The most popular Elf

There’s

a guy who hides and watches me every day. Surprisingly, I have no desire to

pursue a restraining order. That’s because he’s our Elf on the Shelf, AKA Big

Johnny.

You may

have heard of the Elf on the Shelf, or you may not have. A lot depends on whether

or not you have kids, and how old they are.

If you’re

unfamiliar with the phenomenon, this is what you need to know: It’s a doll that

parents place around the house from Thanksgiving until Christmas. Parents warn

their kids that the Elf is watching them to be sure they’re being good. It’s

massively popular.

The elf drives mothers

(including me) throughout the country crazy.

Part of the Elf on the Shelf

‘legend’ is that the elf returns each night to the North Pole to tell Santa

what’s going on in the household where he lives. Each morning he returns,

landing in a different spot. Hence why it drives mothers crazy.

Did I get everything on the

grocery list? Did I remember to turn on the dishwasher? And then just as you

lay your head on the pillow to catch some sleep, it hits you. You forgot to

move the elf! And forgetting to move the elf is not a good thing; it sparks

1,000 questions.

We got Big Johnny this year,

so I haven’t been “that mom” who forgets to move the elf yet, but I have

friends who have committed the crime.

My son Tyler loves getting

up every morning to see what his elf has done the night before.

So far Big Johnny has drank

the pancake syrup, hung upside down from the curtains, made his bed in one of

my casserole dishes, drank a Capri Sun, watched cartoons, played in the

Christmas Tree and built a mansion out of Legos.

It can be difficult to come

up with ideas so here are some that I found on Pinetrest that aren’t to hard to

do:

– Take

a picture of the Elf, make a few copies and replace all the family photos with

a picture of the Elf and have him sitting beside them

– Have

him sitting looking like he’s going through your purse or wallet

– Put

snow on a plate in the freezer, make it look like a little snowman not quite

finished with eyes and nose etc. and have the Elf ‘building’ the snowman

– Stick

the Elf outside at a window or door looking desperate to get in – He got locked

outside!

– Set

him up with your ipod or mp3 player and ear buds

– Have

the Elf sitting in the middle of the floor with scissors and handmade paper

snowflakes and some paper mess around him

– Have

him playing video games/DS/tablet

– Turn

milk red or green with food coloring and have the Elf sitting beside it in the

fridge

– Have

the Elf writing a letter saying all of the good things your child has done

since he’s been watching

– Hide

the Elf somewhere somewhat obvious that your child would be able to find and

have him with your keys/cell phone/wallet and pretend to be looking all over

for it.

– Have

the Elf make his own Christmas list (Elf pants, Elf shoes etc.)

I hope

your kids have just as much fun with their elf as mine does with Big Johnny. He

calls him his best elf friend! So here is to keeping the Christmas spirit

alive. Cheers!

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