It’s that time again, the time when the cleverest, craftiest moms and dads dust off their favorite Elf on the Shelf Pinterest boards and create magic for their Facebook friends — I mean, their kids! Of course, their kids.
I’m Too Lazy For An Elf on the Shelf
Honestly, it’s adorable and I know the kids love those elves. In fact, this year, my 8-year-old flat-out ASKED me why we don’t have Elf on the Shelf at our house. I don’t remember what my response was, but here’s the real deal: the reason we don’t do Elf on the Shelf is not that I am a Christmas Scrooge or that I don’t love my kid enough or because the elf got lost on his way to our house (which is actually a decent excuse, I should remember that for next time the kid asks). The reason is 100 percent because I’m just plain lazy.
Non-elfing moms and dads, I implore you — think about it: once you commit to doing Elf on the Shelf, you are IN. You are IN for YEARS and YEARS of coming up with new ways to delight your kids every morning for a MONTH leading up to Christmas. I mean, for me? One semi-Xanaxish night of wrapping gifts in full Ninja Santa mode, just waiting to be caught in the act of wrapping and taking a bite out of the cookies we left for Santa to make it somewhat realistic and leaving a note (Ho Ho Ho, your cookies are delicious but Santa is on Atkins this year, Ho Ho Ho) is enough.
You want me tiptoeing around the kid’s bathroom, sprinkling cheddar Goldfish into the toilet while perching a doll atop the tank and affixing a miniature candy cane “fishing pole” to his hands? And then coming up with a new idea for the next night, and the next, and the next, and then again next year? I can’t. No.
But I can’t escape the elves on the shelves. I see you, Facebook friends, I see all of you. And I admire you! You are seriously amazing and I can tell it’s fun for you and I can practically HEAR your kids giggling every morning. I got nothin’ BUT love for you. But I’m not joining you. And that’s OK.
Overwhelmed With Clever “Elf on the Shelf” Ideas
Here’s the other thing, and maybe this is unique to me and my degree of neurosis, but pull up a chair here: sure, it would be easy enough to use other people’s clever ideas. A quick Google search leaves me a thousand percent overwhelmed. But where’s the fun in that? I’d feel like a sham every time I bent that elf’s arm around a Barbie doll and posed the pair of them in front of the TV screen atop a model car Mustang for their big drive-in movie date night. My kid might think it’s hilarious, but I’d know the truth. Mommy isn’t that clever after all, mommy just went on Pinterest and stole. Merry Christmas!
