Why I Don’t Do Elf on the Shelf (and I’m Not Even Kinda Sorry)

I know. Some of you love your elf. It’s a favorite memory-builder for the kids, and you probably already created a Pinterest board of clever ideas for where to hide the little guy this year. You know who I’m talking about — the Elf on the Shelf.

That’s great.

For you.

I just can’t do Elf on the Shelf. Not this year.

But I just can’t do it. Can. Not.

Why?

Because as much fun as you have with your elf, for me it’s just another thing I’ve gotta add to my Christmas to-do list. And I’m determined to scale back this year, for the love of Jesus.

No, really. For the love of Jesus.

Here’s the thing. We all have choices, right? You wouldn’t dare think of yanking the elf, but you might skip the white elephant lunch at work. And I might blow off the cookie exchange but there’s no way I’d miss volunteering for the school Christmas party. And so on. Of all the Christmas traditions and activities out there for us moms to grab, nobody does them all. We each decide what’s more important and what we can let slide.

But I don’t think we do it well enough.

My December agenda is jam-packed with anything from church brunches to gift wrapping parties to nursing home singalongs. Some to-do’s are non-negotiable, I mean, I can’t exactly ditch the mandatory school Christmas concert, nor would I want to.

But what about the stuff we add to our holiday calendars that causes more stress than joy joy joy?

Is it time to cut it out?