I sat down and read the book the night before he "appeared" and, much to my surprise, discovered there are rules that go along with these things. The #1 rule was that you can't touch the elf or he will lose his "magic" and won't be able to fly back to the North Pole to report your child's behavior to the Big Man. Great!!
Grace came down the first morning, saw him sitting on the mantle, and we read the book together. As soon as I finished reading, guess what she said. "Ok Mommy. Can I hold him now?" This could be a LOOOOOONG 4 weeks! She seemed fine with this whole thing and warmed up to the idea after we talked about it for a bit. Anna even noticed him right off and gave me a big, "Ohhhhh wow!"
One of the first steps is to name your elf. Grace's first suggestion was Jolly. I thought this was great (given the time of year and all) but that quickly changed to Jack and then "Hormey" not to be confused with another word that rhymes with Hormey.....uh hum! He stayed Hormey up until the last few days leading up to Christmas when he officially become Hermie.
Grace's excitement over Hermie never changed and it was the first thing she asked about EVERY morning. "Mommy, where do you think that elf is today!" He was the first AND last thing we talked about every day.
Annnnnd then there were the days when I got into bed, got all cozy, and realized.....CRAP!!! I didn't move Hermie!! I'd run downstairs, find a new spot, and hop back into bed with frozen feet. Oh, and let's not talk about the day that I FORGOT to move him! Thankfully, it was while Matt was on vacation. He saw the look on my face after Grace asked about Hermie and ran downstairs "to get her Cheerios" before noticed!! SHEW!!
Our elf turned out to be pretty low-key, but there are so many people who had their elves doing all kinds of crazy things and making huge messes. To each their own, but I don't get that AT ALL! I saw pictures of toilet paper all over a living room, flour and sugar all over the kitchen are just a couple examples. Isn't the whole point of these dang things to keep them on their best behavior? So, why in the world would you make the elves act all a fool? Not to mention the mess I would have to clean up afterwards. No thank you! The picture you see of Hermie sitting in a bowl of marshmallows (taking a bubble bath) is the worst it got around here.
We didn't use the "be nice because the elf is watching technique." It came out of my mouth once and I laughed out loud at how ridiculous it sounded. But it was fun for Grace to find him every morning and then guess where he would be the next day so we went with it. On Christmas Eve, the girls even got to "break the rules" and give Hermie a hug since he wouldn't be back until next year. They were both thrilled that they got to touch him and we had to pry him away from them.
And that is our elf story! If you want my advice, I would say to get a cheap, little elf from a craft store, give your kids "the pitch", and make your own rules. If you want to move him from shelf to shelf, then go for it. If you want him to make mess after mess, then so be it. But remember that you're the one who gets to clean it up! :) It can definitely be fun though and I'm sure we'll see Hermie arrive next December!
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