I held out as long as I could. I promise. But, like many moms, I eventually caved. I bought the dadgum Elf on the Shelf. You know, the guy who’s supposed to make our children behave during the month of December but all he really does is create 24 days worth of messes that we have to clean up. Jesus take the wheel.
And no mess can be the same, lest you have the lamest elf in school. Our children compare notes on the playground. They swap elf stories. They heap guilt and pressure on us moms forcing us to believe that each elf mess must be cuter, more creative, more Pinterest-worthy, and more blog-able than the mess from the night day before. Toilet papering the Christmas tree. Tootsie roll poop. Flour that looks like snow (seriously?). Dang you Elf on the Shelf!
And heaven forbid you should get lost watching Downton Abby and forget to move your Elf on the Shelf.
“Mom, why didn’t Floyd Casey move last night? He was sitting there yesterday. Does this mean he didn’t fly to the North Pole?”
Seriously kid? I’m thinking to myself. You’re a 3rd grader reading on a 10th grade level and you’re asking me if the stuffed elf we bought at Target forgot to fly to the North Pole? Do I really have to answer your question?
“Um, it looks like Floyd needs to go to the bathroom,” I answer. “It happens all the time. I’m sure he’ll fly tonight.”
I can’t.
I can’t even.
I literally can’t even.
I literally can’t even take one more advent season with the Elf on the Shelf. Aside from the moving and messing and forgetting, my children turn finding Floyd Casey into a competition. Whoever finds him before breakfast is the winner. Last year Clarey found him every single morning. Insert tears. And yelling. Insert a mom on the brink of spiking her morning eggnog. And even though Floyd Casey reported my kids’ behavior to Santa Claus (who we don’t even really promote), do you think my kids cared? Of course not. The competition and bickering ensued.
This year, I resolved myself to leaving Floyd Casey in one spot for the entire month of December. No more elf trickery or hide-and-go-seek. No more competition gone awry. Just flexible Floyd hanging out with baby Jesus in the Willow Tree nativity scene . . . where he should be.
Until I discovered the Star From Afar.
Follow the Star
If your Elf on the Shelf is wearing you thin, then maybe your family needs the Star from Afar . . . a more meaningful way to engage our kids in the advent season.
This is more than a fun tradition–it’s a new way to celebrate advent. Start by reading the book, The Christmas Star from Afar. Then, set up the manger scene together. After your kids go to bed you hide the star. When your kids wake up, you all gather your wise men and travel around the house searching for the star from afar. Once you all find it, the wise men sit as close to star as possible. That night and every night until Christmas Day you repeat this game. On Christmas morning the star finally rests over the manger and the wise men visit their King.
The book not only tells the true Christmas story in a fun, rhyming fashion, but it also includes Bible verses that you can talk about with your children throughout the month of December. So not only am I avoiding Pinterest-induced elfish mayhem, but I’m pointing my children to Christ. Win-win. So if you want to start a new Christmas tradition that takes pressure off you, points your children to Jesus, and puts the Elf in his proper place, I encourage you to order Star from Afar.
