I'm so bad at this. I did not grow up with Elf On A Shelf. I grew up celebrating St. Nick's feast on December 6th. This meant putting a pair of shoes outside your front door on the night of December 5th and in the morning a small token religious item would be found in our shoes as a reminder of the season we were celebrating. But this was only one day for a parent to remember a "tradition" related to Christmas...not 25-30 days of remembering to move a stuffed toy item around your home.
Who thought that adding this "tradition" into our homes was a brilliant idea? It's hard enough to remember the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Secret Santa, Santa Claus, St. Nick, and any other "traditional" roles a mother (and in some cases a father) are required to play, upon becoming a parent. And now I have to play the part of an Elf? Seriously?!?!
Thank goodness, my credibility as a parent isn't solely based on my ability to play the parts of so many "magical" roles for my children...or I would have been kicked out of the parenthood club, repeatedly during the last 15+ years!
And let's not forget the parent's that really get into this whole Elf On A Shelf business. I've seen the pictures on Facebook of the "amazing" places and things other Elves seem to be experiencing in other people's homes. But not in my home. Our Elf is lucky if he even gets to move every night, much less be found doing something "wild and crazy". He is living on the edge - literally - when he is on top of a picture frame on the wall. That would be our Elf's wildest adventure, thus far.
Our poor Elf on a Shelf (which the kids named Michael this year, since that is 2nd son's middle name and he thought he looked like a "Michael" - whatever that means. LOL!), seems to regularly "forget" to move at night. And when the kids have noticed he is still in the same place he was the day before, they usually comment that "he probably didn't have anything to report to Santa so he never left his spot." Yeah - good answer kids!
I find myself spending time during the day trying to think about where would be a "cool" place for Michael the Elf to be found in the morning, and then I go to sleep and forget to move him! Geesh!
So this morning when Michael the Elf appeared that he had not moved last night - again - I knew I was in trouble. And it's only December 4th. This is going to be one LONG month of December!
After the sound of disappointment creeped out of son #2 and son #3's mouths, I suggested that perhaps he was a day-moving elf (because that seems to be the only time I "remember" to move him). And that he had so much to tell Santa (all good, of course), it was just taking him longer to get back to our home and find a new place to hang out at night. They both seemed to believe that had to be the reason and hoped he would be somewhere new when they get home from school today.
Of course, just as I am getting my stories straight with son #2 and son #3, it dawns on me...how does this Elf On A Shelf thing work when kids have two separate homes? Does Michael the Elf only move when the kids are with me? Or does their dad need to have his own Elf On A Shelf for his home? Or does Michael the Elf REALLY move between the two homes, physically? Is there an Elf On A Shelf rules and procedures manual somewhere that I am not aware of that I need to get a copy of?
I admit, I was a bit late in joining the Elf On A Shelf "tradition" which I originally didn't seem to fully understand. After several years in a row, of my children questioning each year why their friends had an Elf and we didn't, I decided we should probably get our own Elf. While the concept is fun and cute and my kids seem to enjoy having Michael the Elf around the house...Christmas really is about the birth of Christ. Not the materialism associated with "all of the gifts" Santa is going to bring children, based on the "reports" our Elves are telling him.
Too bad Elf On A Shelf doesn't come with a religious twist for the Christmas Season. How does Michael the Elf really help prepare for Santa AND Christ? Sounds like a great conversation starter with the kids tonight at dinner. And maybe Michael the Elf will move tonight to a new place - if I can remember.
