Elf NOT on the shelf

We have some little visitors.

Hotly anticipated after last year, Tinsel and Jingle have reappeared – and this year they’ve brought along their friend Bauble too.

Elf on the Shelf seems to be becoming increasingly popular, and it’s definitely popular with our kids – despite it being 11 months since the elves were last on the scene the Wee Man still remembered quite a few of the things they got up to and had been speaking at length about what they might do, and when they might arrive this year.

So I had no issues with the elves making an appearance again – but I must say I do find the whole official elf on the shelf idea a bit odd.

Not being able to touch the elf? And the elf being sent as a spy? For a three year old I can see how that might be a bit creepy, and very much a disappointment too. It’s a bit like putting the advent calendar in front of them, telling them it’s full of chocolate, and then not allowing them to eat it all in one go. Three year olds just don’t DO deferred gratification very well!

So our elves are hanging around for an entirely different reason. They’ve been sent by Father Christmas, but they’ve been sent to learn from good children how to behave. And they LOVE being cuddled and taken to bed at night tucked into their little sleeping bags (even if they do end up wriggling out of them and getting up to a little bit of mischief).

The Wee Man and Bubby D are really enjoying teaching the elves how to be good, what it means to be kind, and how nice it feels to share the treats that they find in their advent truck and stocking string in the morning.*

 

*one new treat arrives each morning. Thus circumventing the ‘advent calendar full of chocolate’ issue!