The Challenge of the Elf

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So I must confess I am a Christmas-time junkie. I LOVE all things Christmas; literally it is my favorite time of the year. I love the decorations, the events, the spirit of hope and joy, giving gifts, traditions. I love the simplicity of Christmas but I also love the wonder and excitement. For me and our family, the center of this always remains the birth of Jesus which we believe is the true meaning of the season. For me though, it’s also a time celebrate! So, I embrace the “Holly Jolly Christmas!” and all it has to offer.

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Tinsel the Elf

Now with that said I must make my second confession: I have a true love-hate relationship with the little hardly stuffed, non-moldable, always needing to be moved Elf on the Shelf. Let me introduce to our elf; his name is Tinsel. I’m sure you’re familiar with his kind. If not, consider yourself blessed and do not waste your time reading the rest of the post (no really, there’s lots of other wonderful posts, catch up on one of them or read the Cincinnati Moms Blog holiday guide again… I hear they put new stuff on there all the time).

Now as I said, it’s a love-hate relationship. I like the idea of Tinsel. He’s a little elf that helps out Santa, a very busy guy, who has so many kids to be accountable for. He’s playful, witty, and magical, the heart of childhood. I love traditions and creating memories. Pinterest provides me with a plethora of ideas of how I can make the experience of Tinsel wonderful and each year I pin several new ideas or things that I think Adelynn would find exciting. I vow to make a list of how I am going to pose him each night, BUT this is what happens instead: I get Adelynn bathed, dressed for bed, read a book, say prayers. I start straightening up the house and realize I am tired. I shower myself and get in my cozy flannel sheeted bed. I watch a little TV or read. I start to fall asleep, when all of a sudden….

“CRAP, I FORGOT TO MOVE THE STUPID ELF!”

elf-decalI jump out of bed and file through my mind any of the ideas Pinterest provided me that I can manage, oh yeah, and have supplies for. I quickly decide I do not have the energy to wrap the whole toilet in Christmas paper or create a mini Tinsel sized breakfast. I once again did not insert and sew wire into Tinsel flimsy body so all of the ideas of molding him into fun positions or having him hold something are out. I also have to account for the fact my child is 4, so in order to follow the Elf on the Shelf rule (“No touching the elf”), I must place him somewhere semi out of reach. I consider doing the “snow angel” idea but then remember that I need to cook the next day and having flour spread across my counter top with an elf laying in the middle is going to be frustrating. I finally manage to decide to have Tinsel ride the train in my Christmas village. After strategically placing tape around him to make sure his little body does not plummet off the book shelf, but is also out of sight and the elf on the shelf move is complete.

That is for one night. The same exact shenanigans will occur the next night and the next night for 24 freaking days until the little guy goes back with Santa on Christmas Eve. It’s exhausting, and much more brain power than I care to use right before going to bed.

Now here’s where the love part comes in again. Each morning for 24 days my little one comes running into my room so excited with anticipation of figure out where Tinsel might be. She darts out of the room in a full house search. When she sees him sitting on the train, she exclaims, “That silly Tinsel, look mom he’s so funny.” Joy, pure childhood joy. And that little elf brought that to her and well he brought that to me as I watch Adelynn smile and laugh as she explains to me how Tinsel got way up there. So despite my frustrations with the nightly ritual of getting out of my comfy almost asleep state, I realize that my little girl will only be little for a short time.  So each night I will drag myself out of bed, spend way too much time contemplating what to do, and take on the challenge of the elf.

We all know that there are some really complicated elf set-ups out there, but I would love to hear your simple ones.  So, if you want to help me out with my nighttime last minute elf-moving ritual, please share your suggestions in the comments below.
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Amy
I am a born and raised Cincinnatian and love all that this “big-little” city has to offer. Gardening, organization, maintaining life-long friendships and finding new places around town with my daughter; I always like to be busy but am also quite the homebody. Learning to truly find balance in life and being more “wholely” healthy are things I am leaning more into these days… well at least making the effort to.

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