To Elf or Not to Elf?

In the first year of our first daughters life, I will admit, I wanted to do it all. Handmade birthday invitations worthy of a Pinterest board of their own, carefully curated monthly photo shoots, and perfectly put together outfits to head to the grocery store. We even invited "the elf" into our home, because who could resist all of the funny internet memes she created. The elf wasn't a show stopper the first Christmas season, I am not sure what sort of reaction I expected out of a nine month old. But by

Actual Picture of first child's monthly photo shoot.

her second Christmas, our daughter had given our elf a name, Bubbles. Bubbles is now a permanent part of our holiday season, starting the day after Thanksgiving. Unlike the handmade birthday invitations, monthly photo shoots and perfectly put together outfits, Bubbles is here to stay and is not so easily forgotten. So here we have a cautionary tale, some alternatives, and for all of those stuck in the same boat as me, a handy guide to share with your elves this holiday season AND a helpful free toolkit for everyone local hand delivered to your door.

To Elf or Not to Elf?

The commitment is real with this one. If you celebrate Christmas and choose to elf, think of how it will look long term in your life. Once your child has named the elf you have invited into your home, you cannot just forget about it or uninvite the elf without suffering from some major parenting guilt. Our daughters look forward to Bubbles arrival even more than Santa's because Bubbles comes 

e v e r y  d a y

for a month. 

That means that your elf will have an activity planned for you even when you have your holiday work party and don't come home until well past normal parent bedtime. Your elf will also hide so well sometimes that your kids can't find them which may or may not result in a full blown meltdown. In our particular case, Bubbles puts on a show every day, which is exhausting. She gets in snowball fights with marshmallows, zip-lines around the house, makes snow angels in powdered sugar and brings ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies; all of these things make a lot of extra work for me, she is a messy little elf. It can be a lot of fun but it can also make you wake up in the middle of the night in a panic because you forgot that Bubbles needs a new activity for the next morning. My relationship with Bubbles has evolved with Bubbles as my kids have grown a little bit older. We had a conversation about making sure she includes some good will when she visits, so now there is a nice mix of surprises left by Bubbles.

The following stories are inspired by actual events, just not including my own children. Reader discretion is advised. 

• "Jingle" scared a child so much upon their arrival in to family "Smith" home that he was immediately sent back to The North Pole. "Smith Child" did not like the way the Jingle looked at him or that Jingle was watching him A L L  T H E  T I M E. Smith Child lived happily ever after without anymore Jingle visits.
• "Bells" was dis-invited from family "Brown" home after the Brown children started to play with him because he lost all of his magic. The kids were devastated and the Bells was put on desk duty back at The North Pole.
• "Snowflake" somehow got trapped in the bottom of the Christmas decoration bin in family "Doe" home. Mommy Doe had to recruit a replacement Snowflake the night before Snowflake was supposed to arrive for the Christmas season.

There are many other stories, but you get the idea. If I could go back would I still invite Bubbles? Absolutely, because I love the holidays and crafty things. If you are on the fence, continue on below and enjoy my expert tips and help!

What are my options?

There are a handful of elf alternatives. I am a firm believer of not reinventing the wheel, so I am going to share with you THIS blog post from This Momma Loves that has a ton more detail and links. Here is the short list: 

• Reindeer in Here
• North Pole Ninjas
• Christmas Angel
• Christopher Pop-in-Kins
• Elf Magic
• Hide-n-Hug Olaf
• Annalee
• Elves Around the World
• Santa's Secret Elf (Fiesta)
• Mensch on a Bench
• Kindness Elves

I Have Committed to Elf, Help Me!

Have no fear, remember how I don't like to reinvent the wheel? I scoured the web for the most helpful resources for my elf and found the holy grail on The Dating Divas site,

D i v a s  P r i n t a b l e  C h r i s t m a s  E l f  K i t 

They have done all of the hard work for you and you can seriously re-use this kit for as long as your elf is visiting your home (or six years). It is totally worth the $7.97. Check out the video below too!

Hand Delivered Help

Are you ready for the best part? If you live in Oak Park, Forest Park, River Forest, Berwyn or Elmwood Park, I will hand deliver a printed and assembled Elf Kit 

T O  Y O U R  D O O R

No need to fumble with glue sticks or stress about what you are going to do this year. Your kit will look similar to the one at the end of the video above. It will include my personal calendar of events for the year but not the 100+ ideas that The Dating Divas came up with. Email me HERE with Elf Kit in the Subject and your address in the body and I will deliver this fun little kit to your door so you can worry about one less thing this holiday season!

Cheers -