Christmas – Page 9 – M. Sullivan Photography

December 7, 2011December 11, 2011 M. Sullivan Photography Family, MCP Project 52, Photos

Project 52 ~ Week 49

Week 49 Theme ~ Traditions

I couldn’t decide which tradition to photograph for this week’s theme. We have a few things that we do every year for the holidays and now we have just started our new tradition of the “Elf of the Shelf”. One thought was to photograph the turtle doves on our Christmas tree that Mike gave me nearly 17 years ago on Christmas morning during our honeymoon in Jamaica. There are two turtle dove ornaments, one for each of us to put on the tree. The idea was inspired from Home Alone 2. A little corny, but very sweet. The quote from Mr. Duncan the toy story owner who gave the turtle doves to Kevin is below.

Mr. E.F. Duncan, Owner Duncan’s Toy Chest: Well, two Turtle Doves. I’ll tell you what you do: you keep one, and you give the other one to a very special person. You see, Turtle Doves are a symbol of friendship and love. And as long as each of you has your Turtle Dove, you’ll be friends forever.

I did take this picture two years ago of one of the turtle doves.

Another thought was to photograph the beautiful wooden hand-carved nativity set that we put out each year. Also a wedding present. We received a number of wedding gifts that are holiday-related. That’s what happens when you get married a week before Christmas. I love setting this up every year. Although I don’t ever know if I have everyone in the proper place.

I finally settled on our new tradition, Elf on the Shelf. Who can resist those cheerful blue eyes and rosy red cheeks?

Here’s a close up.

Buddy had a great hiding spot today – day #7. Come back soon to see where he ended up.

December 5, 2011December 5, 2011 M. Sullivan Photography Family

Elf On The Shelf

Last Christmas we received the “Elf on the Shelf” from Mike’s brother’s family. If you don’t know about the Elf on the Shelf, you can read more here. The short story is that he is the elf assigned to our family that reports back to Santa regarding the naughtiness or niceness of our children. We didn’t get a chance to enjoy the tradition with our elf until this year – too bad though, we really could have used him last year. We took out our Christmas decorations just after Thanksgiving and our elf was ready to get the holidays started. We found out that our elf’s name is Buddy. He has been hanging out in our kitchen so far this season, but we are never sure where he may wind up next. This is where he has been spotted this week.