Sometimes my mother-in-law is right. Back in 2012, she bought an Elf on the Shelf for our family. I had never heard of it but had seen it in stores. I figured it was a book that came with a doll. The kids knew what the elf does and were excited. Once I learned what the elf does, I didn’t really want it. I had four young children and worked full time, I didn’t have the time or motivation to move some doll around the house. Or so I thought.
They way it works is you read the book and pick a name for your elf. We put names into a bowl to decide on a name. I remember my mother-in-law wrote down “Elfie” and I wrote down “Farty.” Yes, Farty. I thought it would be hilarious to have Farty the elf coming and going from our humble abode. Harriet shares my taste in humor and she also wrote down Farty. Sadly, Farty was not meant to be, the name “Nick” was the lucky name pulled from the bowl. Esmeralda wanted the elf to have the name Nick, so she was delighted. To this day, I firmly believe Farty was the best option. I can’t win them all right? Anyway, once the book is read and the name is selected, the magic ensues.
Each night Nick flies back to the North Pole to give Santa an update on the kids’ behavior. He then flies back to our house and perches himself in a new spot. That’s it, that’s all he has to do. I couldn’t just leave it at that.
Nick started out making trips back and forth but then gradually increased his game. He started bringing a piece of candy here and there. One year he brought chocolate candy that looked like a lump of coal for two little girls that were particularly naughty that season, I don’t suggest doing that. There was ugly crying and they still bring it up to this day. Then Nick brought little notes. Some years he brings candy cane seeds to be planted that grow overnight into candy canes. He does silly things around the house like drawing mustaches on pictures, putting reindeer noses on school photos, zip-lining, and once he toilet papered the tree. He brings a gingerbread house to decorate each year and other gifts. He brings a scavenger hunt that leads to a present to kick off the season the day after Thanksgiving. Nick even pops in a time or two during the year to check on the kids. When behavior is bad Nick often doesn’t fly back to Santa and he stays in his same spot in the house. Elves don’t like to tell Santa things that could get a kid on the naughty list, also bad behavior has a direct impact on magic levels required to safely make the flight. Nick does, on occasion, make the flight during episodes of bad behavior and will return with a nice list. Good children have a check by their name and others may have a question mark by their name.
I usually start thinking about what Nick is going to do around Halloween. I’ll admit that Nick has become a lot of work but it is totally worth it. There is always the scavenger hunt and gingerbread house that he brings. Gifts from Nick are always wrapped in official Santa wrapping paper. Nick has been known to hang out with Barbie, play with the Grinch, write on pictures and mirrors, bring coloring contests, and hide in silly places. I do try to be mindful of the waste created and keep it as minimal as possible.
Nick the elf has become an integral part of our holiday season. The girls are too old to believe in his magic but still enjoy what Nick does or what he brings. Frank (not his real name) is six and the magic is still very much alive like most kids his age. Nick shifts the focus of the holiday season at our house. As a non-religious family, it’s easy to have Christmas just be that day where you get presents. We have several traditions that we do each year because it makes the season meaningful and special. I’ll share some of our traditions in upcoming posts. The meaning of Christmas for us is being together and filling the season with magical moments. I’m so thankful that my mother in law bought this wonderful gift for our family. Thanks to Nick the elf, my kids have grown up with some pretty amazing memories that they will carry with them for life.
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