*AD – the item in this review was gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
When it comes to Christmas time, we are always looking for new traditions and ways to bring magic to the holidays. My family always had lots of traditions – making Santa special cookies, leaving them out along with milk, creating reindeer food to sprinkle around the front garden, making Christmas cards for literally anyone we could think of… It’s always fun to have something to celebrate and something to look forward to. When we heard about the story of The Reindeer Feeder, naturally we wanted to introduce this new tradition to our family!
The Reindeer Feeder is a stress-free tradition that brings a bit more magic to Christmas. Inside the box, there is the story of the Shrumann – an type of elf that is dedicated to making sure that Santa’s reindeer are well fed and ready for Christmas night. This specific elf featured in the book, spends a lot of time thinking that his actions are actually for nothing, that nobody knows about the Shrumann, and that they work hard for seemingly nothing. It’s a tough life being an elf who feed and cleans animals that are more known them themselves. However, he does realize that his job is very important! He is also sent to a human’s house, to be a stop along the way.
Shrumann do a few different things when at a human’s house. They obviously provide a bit of food for the reindeer who end up there, but they also check that the room is free of clutter and items (or else Santa might trip!) and most importantly. They make sure that the children are fast asleep, so that Santa can deliver the gifts. I love the idea of an elf that would make sure everyone is actually sleeping before Santa gets in – that way, there is no trying to stay up all night to ‘catch’ Santa! The story is a bit long for a bedtime story, but still is full of so much magic and whimsy, that it’s well worth the extra bit of being up.
There is also a Shrumann plushie, which is perfect for putting up around the holidays. Unlike the Elf on a Shelf, this Shrumann is not looking to cause trouble. There is also a little license for feeding reindeer, which is very cute, as well as a bunch of window stickers that look great for Christmas – all in white of course. Lastly, there is a little bag, perfect for carrots for the reindeer, which can be placed out along with Santa’s cookies or whatever else you normally leave out for Santa himself. It’s a great little package of items that all fit with the story and help bring this new character and job at the North Pole to life.
The Reindeer Feeder is a great story, that children really seem to like. I love how high quality everything in this box is, and how easy it is to set up this tradition and start it within any household. It’s just so cute!