Our Guardian Elf

We are officially joining the ranks of the Crazies.  Tomorrow morning, December 1st, at the ripe ol’ ages of 12 and 14, my kids will receive their first Elf on the Shelf…

Angel Girl has been hearing many friends talk about their elves arriving after Thanksgiving, and while I admit she is getting on up there in years, I don’t mind encouraging her to stay young and innocent just a tiny bit longer.
Elf-land, here we come!
Before I could begin planning, I had to research to get a grasp on “The Elf on the Shelf” and what all this commitment encompasses.  You know:  see the big picture and all.
What I found out is that the elves are actually sneaky, little tattle tales that rat on kids to Santa EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.  And when they’re done “REPORTING” their stories to the Jolly Ol’ Man, they wreak havoc on their December home which happens to be MY home (in case I had too much free time on my hands and needed extra messes and spills and markers and toilet paper confetti to clean up).  Finally, they blame all their pranks on the sweet, angelic, sleeping babies down the hall.  Quite a night’s work if you ask me!
In spite of what I learned, I’m still on board with adopting an elf for the month.  I am, however, choosing to run this show just a little bit differently…
I don’t need to threaten my kids with The Naughty List; they are the two most amazing creatures that I could have ever dreamed of owning.  They are kind, generous, and very caring.  They love with every bit of their hearts, and those hearts are big and full.  So, instead of worrying with tattling to Santa, our guardian elf is going to help us stay focused on the true meanings of the Christmas season: celebrating the birth of Jesus, embracing our faith, spreading joy and good cheer, giving to others, and recognizing our own rich blessings.  And each night our sweet, non-tattling elf will travel to Santa to describe what fun and rewarding things my kids are doing to enjoy the holidays.
Stay tuned to see what our elf will dream up for a very special 25 Days of Christmas!