Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. I love decorating, planning, and the anticipation of the special moments that make the holiday memorable for my children. One of the biggest memory makers our family enjoys is, yes, Elf on the Shelf. The night our tree goes up, right after Thanksgiving Day, I immediately bring “John” our Elf, out of hiding. This year has been no different, except that as the kids have gotten older, making John more exciting has required me to up the ante. John has gone from simply hiding, for the kids to find in the morning, to now playing amusing tricks.
On the first night, a little more than a week ago, John appeared under the tree bursting from a package, bearing gifts for each of the children. I was unbelievably excited for them to wake up and find him waiting, with his little Elf written note… “I’m back. Let the fun begin.”
Boy did I have a lot of fun planned! I spun my excitement into a long list of nutty scenarios, enough to cover every night, from that moment through to Christmas Eve. For the first week, I didn’t want to miss a night. My giddiness grew with each silly set up. So much so, even my husband joined in on the fun.
Then, on about night eight, after waking up from dozing on the couch, I stared at John through squinty eyes and considered skipping the nightly adventure. As I started shuffling toward my bed, the awesome scene I had waited all day to assemble, danced like a vision of sugar plums in my head. Pushing through my sleepy haze, and picking up my dragging feet, I managed to scour the house and collect the necessary items to keep the Elf antics going. When I finally dropped into bed, proud of myself for not giving up, or giving in, I wondered how I had become so dedicated.
It dawned on me that it all had to do with interest. I love being creative, allowing my imagination to run wild, then sharing it with the kids. For some, this probably sounds crazy. There are plenty of parents who find the whole “Elf” thing just another holiday nuisance. They forget to move their Elf because it’s one more chore, on a list of a million, fighting for their attention.
That notion set my thoughts spinning down their usual nonsensical path, and long story short, I drew a connection to my blog. There are bloggers, and authors out there who appreciate the process, and perks, of blogging. They create well written, inspirational posts, and do it with dedication. When I think of attempting a single entry, I find myself struggling with a subject, and stalling with excuses. I end up forgetting about it because it becomes one more task in a long line of writing tasks competing for my time. It ends up falling to the bottom of my list simply because I don’t enjoy it. But I would, if I took my advice and applied the same approach to my blog as I have to our Elf—keep it creative and “let the fun begin.”
So in the upcoming weeks, and throughout 2016, I plan to have fun with my posts. It’s all about perspective.
Here’s to wishing you a happy holiday season filled with the very best. I hope you find that one chore you can make fun in the New Year.