Recently I have seen an awful lot of blogs and social media comments about how horrible those of you who take the whole "elf on a shelf" so seriously are, and I just wanted to stand up and applaud you! First off, so no one gets me wrong, let me share my personal opinion. I am a Christmas psycho! A crazy lady! Call me Buddy the Elf, if you must! I LOVE Christmas, and everything about it! BUT I WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER join you in this tradition! I have too much to do with my own tradition, and those leave no time or energy for silly elves causing mischief. (Don't worry.. they leave plenty of time and energy for other stuff! Just not that!) I just can't do it, and have no desire at all! I have seen the creative mischief they are responsible for, and personally, I don't want to clean up after them, so I won't, but I am glad you do! So, for those who do, this is why I think you are doing some pretty cool things! Here are the complaints I have heard, and my personal opinions of them.
1. "It is a silly tradition." As they sang in Fiddler on the Roof, "TRADITIONS! TRADITIONS! ey... ey.... ey.. ey.. ey .. ey.. TRADITIONS!" How many of us have memories of traditions we did as a child with our family? Some of our favorite childhood memories come from those silly things our parents did. Whether it be singing Christmas carols, getting pajamas on Christmas Eve, making a special treat during the holidays, or whatever! They make us smile! They remind us of family! They help us all be a bit more childlike! It doesn't matter how silly it may be, we look forward to it. It becomes a part of us. It defines us and our childhood, and gives us something to strive to become as we grow from child to parent. I personally think traditions are so important, I would hope we are all striving to create these, whether they be the ones we think everyone does, or something silly just for our own family! I love how my kids (way too old to believe in fairy tale magic) get so excited over magical things! I love how even though they know they have grown to old, they now help set up some magic of their own for their small nieces and nephews who are still so young and believing. I see in them a sparkle of future motherhood with their magic making, and that is something so valuable!! Keep your traditions! They are the magic of life!
2. "You are just creating yourself more work." Whoever signed up for this "parenthood" thing and thought we weren't creating ourselves work is very ignorant! And yep, here is one more spot where you have given yourself more work. I won't argue with that. But then again, preparing your kids a healthy meal, more work than McDonald's. Reading your child stories, more work than not. Helping your kids with homework, more work than letting them fail. Yep, you just gave yourself more work. So ask yourself, is it worth it? Is it worth the work to see your kids smile and giggle? Do your kids come and share their excitement with you, as they discover the funny things they found the elf doing? Is that worth the extra work? If you answered yes, then guess what? I would say you probably love that kid! And their happiness adds to your own. Isn't that an awesome part of being a parent? Thank you for taking the time to work with your kids! Thanks for all that time you invest in them!
3. "The elves are naughty!" Usually, yep. That is what I have seen. I think there are two ways of looking at this. First way, well.. maybe teach your elf to sometimes have a change of character! What if your elf cleaned up some toys that your child forgot to put away, and left them a note saying so? What if the elf cooked up your family a little breakfast treat and left a note saying "Thanks for letting me sleep here and being so kind!". What if an elf knew of someone in need, and left you a note, and possibly something you could take over to share with someone who needs a bit of love and friendship during the holidays? The elves don't have to be naughty. They can also be nice. Of course, a bit of naughtiness can be funny. One of my favorite, and most learning experiences as a mom came when I discovered my kids decided to cook without me. I am unsure of the exact age, but I know it was before my girls were 5, 4, and 2 (because of the house in which it happened). Yep! Flour and sugar EVERYWHERE! I didn't allow myself to giggle in front of them, because I was afraid they would do it again (and it was too big of a mess to want to see again!)! But I did take pictures of them and their mess, because let's face it, it was adorably cute. I did try to tell them we didn't do that because it made a mess, and when we want to cook, we have to get mommy to help. I miss some of their toddler naughtiness. The innocence found in their mistakes were so sweet. Naughtiness doesn't equal to sins or pure evilness. We all mess up. I sometimes wonder what I have stressed too much about. How many times did I worry about a mess, that in all honesty, didn't matter. I have lost my temper before over something I really shouldn't have, and I think most of the moms I have talked to would agree they too have done the same. What if a child learned from the elf that some things aren't worth getting upset? What if they learned to take life easy, not let stress get to them? What if they learned to giggle when you can, instead of yell? And what if they learned to look at the bright side of life instead of stressing over the stuff we don't like?
4. "Making the elf watch for how good you are being takes responsibility away from the parents." Well, I have heard enough parents who DON'T do elf on the shelf tell their small children to behave because Santa was watching. So, unless they never have done this, well, they have no leg to stand on. In fact, if Santa visits their house, well, yep! Same thing. I personally am not ready to get rid of the fat man, even though my youngest is 'too old'. Instead, I have them help as Santa's helpers. Hee hee! I love the fact that as my kids are growing into preteens and teens, they love being a part of the magic! They love dong secret santa gifts to neighbors. They love reading the little kids the Christmas stories (and still sit and listen to me read Christmas story books.. ha ha!) Yes, this is a magical time of year, and I personally am happy to believe in magic this time of year even more than the rest!
5. "It detracts from Christ." OK, this one I will truly agree with to a point, or maybe I should say, it CAN distract, but it doesn't need to. First off, let me say, to those who are not Christian, well, this one doesn't apply! But I still like the Spirit of Christmas that you share with me regardless of your religious (or non religious) beliefs. I still am happy to wish you a Merry Christmas, and glad you smile back and wish it to me too! To those of you who are Christian, please take the time to focus on the reason for the season. Don't get so caught up in the secular, you forget to remember the greatest gift ever given to us. Take time to reflect, time to serve, and time to grow closer to Christ, and follow in His footsteps, and take the time to teach your children to do the same.
Whenever I see someone posting their pictures of their elf mischief, all I can think is how happy I am that your kids have YOU as their parent! I am so happy that they are growing up in a house where there is love, friendship, and laughter. I am thrilled at the thought that you are involved in your kids life, and love to be so!!! I am happy that because of your love and attention, your kids will grow up to be better adults. I am happy that when I see you in a store you are likely to smile and wish me a Merry Christmas, and share some Christmas spirit with me, even though I don't know you. I am happy you help me remember not to stress the small stuff, like messes, and that when you show up at my house and there is a dirty sock on the floor, or dirty dishes in the sink, you might just blame our "elf" (that we don't have) and not judge me. Nope, no interest at all in joining you in your ways, but I want to say thank you for making this world a bit better by having a bit of fun in your home! Please don't let others criticism put a damper on your holiday spirit, don't let others judgement make you doubt your fun, and please don't judge me! I will sit and smile as I see your posts, and realize how creative you each are! Merry Christmas! And don't let those elves cause "too much" trouble!
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