If you have kids, you've probably heard of Elf On The Shelf. The idea is that an elf from the North Pole comes to your house before Christmas and reports back to Santa on who has been naughty and nice.
It's a great idea in theory, but in reality it means a lot of effort for parents. Every night, the elf moves around the house, often doing something sneaky or funny. For some parents, it's fun. For others, it's just an added source of stress. Christy Heins, a mom of three from Illinois, posted about her experiences with the tricky tradition.
“I know that some people truly enjoy setting up elaborate scenes with their elf, but for me, cleaning up after 3 children and a dog is enough,” Heins explained in her post. “I forgot to move him more times than I can even count, and I cut it close a few times trying to sneakily move him after the kids were already awake.”
“Today my pastor’s sermon was all about how advent is supposed to be a season of feeling PEACEFUL and cute little George wasn’t exactly falling into that category for me. I also was never good about using the elf as a way to improve my kids’ behavior so he really didn’t have an effect on their behavior whatsoever.”
Instead of ending the tradition all together, Heins wanted to do something that would still allow her kids to believe in the magic of Christmas.
Read the full story on Shared.com.
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