Our Christmas Monkey Tradition

So this tradition started with Greg's family, and to know how that started, you'll have to ask Mom. The Christmas Monkey is really a spin off from their Christmas Elf. Every December 1st, the Elf would make his appearance in the house for the kids to find. They would search all over until the Elf was found, and each morning, He'd be hiding in a new spot. There was a rule, NO TOUCHING THE ELF! Or he would not come out again until next year.

My kids really got into this "searching for the Christmas elf" at Grandma's house during the month of December, so I decided to try to find an elf of our own. I headed off to Wal-Mart and searched through their Christmas aisles but could not find an elf. I went over to K-Mart and while I was there decided it didn't have to be an elf. That's when I spotted the cutest little Monkey ever. He is so soft and cuddly, has an adorable hat and a cute grin. PERFECT. (Right now I am thinking how disappointed my kids would be if they knew the Monkey really came from K-Mart. Right now they are making up lots of stories of where he came from.)

Now, my kids do not believe in Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny. We have made sure to tell them it's fun to see Santa and the Bunny, but they are not real. Santa doesn't really fly around with reindeer delivering presents to good boys and girls. (Sorry if I am the bearer of bad news for you.) My kids can't even believe in the tooth fairy because some little kid told Isaac that it's really the mom's who exchange the teeth for money. (Except in our house, it's usually Dad who remembers to don the fairy outfit and leave the pocket change.)

Anyway, by bringing the Christmas Monkey into our family traditions, the kids are allowed to have that excitment, that make-believe-ness that kids normally channel into Santa or the tooth fairy. You should see my kids when they search each morning, when they see him for the first time, etc. Chloe is now drawing pictures for the Christmas Monkey and Isaac is warning her, "Don't touch him with it though, he won't come out for the rest of the year." Isaac got his stuffed monkey out and is now making jungle sounds. Jeremy doesn't really get it yet, but by the end of December, I'm sure he'll be just as excited as the older two!

Oh, did I mention the CM (I've decided to call him CM from now on since my hands are tired of typing 'Christmas Monkey'.) came out a bit early this year? Normally it would be December 1st, but since both kids will be gone for a few days in December, the CM decided he would come out a few days early to surprise them. And were they ever surprised!

"Where did he come from?" "Did he hear us talking about him yesterday?" "Has he been hiding behind the chair?" "When did he come out, while we were gone this morning?" hehe. I love it. Soon I will be answering, or more like, avoiding questions like these - "How does he move from place to place?" "Does Santa come and move him?" (No, Santa is not real, remember?) I know my 7 year old is smart enough to understand a stuffed monkey does not move around by itself, but who knows? Maybe it's like Toy Story where the toys come to life when no one in around. Hmmm....I'm just glad they have something fun and mysterious for a few more years, and hope they never catch me moving him in the night, or putting him in his tub on December 31st.