The Elf on the Shelf is Magical, I don't care what anyone else says
I'm going to say it... I love the Elf on the Shelf. Yeah, you heard me. I know it's all over the internet and social media how moms and dads are speaking out against him but I love that creepy bastard. Sure, it's a pain to think up cute and creative ways for that little jerk to trash my house. Yes, I blow through more marshmallows in December than I do all year long (actually I think this may be the only time of year I even buy them). Okay, I have woken up at 2am in a panic over whether or not I remembered to move them (and if that happens I usually did not). It's also been more than once that I've had to come up with an excuse as to why they decided not to move to a new spot.
It's not always easy, it's not always fun for me... but DAMN IT, my kids LOVE it and it's totally worth it!!!
We've been doing the elves for 4 or 5 years now and I get that 30 days of this crap gets old fast to us... but when we look back it's 1 month out of 12, and that ends up being such a small amount of time and such a little bit of effort in the grand scheme of things to create such a awesome tradition and memory.
Your kids will not believe in Santa forever. They certainly won't think these eerie stuffed dolls fly off to the North Pole each night to report to him for long. I'll be honest... I've had my suspicions that my daughter is catching on to the whole thing but if she is she still goes along so either way it makes her happy and shows she wants to believe at least for a while more. Once that magic, the idea that the impossible is possible, that you can believe the unbelievable is gone it's pretty much gone for good. So I'm going to milk this for all it's worth for my kids sake and my own.
No I don't have Parental FOMO (fear of missing out) and I am not stressing about my kids Holiday (or childhood in general) not being magical enough... But seeing them believe and see magic in something as simple as this doll makes the late night scrambling so worth it. It makes the effort to ignore the negative blogs or even posts and comments about the effort I put in easy because what matters is I am giving my kids magic.
So Yes, I love the Elf on the Shelf. We have two, they are magical, amazing and prove that a child sees things in a special way. It's a way we forget about until we have kids and relive it again in their excitement as they wake up and eagerly look for magical elves.
So if you don't do the Elf on the Shelf that's fine, if you do and hate it that's ok too. But if you do it and because your kids love it and that alone brings you joy too... then feel free to share it because there is nothing wrong with doing things that make your kids happy. Isn't that what parenting is about anyway? (And there's also nothing wrong with complaining about it occasionally too.)
Steffany is a mother of 4 born and raised in Tampa, Florida. She spends her days chasing her toddler, homeschooling her special needs daughter, chauffeuring her gymnastics kid to practice and nagging her teen son. She can also be found advocating for foster children, helping support moms in her community, giving unsolicited opinions and pretending she knows what she's doing. As the founder of Tampa Bay Moms Group and has been featured on several local and national shows and publications. @steffany813 on Instagram
