We have continued my favorite Christmas tradition this year at our house. We have read a new Christmas book every month in December.
Jack has four or five Christmas stories that he is especially fond of, but his favorite book so far this year is a Little Golden Book called The Little Christmas Elf. It's about a young elf named Nina, which coincidentally was my grandmother's name, who is making toys for the first time this year. She works and works all Christmas Eve, but she doesn't finish her teddy bear in time for it to be delivered to a child. Nina has to tell Santa that she didn't finish in time. He tells her to keep working so they can use the bear the next year. Nina keeps working and finishes the bear just in time for Santa's return. He comes straight to the workshop and tells Nina that a new baby was born, and he needs the teddy bear for the new baby. It's a beautiful story.
During one of the thirty or forty times I have read this book to Jack, he told me that he does not have a teddy bear. He has lots of stuffed animals, but believe it or not he does not have a teddy bear! You know Mama had to rectify that situation!
So, I bought a teddy bear that resembles Nina's and stitched a heart patch on him and tied a bow around his neck. All finished he looks a lot like the teddy bear in the book. It is the gift I am most excited to give this Christmas. Jack won't even know it came from me since I am going to set it next to his stocking, but I am so excited to see his reaction.
Luke doesn't always sit still long enough to hear the pre-k age stories that most of our Christmas books are, but he really loves The Gingerbread Man, That's Not My Santa, and That's Not My Reindeer.
