Alrighty….so you’ve got yourself an Elf. Go, you! (You, sucker you!) 😉 You think you’re pretty prepared to suddenly unleash this amazeball Christmas magic into your home, now with this little dude at your side. You have visions of sugarplums and suddenly well-behaved kids dancing in your head. And thanks to this new North Pole Squatter, youre imagining kiddies so happy and gleeful, with their eyes so wide with wonder that you’re already tapping yourself on the back for being the best-most-fun mom ever! You also have it in your pretty little head that you are going to rock the shishkebab out of posing this Elf every. single. morning..for the ENTIRE month… because you’re so sure you’ve got ideas till the cows come home…
Until, that is, day three rolls around, and you wake up realizing that the kids woke up well before you, and you haven’t set the Elf up anywhere. You break out into a light panic, as the words “holy shit balls” slips from your lips, and start scrambling across your bed, half naked in hopes of making it into your lounge before your kids do…And in your stressed out state, you are now creatively stuck to think of what to say or do with said elf!…And then you hear it..your little one’s wails, as she discovers that elf hasn’t moved since yesterday (or maybe even for three days in a row now), meaning the magic in the elf has died, meaning Christmas is dead, you have failed as a parent, as a human..and now all meaning of life ceases to make sense…Cue Armedgedon, as all your attempts at consoling your little angel prove futile…
*scratch record*
Or maybe you do wake up…at like 3am, in the same panic I do when I realise that the bloody tooth fairy forgot to make her appearance..again…So you now find yourself sneaking downstairs at an ungodly hour, lost at the thought of what the dickens you could do with this little guy to keep it fun, and to break the cycle of your half-assing Elf efforts of late.
*scratch record*
Or worse…when after five days have passed and your little elf still hasn’t moved from the curtain rail, and the kids start questioning you, and why it doesnt move…Is he dead? Or do you move him, mommy?…You do as any other good, mature parent would: you turn it on them! “Did one of you touch him? I TOLD you not to touch him. Did you make his magic disappear?” (mom of the year award nominee)
The truth is, no matter how good your intentions are for these the next 24 days, you are very likely going to mess up. You’re either gonna forget – like a lot – or you’re going to run out of ideas, or at some point (hopefully not) wish you never started. But the magic of Christmas delicately sits in your hands the moment you commit to this elf. So to help you get through this month, I’ve put a little calendar together for you to help you with some ideas.
And to cater for everyone’s tastes/styles, aside from the crafty and baking ones, I’ve also included a few easy ones that don’t require too much prep, and some silly ones to cater for your child’s potty humour that you so hate, but have got to come to terms with. Not to mention, I also included some get out of jail for free ideas or day off’s. 😉
I know it seems arb right now, but trust me, when you’re stuck for ideas, and you hear those little feet pitter pattering closer and closer, as you stand there frozen with the elf in your hand, you’ll wish you had this handy little ideas calendar.
So you don’t have to follow it sequentially at all, the idea is to just to help inspire you. But the Day One’s North Pole Breakfast is still a banging way to kick it all off….So even if you fail dismally throughout the month, just remind the kids about that awesome breakfast the Elf gave them right in the beginning!
ps. Also just in case youre already wanting to cave under the pressure of it all, know that we all balls up, ok? Just this morning (only day two of it all), after a previous full day of activties, my preggo self was left feeling trashed this morning and my big girl beat me down stairs, only to find her elf had not moved. Empathizing with her, we simply explained that the trip from the North Pole can get exhausting and she probably just needs a day or so to recover and that she will be back at it again soon. And boom, catastrophe averted.
My last word on this…we all parent differently, as we are all simply different individuals, and as such, we all have different takes on Christmas “fun”. So, what’s fun for some, is tedious and tiring and a bothersome for others. But the one common thread in this whole Elf business is that we all want to see those sweet little smiles light up our children’s faces when they see these little elves “in action”. Otherwise why did you go out and get an elf at all, right? To see their eyes fill with wonder and amazement, as these small little make-believe gestures spark their imagination in their growing minds, and weave magic into their beings.
Nothing wrong with trying to spin up some extra magic and happiness for these littles that we love so much, and no matter how it all goes down, or how many times you forget this month, try to keep your own child-like wonder alive inside of you, be easy on yourself and try to have fun with it! The kids feed off on the good energy of the home more than anything else – no matter what’s the source! Whether you create it, or are it!
Now, go out there, and have fun! Also please feel free to add suggestions to mine in the comments below – Im always looking for fun, new and original elf ideas! X
Yeah I forgot to move our elf on day 2 🙁 but thank you so much for the suggestions. I was super proactive this year and have a list with a bunch of things planned for our elf and this will help for those days I don’t have the energy or for when I misplace my list (which is bound to happen)
My husband took over “elf on the shelf” duties?