Believe

It’s a doll. It’s a little creepy. And for the love…at 2:00AM when you wake up in a panic because you can’t quite remember if you moved the dang thing to a new spot. Ah yes. Welcome to the season of Elf on the Shelf. I totally get all the families who refuse to jump on the Christmas tradition. I really do. It’s kind of obnoxious. A little weird. And it’s one more thing that Mom has to keep tabs on. For this reason alone, Elf was not a part of our regular holiday season. Up until last year. My mother in-law purchased it and while I didn’t feel pressured to accept it, I figured I could probably lose the Scrooge-y attitude towards it and give it a shot. Knowing very well if I introduced this little red dude then it meant keeping up with the tradition year after year. Alright. Challenge accepted. Truthfully, I didn’t think my nine year old had much more than a year in him for all of this kind of stuff anyway.

Today, my TEN YEAR old son asked me if I thought that Elf knew we moved. Oh goodness. Elf on the Shelf! Oh yes, Santa and his Elves always know those things. Oh good, I can’t wait to see where he pops up tomorrow!! Bless his little heart. He knows that tomorrow is December 1^st and that marks the first visit from Elf {at least in this household, don’t ask me to start the day after Thanksgiving like many other homes. 25 days is plenty}. Some people may scoff at the fact that he still believes. But I find it wholeheartedly endearing. His innocence. His spirit. His love. It warms my heart and makes me smile from ear to ear. This boy. Who is quickly becoming a young man, still believes. And that in and of itself is enough motivation to deal with the nightly ritual of finding a new spot or a creative pose. Because there are very few things in this world that we can believe in, that create such joy and excitement. I wish there were. I wish our world had the ability to possess a kind of spirit and innocence that our children do. Perhaps there would be more grace. More peace. More love. They remind us that life has so much simplicity to it and as adults, we often tend to make things so hard. For me, this Elf is one of those small reminders. And I appreciate the wonder that he brings my son. And someday my daughter.

So if Elf on the Shelf isn’t something your home participates in, that’s okay. But please don’t discount the joy that fills so many other homes. Because for some, it might be more than just a fad. Or a Pinterest challenge. It might just be the spirit of Christmas.