during the holidays when i was growing up my mom would pull out the bobble head elves. they looked something like below, only much cuter. i think my grandmother made them for my mother.
they started out with styrofoam heads, but then a few of them broke so she had to replace them with wood heads. their pipe-cleaner bodies couldn't compete with the wood head and thus they became overly top heavy and bobbly. it's my favorite characteristic of theirs.
we would hide them all around the house and chuckle at how their heads affected their poses.
i specifically remember my brother and i making a little game of it. we would move them around everyday to try to find a better spot than the other had found. on door knobs, door frames, fireplaces, in the tree, on the stair rails-wherever-it was always a little hunt for them. it united our family, sparked some creativity, and is a magical memory of mine.
because there is nothing better than keeping family traditions, this year i ventured to make some for my sister. but my selfishness prevented me from giving them all to her and i kept some for my own little family.
i'm sad i'm so selfish, but happy i kept some. i can't wait to see what they become to our family, hiding games or not. and hope that i can do a better job of passing on traditions i love to my little ones.
