Wendy’s Review: Elf On The Shelf Is Christmas MAGIC!
Hey, it’s Wendy. So, you’ve probably heard about the famous Elf on the Shelf. It’s just that gimmicky toy that moves around by itself on Christmas, right? That’s what I thought too… until yesterday. But now I know, it is SO much more. Zaria came home from school last week and said one of her classmates has an elf. With a tear in her eye, she said she didn’t understand why Santa didn’t want her to have one. Now, I’m not that parent that jumps to buy my kid a new toy whenever she wants one. But, this one was different. This one was a REAL elf, at least to my sweet little 5-year old. So, I did some research. What the heck is this thing all about?
It was a bit of an adventure finding a retailer that had them in stock (I finally found them in the garden holiday section at the Wal-Mart in Rainbow Crossing). I bought the package, which comes with the elf and a book, and while $30 at the time seemed way too much to spend on a toy, it would quickly prove to be worth every penny!
A beautiful rhyming bedtime story, the book explains what the elf’s purpose is. Santa sends his scout to a child’s house after Thanksgiving, to watch over the child. And every night until Christmas the elf returns to the North Pole and reports back to Santa whether the child was naughty or nice that day. Then the elf flies back to the home and finds a different perch to set up camp until the next night. This is where parents have gotten creative with perches (and activities) for the child to find the elf the next morning. It has inspired many a social media photos of elves drinking eggnog, getting into presents or causing some kind of mischief.
The rules: the child names the elf, the elf must never speak (Santa’s rule), but is encouraged to listen to the child talk about her wishes, dreams, or daily life. And the child must never touch the elf, or it loses its ability to fly back to Santa.
On our way home from school, Z asked again why Santa didn’t want her to have an elf. I had to think of something quickly. I told her “I forgot that you have to read the book and say the wish and THEN Santa will send your elf.” She was so excited to hear I found the book, and anxious to get home to read it. Bedtime couldn’t come fast enough for Z. I, on the other hand, welcomed the extra time to invent that aforementioned wish in the form of a rhyme.
Bedtime came…we read the book, said the wish, and shouted “I believe in Christmas magic!” Z dubbed her elf Peppermint. Then, heavy with worry that Peppermint wouldn’t come, Z fell asleep.
The next morning, Z woke up and frantically looked for Peppermint in her room. She looked on her dresser, in her tent, everywhere. Not seeing her elf, Z thought she had dreamed about us reading the book and saying the wish and that none of it was true. She started to cry.
But when her little eyes glanced up at her top shelf, she gasped. There sat Peppermint, sitting on her book, with her bright blue eyes looking right at Z.
“There you are!” cried Z. “How did you get up there? Did you have a nice trip? We’re going to be best friends. I know you can’t talk but that’s okay. I’ll talk to you.”
So there you go…years of Christmas joy and believing in the magic of Santa Clause…all for just $30. And if that’s not enough incentive, did you know this whole thing was started by a mother and her daughter? Carol Aebersold used to do her own elf on the shelf for her twin daughters when they were little. When they grew up, they convinced mom to share her great idea with the world. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Get the story on the women behind the Elf empire, from The Story Exhange.
