Elf on the Shelf – stressful or exciting?

The Elf on the Shelf®: A Christmas Tradition includes a special Scout Elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists. When a family adopts a Scout Elf and gives it a name, the Scout Elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day's adventures.

Each morning, the Scout Elf returns to its family and perches in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their Scout Elf each morning.

Now, not all families have adopted an Elf but the trend right now seems to be increasing.  I will admit that the ideas and info available now are far better than when I made the choice to sell our little guy.  The website today has free games, printable crafts, coloring pages, additional clothing and pets you can purchase, and of course...ideas for the fun your elf will have.  Like all things today, there is even an app you can use.  (Y105FM has one too...it is free!)

If you have an Elf...great.  If you don't...great.  There really isn't a right or wrong here.  For my own home though, I had to step back from the Elf and see if this was something that was worth it for me personally, my time and if the added work to my pile had a benefit.  As I have shared with all of you, I have forgotten to be a tooth fairy...so this "every night thing" with an Elf just wasn't going to work for me.

If you are a "yes" and have adopted an Elf in your home and love it, I am enjoying your photos and your enthusiasm.  The poses and scenes are more creative than I'd ever dream up.  So please keep posting...and feel free to hashtag #y105fm in those too!

If you are "no" to inviting the Elf to your home...this really is just to let you know that you aren't the only one.  My kids are now a bit older and we have hit some teenage milestones, but I have learned that it is ok to say no to things that don't work for you.  If it stresses you out (like the Elf did for me), or you wake up in a panic because you forgot to put the elf in the new spot...life will go on if you just pause and chill for a day, week or decide to sell the dude.  ;)  My kids didn't know for 3 years...so really, life will go on.  The free printables and games are available to anyone so you can take advantage of that if you'd like.  No pressure though - and block the site on your wifi if you don't want your kids to know about it.

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