Holiday Treasures
Matthew
DeMatteo
by
T
he Elf on the
Shelf is a book
that we read
as a family on
Thanksgiving
night. Then, the next morning, Alvin, our family’s very
own adopted elf, magically appears somewhere in the
house. The first time we read this book, our boys had to
give the elf a name. They chose Alvin. Now he comes back
to us every year.
Alvin is sent by Santa to observe the boys until Christmas to make sure that they’re behaving and staying on
the “Nice” list. He reports back to the North Pole every
night and returns to a different place in our house the
next day. Our three boys race downstairs every morning
to try to be the first to find Alvin in his new spot. The
boys (Joey, nine years old; Nicky, seven; and Ryan, four)
all still believe that Alvin is magic, although our nine year
old has some very serious
doubts. I think he still plays
along for the benefit of
his younger brothers.
As I write this, it’s
just after Halloween
and the boys have
already started talking about it. They
can’t wait for Alvin
to come back
after Thanksgiving this year!
Yo u t o o
can adopt
an elf and
Matthew and Christine with their boys
add some
Nicky, Ryan, and Joey (left to right).
wonder and
mystery to your holiday excitement. Check
out www.elfontheshelf.com, where you can purchase the
book and adopt a family elf of your very own.
Matthew DeMatteo is Director, Business Development,
inScience Communications, 770 Township Line Road, Suite
300, Yardley, PA 19067. He can be reached at 267-275-7793
or [email protected].
The “Tuna Can” for Christmas
by
I
AJ Dopwell
n 1998 for Christmas, my parents surprised me with my
first car! Actually my parents gave me the car about two
weeks before Christmas. Here’s what happened…
I came home from school (on the bus) and saw the car
parked in our driveway. I thought my parents had
company, so I didn’t think anything of
it. When I got inside, I asked my
parents, “So, who’s visiting?”
They responded, “No one
is visiting. What made
you ask that?” When I referenced the car outside,
they pretended they had
no idea it was in the driveway. When I directed them to
the living room window to show them the
car, my father pre-empted and said, “OH, that car! Well
that’s your car – we thought you knew.”
What an awesome surprise! I’ll never forget it. It was a
1984 Plymouth Reliant. We called the car The Tuna Can,
6 THE EXCHANGE www.HMExchange.com
because it was like a tin can. It was silver/grey metallic
with a grey bench-style seat in the front. Being that I was
6’4” at the time, my friends always made fun of
me in it. The car had two doors and sat pretty
low to the ground. So I was a pretty big guy
squished into a pretty small car. In addition, I
would have to pump the gas pedal about five
or six times in order for it to start on winter
mornings.
It was a classic! It wasn’t in great shape,
so taking The Tuna Can on long trips
wouldn’t have been the best move. HowThe Man Inside
ever it did get me to and from school each
the Can.
day…and was ideal for weekend driving around
town. The Tuna Can was the perfect first car – until,
sadly, it finally died on me two years later.
AJ Dopwell is Media Account Supervisor, CMI, 2200 Renaissance Boulevard, Suite 160, King of Prussia, PA 19406. He can
be reached at 484-322-0880 or [email protected].
DECEMBER 2011