We have an Elf on the Shelf this year. His name is Sprinkles. Dave’s pretty sure I’m certifiably INSANE by taking this on, and maybe he’s right. I didn’t really NEED one more thing to remember to do. I didn’t really need more stuff to clean up. I didn’t need to be up late at night planning our next move. I didn’t really need more responsibility.
But I DID need to laugh. I needed to watch my kids eyes widen in excitement. I needed to hear squeals of laughter. I needed to smile and enjoy some Christmas magic. I needed to have fun. And that’s exactly what happened when Sprinkles came into our house. I don’t think the kids have stopped smiling.
It does require a lot of brain power, though, and I’m still trying to figure out this gig. The kids have all responded in different ways. Emma is skeptical, of course, but thinks the Elf is HYSTERICAL. Katie mostly just likes to fling it around the room and try to feed it sugar cookies. But Ben- he has whole-heartedly fallen for this little Elf. He leaves food out for him, puts out books for him to read, and even writes him notes.
The kids couldn’t find Sprinkles one morning. So Emma said, “We have to think like an Elf”. After about 5 minutes of ransacking the house Ben said, “Maybe he was hungry!” All 3 ran into the kitchen going through drawers and cupboards. When they opened the refrigerator there he was- propped up against some Egg Nog, jelly jar opened, holding a big spoon. I seriously don’t think I’ve heard my kids laugh that hard in my life. Music to my ears.
But Ben has required me to lay down some ground rules for Elf on the Shelf. He came and woke me up around 4:30 in the morning excited to see what the Elf had been up to. I said sleepily, “Bud, it’s dark out, you need to go back to bed. We’ll check in the morning.” He nodded and walked out. I should have known better. About 2 minutes later I heard a muffled scream and footsteps pounding down the hallway. I sat up and there he was again, breathing really hard.
“Sprinkles is standing on the table staring at me!” He said in a loud shaky whisper. I tried to shake the sleepiness off. “What? Ok, I’m coming out.” I got up and followed him as he tiptoed to the kitchen. We peeked around the corner and sure enough- through the darkness it looked like a scene from Goonies or something.
But when I turned on the kitchen lights there was Sprinkles, tied up to a 2 liter bottle surrounded by Army guys. Ben doubled over laughing, no longer scared out of his mind.
Anyway- new rule. They can’t go out to see what the Elf has done until morning.
They also can’t leave notes out telling the Elf to clean their rooms- this has to be done by THEM.
And the Elf doesn’t do homework either, much to Emma’s dismay…..
Stay tuned for more Elf stories…
