MOUNT VERNON — For Kurt and Sandy Schisler and their 9-year-old triplets — Hunter, Jordan and Steven ‚ it just doesn’t get more magical than Christmas.
Like most folks, the Schislers look forward to celebrating Christmas and the holiday season each year. In doing so, they share a wealth of family traditions, old and new, as the calendar creeps toward December 25.
A new tradition for the Schislers began this year when the kids saw the animated Christmas special “An Elf’s Story,” and became familiar with “The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition,” the popular children’s book co-written by the mother and daughter duo of Carol Aebersold and Chandra Bell.
If you visit the Schislers’ home, you’ll find the book prominently displayed on a piano. As for the location of the Elf, well, that’s where the magic comes in. It all begins when Santa Claus sends out “scouts” to Elf Adoption Centers all around the world. Hunter picks up the story:
“Santa sends his Elf to see if you are naughty or nice,” she explained. “Our Elf is named Fred, and every night he goes back to the North Pole and tells Santa if you’ve been good.”
Fred makes a round-trip each and every night during the holidays, and being a feisty Elf, he hides in a different place every morning.
