for the Christmas bargain shopper

I've been in a rut.  Oh, for a good 6 months.  I'm not sure that qualifies as a rut as much as it does a new sorry way of life.  I could go on about what got me to where I am but really I can't blame anything or anyone.  It's my own fault and I need to find my way out of it.  I imagine it starts with good old fashioned exercise just to get the adrenaline going again.  I'm not a fan of New Years resolutions but I'm thinking I need one to get myself motivated.  I'll start by slowly but surely trying to find my way back to the things that help make me whole.  This post is one small step in that direction.  So Julie, thanks for trying to help get me out of my rut and this post is for you.

Disclaimer:  This post is only timely for the bargain shopper.  

I want to tell you about a little visitor that was in our house this holiday season.  He's an Elf.  Specifically, he's the Elf on the Shelf.  Santa specially delivered Samuel and Sydney their very own Elf right to our door!  Their Elf came with a book to describe our new tradition.  The way it works is that the Elf watches over the kids throughout the day and reports back to Santa at night on their behavior.  He returns the next morning from the North Pole and the kids find him waiting in a new spot in the house. 

Now, I gotta be honest, I wasn't initially thrilled with the idea that this concept really plays on the "be nice or Santa won't come" part of Christmas.  There's just something about that which really bothers me.  I don't enjoy bribing Samuel, but honestly, I'm not above it.  Mostly my appeal to the elf was that it seemed like a fun idea for Samuel to find the elf each morning.  He loves playing hide-and-go-seek and this was a take on that.  I also thought he'd enjoy naming the elf.  To my surprise, he named him, "Elf".  What kid with pretend piggies named Tierko and Geryl names their Elf, "Elf"?  But, "Elf" it is.

Elf proved to be a fun new tradition and as I suspected the first thing Samuel did each morning was look for his Elf.  The bribery part though, really didn't work for us.  It didn't really bother him in the least if we said the Elf was watching his behavior and would report back to Santa.  Maybe next year that will have more of an affect.   I suppose I shouldn't be surprised given that Samuel recently told me, "I like causing trouble."  *sigh*  But at least I've found some forms of punishment that work because he quickly followed with, "but I don't like being sent to my room or time outs."

So, why do I mention the Elf a week and a half after Christmas?  Honestly, because I didn't have time to post over Christmas.  But the good news is it's likely to be on clearance at Hallmark if you are interested in getting one of your own for next year!