Somehow—despite all the slip-ups we’ve had in recent years—my kids still believe in Santa Claus and all the magic that comes with him. That includes Mrs. Claus, the reindeer, and Elf On The Shelf.
I hate Elf On The Shelf.
If you—like me—didn’t have Elf On The Shelf as a kid, let me explain. Elf is a doll you keep in your home. Even though it looks like a doll, it’s supposedly a real Elf. It comes with magical rules. It only comes out on December 1st and leaves to go back to the North Pole on December 24th. Every night, it magically moves around your home and settles in a different spot by the morning. The idea is that Elf is watching you and reporting back to Santa. You may not touch Elf. If you do, it requires a cinnamon sugar cleansing ceremony.
I can’t make this stuff up. But somebody did, and now we’re all paying the price.
During the holidays, when it’s my night to move Elf, I just throw him around the house on different shelves for the kids to find in the morning. I loathe this job. It annoys me to my core. It annoys my husband too. But this year, my husband decided to make it fun for himself.
One morning in December, we woke up to find Elf doing snow angels in our flour. One morning, we found it plunging the toilet after eating too many frosted mini wheats. On another, it had crashed my daughter’s toy car, and once, it was using a matchstick to roast marshmallows with a few other figurines.
But the greatest morning of all was when we found that Elf had magically inserted himself into EVERY picture on our walls. That’s more than 20 pictures. After my kids left for school, I asked my husband what came over him, doing so much with Elf. It had to have taken him hours to do. He said that—once he got started having fun with it—he couldn’t stop.
Reader, I am so inspired by how my husband took something he hated and made it fun. His Mary Poppin-esque antics really made my whole holiday season a lot lighter, and it was better for the kids too. It’s a nice way to start 2026. Laughing.
I wish you so much infectious light and laughter in the coming year. See you next Monday. -Em
