. in Pacifici Palisades

Hi A.,

I am thinking of maybe a nutcracker collection or santa clause figures such as the type you would find at a Joanne Fabrics. Good luck:)

Hi A.,

I have a 4 year old and 18 month old. Ever since my 4 year old was born, I have gotten a different ornament for her each year. I love the memories of each one. Now that she is older, she asks about each and I tell her the story behind them. It's wonderful. However, if you want to try something else, you may want to try something that I have started this year called the "elf on the shelf" christmas tradition. It is so much fun. My 4 year old daughter is so into it. If you are interested, go to www.elfontheshelf.com. At this website, you will learn about the tradition. Now the box set that they talk about which includes an elf and book about the tradition can be bought on their website or if you go to any hallmark you can buy the box gift set for $29.99. It was worth every penny. I can't describe the look on my daughter's face when she first saw the elf sitting on our bedroom tv. It was priceless. We named ours "Love" because my she said he's red and she loves him, like she loves Santa. My 18 month old actually said the word "love" after we named him...it was sort of a xmas miracle...considering he doesn't talk at all. A bunch of mom's here in Vegas told me about it and they too have had not only fun with the "elf" but they have made holiday memories that they will treasure for life. It's something you can do every year.

Check it out. I hope this helps.

K.