Christmas music is on the radio, people are starting to decorate and the weather is getting colder. It’s almost time to pull out the Christmas elves if you have them. But what happens when your little one finds the elf before you are ready?
I love Christmastime. The lights, the warm sweaters, the kids being excited for Santa — I love it all. So, when it hits November, I start pulling out my boxes of decorations despite my husband’s protests. My
5-year-old, on the other hand, totally condones this and gets just as psyched as I am.
With two little ones now, decorating can take a long time. So, I left my boxes stacked in the basement, unpacking a little at a time. I did not, however, think about my 5-year-old being so excited to see the dancing and singing decorations that she would go into the boxes on her own — and find the elf.
Yup, she opened up one of those storage containers and right there on top was her magical friend. The one who comes out every year to make sure she’s behaving.
My daughter came running upstairs shouting, “The elf came back!” She asked me how the elf got in the box and why it was here already. I was so surprised she found it that I replied and told her I wasn’t sure. I knew if the elf came this early, she would lose interest by Christmas — so that elf couldn’t stay right now. But I also didn’t want to make her lose the Christmas magic, or tell her it was just a toy.
So, what do you do? You come up with a lie to tell your kid for their own good. Yes, I lied to my kid. I told her the elf came early because she heard bad behavior might be happening and she needed to check for Santa.
My daughter bought it — hook, line and sinker. Thank goodness! She went straight to work writing a letter to Santa telling him that she was being good and the elf doesn’t need to worry. She stuck the note and the elf in our Santa mailbox and went to bed. Once she was asleep, I took the elf and put it away again and grabbed the note she left for Santa. This time I hid the elf in my bedroom in a drawer she can’t reach!
The next morning, she woke up and was so excited to see that the elf had gone to take her note to Santa. Crisis averted. The Christmas spirit and magic of the elf can be kept for another year.
Thank goodness because as much of a pain in the butt that magical elf can be every year, I love seeing my daughter’s eyes light up to find it in a new spot every day in December. I hope she keeps the magic of Christmas for many years to come — while also hoping I remember to bring the elf back out and not forget about it altogether.
Happy elf season, mamas! May we all have the Christmas spirit of our little ones.
ANN BURNS is a Morgantown native, raising two young children with her husband, Drake. She writes weekly columns for The Dominion Post. Contact her at Columns@DominionPost.com.
