Pucki & Gucki have arrived!

Who, you ask, are Pucki & Gucki? Well, you see, they are Santa's elves who have visited our family after Thanksgiving since I can remember. These two little Santa's helpers arrive on Thanksgiving Eve and stay until Santa comes on Christmas Eve and they can hop a ride back in the sleigh to the North Pole with him. After that time, their annual duty is done - until the next year.

Here they are, the cute little guys.


Pucki and Gucki come to watch the children and make sure that they are good and deserving of presents from Santa. They move about the house at will, and sometimes can be found to have left crumbs of food around the house or have changed their stance. They both are Steif Elves from Germany, purchased many years ago by my Grandparents - they stand about 7" tall and they have plastic faces and cloth/felt bodies. Their little eyes are painted on and I swear to this day, they follow you around the room when you look at them! They are always watching.

For years, my brother and I anxiously awaited Thanksgiving since the elves were coming. They would arrive and be perched on the clock or the Christmas wreath that hung on the hearth. We would run downstairs in the morning and there they were. And once they arrived, absolutely no more fighting. We were on our best behavior until Christmas. If we had to fight amongst each other, it was very quietly. And we would always be sure to write out our Christmas lists (in very small print) and fold them small enough so they would fit in the elves pouches. They would surely take them directly to Santa and we would be more likely to get what we wanted for Christmas.

The best part was that there was a BIG Gucki at our Grammy's house. So if we went there, we had to be extra good! He was the mac daddy Gucki. Needless to say, he has now moved to my Mom's house, the current Grammy. And my brother also has a Pucki and a Gucki - so the cousins will both have their own elves! Hat's off to whoever created this idea - it's ingenious. Not only is it a fun tradition for the kids, but anything to make kids behave over the holidays is one great idea.

I've waited many years to be able to share this tradition with my children - it's one of my fondest memories of childhood. I can't wait until the boys understand the story - and they can live that fun dream of being so special that Santa's elves actually come and stay at their house for a whole momth before Christmas! What a privelege! And what a way to keep them minding their p's & q's during such an exciting, crazy time for kids. In the meantime, until they are big enough to understand, we'll just continue to BELIEVE ourselves, in the magic of Christmas. It's much more fun that way!