Elf On The Shelf
Just this phrase causes parents to fill with excitement or cringe in despair.
When my youngest son was almost 4, our elf, Jingle, entered our life.
The fun begins.
At this time, I had an in-home daycare for about 2 years.
I had never heard of Elf on the Shelf.
One day, 2 of the children I cared for each arrived at my home talking to me about “finding” their elf at home. I had no idea what they were talking about. I expressed my ignorance to one of the children’s mothers. She laughed and left and I didn’t think she believed me.
That evening, I was busy running my older children around to their evening activities and I didn’t give the elf another thought.
The following morning, when this particular mom came to bring her son, she brought me a wrapped gift and told me I had to open it when I was in a room alone and not in front of any of the children. Super curious, I had my assistant(my 14 yr old daughter) sit at the table with the little ones to eat breakfast and snuck upstairs into my bedroom to open my gift.
There it was….The Elf on the Shelf. Book, little stuffed elf, and a DVD.
I had no idea how this would impact my life for years to come.
After all the children left that evening and my own children were in bed, I watched the movie and read the book.
I was shocked. This is what all the little kids were talking about. I decided, why not? I’ll play along.
The true adventures of our elf on the shelf begin.
The next morning, I set the elf on a shelf in the dining room, along with an “elf written” note, the book, and the movie.
Oh my! The joy on my little guy’s face was priceless. The excitement emanating from the faces of the other little ones was contagious. After breakfast, I read them the elf written note, which also asked them to name him. My son, being 3, came up with his name–JINGLE. We read the book and watched the movie and the kids were stoked. We colored elf pictures and baked cookies to give to the elf to take to the North Pole.
Oh, the adventures our elf on the shelf has had!
That was 8 years ago.
The fun continues today.
I won’t lie–it’s not always fun.
It can be stressful.
Especially when I’m busy and maybe forget.
Or when I place it in a foolish location and little hands try to touch it. The horror and fear on the other children’s faces!
Or when my dog thinks it’s a chew toy.
That time I hung it from the ceiling fan and forget, and turned the fan on, and he flew across the room.
Or when I placed it high on a shelf in the kitchen and it somehow fell into a bowl of pancake batter.
As you can see, our elf has had quite the adventures. He’s gotten into trouble and has been quite mischievous at times.
Jingle even traveled with us to a cabin in GA.
He’s caused me to wake up very early many, many mornings.
However, the lessons I’ve learned from this Elf on a Shelf are countless.
~The Christmas season is meant to be magical
~I can be more creative than I’d thought
~My older children enjoy entertaining the little ones in our lives even more than I do
~Working with children is enchanting
~Children’s excitement truly is contagious
~Adding a new tradition into my family has enhanced our Christmas season experience
~Childhood really does fly by in the blink of an eye
~Don’t be afraid to embrace new experiences
Beginning the Elf on a Shelf tradition has caused my family to laugh so many times.
With my children now 22, 19, 17 & 11, I find them so engaged in creating adventures and scenarios for Jingle.
This year, the elf never even crossed my mind.
Apparently, it did cross my 22 yr old’s mind, because he appeared on December 1st and I was honestly just as shocked as my youngest and the little ones. Jingle even brought an “elf-written” note, as he does each year.
How did she remember??
I’m pretty sure my 17-year-old was the first to spot Jingle. His squeals of excitement confused me. He was talking so excitedly and showing everyone the elf that I couldn’t even figure out what he was exclaiming about.
I have not had to do anything for the elf this year. My 17-year-old has decided this is his job. He coordinates with the older 2 and they have completely taken charge.
Although I often catch wind of what they are planning for Jingle, there are many times I’m left clueless.
I’m just as enchanted as my youngest son most mornings as we search for him.
As I am writing this, Jingle is in my bathroom cutting snowflakes out of my roll of toilet paper and scattering them across the floor.
Although I won’t be thrilled cleaning up the mess tomorrow evening, I wouldn’t change this experience for anything.
The Elf on the Shelf has brought some magical Christmas spirit into my home and I’ll be forever grateful for that.
Have you jumped on The Elf on the Shelf bandwagon yet?
Check out my blog post about the Christmas Season
https://learningisawayoflife.com/christmas-season/
Although my parents (mainly my Mom) made magical memories it was before the “Elf on the Shelf.” I so enjoyed reading your post! A couple of years ago I purchased and put the elf out with the rest of the holiday decorations in my home. Unfortunately, no kids at home or visiting, but I vicariously enjoy reading the adventures of my friends’ elves.
That darn elf. Every morning, I rushed to switch the elf to a clever spot with props and a story. Then I would forget, and I would have to come up with another story. My daughter figured it out, so she took over for her younger brother. Now he has it figured out, and we can all rest easier! It was magical and fun while it lasted.
That’s exactly it! It is a magical and fleeting season 🙂
I have been doing Elf on the shelf for years, and we have such fun. My older kiddos love to help put “snowball” in fun spots for my youngest to find. He has definitely brought magical fun to our home also.
I love that it has brought fun to your family too!