I will admit that when I first heard about Elf on the Shelf, I was appalled. A creepy elf that sits around the house and watches over you and then reports back to Santa was just a little too much for me. No way!
But then . . .
I started seeing all the cute things the elf did every morning. Man, people got creative! Jealousy started creeping in. Not because I felt bad for neglecting my children of the fun, but because I wanted in on the fun!
I started thinking about what Christmas meant to my family and how I could incorporate the elf into our traditions. When my son was about two, we started doing the Jesse Tree ornaments to tell the story of Christmas. Every morning our son would get to “open” a new ornament and we would read a little story. So this made me pause . . .
Why couldn’t the elf bring the ornament every morning? This was my A-HA moment! After a bit of Pinterest surfing, I had a board full of cute ideas for our elf to be doing every morning, all while bringing a Jesse Tree ornament. I didn’t place any rules on our elf like, “no touching,” or “he’s watching you.” In fact, our son often went to sleep with the elf, only to wake up in the morning with him gone and in a new place! IT.WAS.SO.FUN! (For my son, of course!)
Fast forward a few years and a new baby entered our family. My energy level for doing cute things with the elf had diminished. I was just too tired, but our oldest had come to expect the elf to arrive (totally my doing)! So a little more searching, asking around, and I discovered a gem. I mean, TOTAL.GAME.CHANGER!
Help with the Shelf might be one of my favorite things of all time! If you do the elf in any capacity and are just a little worn out with coming up with ideas, then you need to check this out. They put together kits with everything you need for your elf. Activities, crafts, supplies, instructions, EVERYTHING! There is absolutely no thinking involved! And if that wasn’t enough — The owners are local Fort Worthmamas! Not only are you getting a super fun tradition going, but you are also supporting a local business.
So friends, how do you elf? Do you elf? My family was able to incorporate this super fun tradition, all while keeping the real meaning of Christmas in the forefront. And now, thanks to Help with the Shelf, I don’t even have to think up ideas!
