Happy November DYK!

http://www.amazon.com/Elf-Shelf-Christmas-Tradition-Pixie-Elf/dp/B000XR6MBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322633361&sr=8-1

I think it is $21 at Target. I heard of it last Christmas, but at the time I thought it was just an elf you put "on the shelf" to watch your kids and remind them to be good because they were reporting back to Santa. Then I watched the special on some network (ABC, maybe?) and there is a story behind it where you name the elf to give it its magical powers then it can go back and forth between your house and the North Pole to report to Santa. Every day you are supposed to move it and maybe even put it in silly situations to show it being "active" when you are sleeping at night. Totally a cute idea but way too much work for me...I am resisting participation.

http://www.complicatedmama.com/2009/12/one-complicated-elf-on-the-shelf-iso-creative-ideas/

IDK, Alicia. Mice don't come with such a big following as ants....but I guess if an ant dies in your house you don't have to live with the awful smell. My first job out of college we had rats in the building. They poisoned them with something that was supposed to make them really thirsty so they would go outside the building to find water to die. Well there was a leaky pipe somewhere and they died in the ceiling above my desk. The smell was god-awful!