A very common tradition for many families is the Elf on the Shelf. While my kids are still a little too young to understand what the elf is, I can tell you right now, we will not be doing it. I have talked to a lot of parents and they are just not selling me on the whole stress the elf causes.
Parents that are on the fence about the Elf, here is what you need to know:
If you give your kids an Elf
You are committing to twenty five days of consistent magic. I love the Christmas season; yes, this post makes me sound like the Grinch, but I LOVE Christmas. I am all for the activities and the magic – but the Elf is a lot of work! I once had a friend that woke up at five in the morning in a cold sweat because she forgot to make the Elf do something. She rushed out to the living room, flipped on some lamps, and quickly threw the Elf across the room because she was too tired to do anything else. A few hours later, her kids came into her bedroom screaming. The Elf she had thrown landed on a lamp and started on FIRE. Her kids were devastated and this friend felt terrible. She now has six elves she has to move EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR 25 DAYS!
If you give your kids an Elf
You had better not lose the thing. Packing up after Christmas can be a bit hectic and you are bound to lose a thing or two. That thing had better not be the Elf! A friend of mine lost her kids’ elves and thought her kids wouldn’t mind if some new elves showed up this year. Her kids did mind – they were furious. The new elves were frauds and they demanded Santa send the correct elves the next night. My friend frantically searched the internet for the same elves and found them on Amazon for $15 more than she had originally spent. Not wanting to spend the extra $15, she found some in a store 30 min away that would only hold the elves for 30 min before they closed. She sped all the way there and received a $300 ticket for her efforts.
If you give your kids an Elf
Start a Pinterest board. You are going to need every idea out there because if your kids’ elf underperforms compared to the kids at school, it’s going to add some stress. Pinterest is chock full of magical ideas that will entertain your kids. Be careful how much “magic” you bring because you are going to need to stay consistent each year. Life can be crazy, so be prepared and only take on what you can honestly handle.
If you gave your kids an Elf
If you are one of those parents that has already brought the Elf into your home, way to go! I am impressed with your determination. I think you have a lot of love for your kids and making their childhood magical. If you are stressing about the elf and have had a meltdown experience, just know you are a great parent. You chose to take on a lot of work in order to make Christmas season awesome for your kids. Also google Santa’s Lazy Gnome because he may be your way out if you are looking.
