i-love-elf-on-a-shelf

The weekend after Thanksgiving is busy for most families; putting up the Christmas tree, putting out Christmas decorations inside and outside the house, and really prepping for the holiday season. We do all that stuff in our household, but there is one thing that we add to the list; we bring out our Elf on the Shelf, Herbie. Yes, I said it, The Elf on the Shelf. Now, when it comes to this cute little thing, people either hate it or love it. I happen to love it. 

If you don’t know about The Elf of the Shelf, please crawl out from under the rock you have been living underneath for the last 5-6 years! Kidding…sorta. It rherbie2eally is a great tradition to start if you have kids, it does take a little work and some a lot of creativity. The basis of it is that one of Santa’s elves comes to look in on your kids, (some find this to be creepy) and then report back to the North Pole every night. When the elf comes back in the early morning hours, he/she finds a new place in the house to sit and watch. This is where parents start to get annoyed with the whole idea of this elf.

You have to move it every night after the kids go to bed because the kids wake up in the morning expecting their elf to be in a different spot. And this is when you have to become creative because the normal sitting on the mantle can get boring for the kids and the elf! 

We received our elf from my mother in law about 5 years ago and I have been having fun with Herbie all this time. When we first got him I would move him from the mantle, to the Christmas tree, to the bar, and make those same rounds. But then, I started seeing that people were doings crazy things with their elf, like putting powder sugar out and having their elf make snow angels, or hiding in the fridge. I don’t get creative every night, and to be honest, there are some mornings when I wake up and realize that I haven’t moved him and then I find a new spot for him before the brood comes downstairs! However, about 50 percent of the time I try to get creative so the boys look forward to Where’s Herbie? 

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I understand that Christmas is not about this elf, and there are more important things to focus on during the Christmas season. However, my oldest is almost to the age of not believing in Santa, and this breaks my heart a little bit. I feel that having the elf helps prepare them for the fact that we have to believe in Christmas spirit; that we always have someone watching over us, and having this tangible object may help my boys with that concept. 

We all have traditions in our homes: eggnog (the best), gingerbread houses, Christmas music playing non-stop, missile toe, and the list goes on. In our house hold, we have Herbie as a tradition, and our family loves every day of it and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Plus, if the boys start acting crazy, I just remind them that Herbie is watching and he has a direct line to Santa!herbie3

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