I lost the elf! I’m not going to lie, this year I’m unsure as to how committed I will actually be with the Elf. Last year our elves were packed up and thrown into a garage full of boxes with an anticipation and expectation that we’d retrieve them in our new forever home. And then time ran away with us and December arrived once more and thoughts turned to the elves that still lay within boxes in an unmoved garage.
And then a few days ago on the spur of the moment and spurred on by a mum guilt induced by christmassy social media postings from all directions, I decided to take action! I bought a new elf from the pound store and decided to get the elves arrival out the way.
I set up a teaser on the bookshelf the night before and the children woke in the morning to an elf door which had appeared during the night. No elaborate or evident elf activity. Just a door with windows and fairy lights. A Christmassy area upon the bookshelf that awaited the arrival of the elf.
And with the discovery of the elf portal on the shelf the scene had been set for Elfie’s arrival.
So with the help of a net of chocolate coins, a quickly handwritten letter and the elf tucked into my bag, we set out on an adventure to the waterfalls to magically stumble upon an elf. And this would not be unfamiliar as when we first met our Christmas elves a few years ago it was deep within the woods.
We set off along a path familiar to us and the children enjoyed exploring along the way until we were stopped in our tracks by a small envelope addressed to the children and some chocolate coins…
Excitedly the children opened the letter…
The letter read…
Hello Children,
I’m so happy to say that it’s that time of year.
I’ve returned back to see you and you’ll find me quite near.
Just follow the trail of coins that I’ve thrown,
And take me back to your Christmassy home.
Love Elfie
So our mission was set. It seemed that we would carry on with our walk and discover coins along the way. It was a great incentive to keep the kids enthused about walking too!
We found coins galore and with the mention of the elf making an appearance the children were really excited.
And then as we arrived at the waterfall we found an Elf! Evidently, he was an outdoor elf as he seemed to be enjoying his surroundings. Boo scooped him up to show to Papa.
And, as instructed by the letter, we headed home with our Christmas house guest in tow Who knows what kind of magical adventures he’ll have with us…
When we arrived home we tucked him onto the shelf. The children eventually went to bed and Elfie began to bring Christmas full force into our home.
The children awoke the next morning to discover that Elfie had erected the tree in the night and left a bucket full of decorations for them to dress it. Now that’s a thoughtful elf and we are thankful that he preempted the arguments that putting up the tree brings. Elfie had dug in the garage to find everything and saved us all from the first family tradition that comes steeped in stress.
I think that Elfie is going to prove to be a very thoughtful and useful elf indeed.
