Where's Santa?

Candy Cane, our elf on the shelf, did not return this year. He really was a lot of work, and since the kids are older, I chose to skip the tradition this year. No one really seemed to care. As it turned out, we ended up finding something else that was a little more fun and took a lot less effort.

We have a wooden santa my dad made for us over 10 years ago that we usually put in the foyer by the front door. Our dog Hunter was scared of it, and we still joke about that every time we pull him out. This year, when Ron brought Santa up from the basement with the Christmas decorations, he decided he'd to try to scare Tyler, who was playing on the computer. He put Santa on the table right behind the computer, hoping that Santa would startle Tyler when he turned around. It didn't startle him, but it did make him laugh. Later I heard Ron chuckle as he carried Santa to Danielle's room. And the rest of December, we took turns moving Santa around, trying to startle whoever stumbled across him next. The best spot was sitting him on the toilet, and closing the bathroom door. Santa's eyes were at just the right spot when the next person opened the door and walked in. Danielle almost wet herself when she walked into her bathroom before bed and found him standing on the counter.

Waiting for Danielle to come home from school.

Waiting for Tyler to open the curtains.