“Elf on the Shelf: An Elf’s Story” will be aired on CBS on November 25, 2011 and “An Elf’s Story” DVD will go on sale the next day. The 23-minute special will be broadcast on November 25, and the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the special will be available the next day. According to the official Elf on the Shelf and CBS websites, “The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf’s Story” will star Chippey, one of Santa Claus’ scout elves. Chippey’s job is to visit little kids and report to Santa Claus on their behavior so St. Nick knows who has been naughty and who has been nice. Chippey is assigned to a family with a young boy named Taylor McTuttle. The CBS press release says Taylor “struggles to believe in the magic of Christmas.” Chippey’s job is not only to report on the boy’s behavior, but to restore his faith in Christmas magic, too. But when Taylor breaks the rules, Chippey loses his magic powers.

The Elf on the Shelf website says that what happens then is “through the power of love and forgiveness, both of them learn that true belief cannot be taught.” CBS says the special carries the “timeless message that Christmas is something we carry in our hearts.”

Look for Elf on the Shelf: An Elf’s Story on CBS later this year!

One parent said, “After hearing from friends and reading reviews how great this was, we bit the bullet and got it. I cannot say enough about how cute this was for our two boys (age 6 and 3). They bolted downstairs every morning to find the elf, and the oldest cried when he touched it accidentally because he thought it would lose its magic. The story and elf was the sweetest thing. Note, however, that parents have to remember to move the elf around every night, or come up with creative excuses for why the elf decided to come back from the North Pole into the same spot! .”

Yes, indeed, if you buy the Elf on the Shelf gift set, be prepared to come up with a new hiding spot every night!! This has been my biggest challenge, as the holidays are a busy time already, and remembering to move the elf every night can be difficult if you don’t make a habit of it. But it’s definitely worth it if you want to bring a little Christmas magic into your house.

More on the Elf on the Shelf Gift Set and Other Elf Toys and Books.

For a slightly more advanced drag-and-drop game, your kids can help the elf fill Santa’s sleigh. For this game, kids need to drag the numbered toys and objects to the matching number on Santa’s sleigh. Each item plays a sound when placed in its proper place.

Both games are easy fun that can help kids get excited about Christmas while learning some simple computer mouse skills.

The site also has some other fun features, such as Christmas jokes, a Q&A with Santa Claus, Christmas music, free emails to Santa, a reindeer cam and a Naughty and Nice “test.” The site navigation isn’t great between pages, but if you click the Home button, you’ll be able to get to all the fun stuff, as well as learn more about the phone calls from Santa.

Have fun!