There are more than 11 million copies of Elf on the Shelf in the world, and I am sure you have one in your household. Who could not get on board with this phenomenon? This magical creature comes down for the holiday season to watch over your children, making them mindful of their actions.
There is something about looking down at your child and saying, “Your elf is watching and will tell Santa.” And every night this magical creature is supposed to move around the house. Some of you will have him do naughty things. Some keep it simple and sweet.
Whatever you choose, it is another thing we have to do during the holiday season. Not the best time to add more to our list of things to do. Although there are websites and blogs that give you different ideas on what to do, adding this to your nightly routine is not very convenient. Not to mention many of these activities require you to gather supplies.
So at the end of the day you have to wait for your children to fall asleep and get everything set up for the next morning. And I say the night before because if you’re anything like me, if it is not done that night I will not remember the next morning. And we all know how that will end up: epic mom fail.
Our Elf on the Shelf . . . and Off the Shelf
Our elf was purchased by the grandparents when my daughter was just an infant, so the first few Christmases I would pull the book out and read it to her. The elf would be placed on the mantel where he would stay for the holiday season.
One year, as I finished reading the book to my daughter, she looked up at her elf and said, “His name is Buddy, Buddy the elf.” I was ecstatic because the movie Elf is one of our favorites to watch together. At that time, I knew she now understood what the elf was about and that the process would now begin.
I started off simply. Buddy would hang out with Barbie, and he liked having tea parties with the stuffed animals. Also around that time is when the phenomenon hit. The resources of ideas were endless.
Staying on the Shelf
And that is when I decided to start my boycott of this elf — although that only meant something to me. After all, I had already begun this process years ago, and I could not ban him completely or I would have another mom fail.
He still arrives every year the day after Thanksgiving. He brings breakfast — normally donuts or cinnamon rolls. I do add Christmas sprinkles to make them festive . . . so that counts, right?
We talk to him daily to let him know if we received a bad or good report from school. He is a great reminder to my daughter that she needs to be mindful of what she is doing daily — a helpful resource for us during the busy holiday schedule.
So here is my secret as to why our elf does not move every day: Buddy is tired! He has such a long journey flying all the way to the North Pole on the weekends to see Santa that he needs his rest. So he leaves Saturday night and comes back Sunday morning and rests. He picks his spot and settles down for the week.
On Christmas Eve, Buddy will leave a small gift and a note saying his goodbyes and that he can’t wait to see her again next year — thus ending our time with Buddy. My daughter and I are both happy. Score for this mom!
