For five solid years, I was strong. For five years, I didn’t cave. I said I wasn’t doing it and I kept my foot down. I had some really good reasons for my anti-elf stance. Mainly, I didn’t want any unnecessary responsibility and I viewed Elf on the Shelf as one more chore that clogged up the couple of peaceful hours after my kids’ bedtime. My to do list is already a mile long and steadily not getting accomplished, I would be crazy to add anything else.
For five years, I watched other parents create so much magic and so many fun memories with their elves. I watched via Facebook as all of my parent friends created some really magical times for their kids.
For five years, I didn’t see what I was missing out on. Until I did.
I finally had enough of missing the magic and caved. And now I’m an elf mom. Because I got tired of missing out on the magic. I waited (im)patiently for our very own elf to arrive and while I waited, I planned all the fun we would have. I had our elf named not long after I clicked “complete order.” It’s Trixie, in case you’re wondering.
To be clear, I got the Elf on the Shelf for myself.
I got this dang elf for ME to be able to see my kids enjoy all the magic that I could muster up. I changed my mind because I got tired of missing the magic, tired of missing the excitement in my kids’ eyes, tired of resisting how much fun we would have.
I can’t wait to make all sorts of fun memories for years to come. I’m so excited for our kids to be able to tell tales of all the elf antics as they were growing up. I’m excited to start this tradition for our family. I’m excited to hear my kids try to make sense of it amongst themselves, try to figure out exactly how the magic works, to work together to earn good reports for Santa.
So, if you’re on the fence, my advice is to throw caution to the wind and embrace the magic. The world is a mess and we can all stand to benefit from just a little bit of fun.
