The Magic of Christmas
Nikki and I were sipping on coffee (and having homemade oatmeal cream pies) the other day when our conversation turned to the magic of Christmas and whether or not we think it’s okay to tell children these little white lies. She was having reservations about feeding into the whole Elf on the Shelf concept, originally deciding that she wasn’t going to participate, and then finally giving in when her seven year old asked for Elf on the Shelf from Santa.
Elf on the Shelf is rather expensive, however, it does come with a book and the guidelines the children must follow in order to keep the elf magic alive. You can find it at just about any retail store this time of year.
Or, if you’re like Nikki and want to save a few dollars you can find the Elves Behaving Badly look-alike on Amazon. It doesn’t come with a book but if you’re clever enough you can make this elf work just as good! On a side note, Elves Behaving Badly has all kinds of accessories you can buy if you don’t have time to get creative and let me tell you some of them are downright rotten.
Here are some pictures from our other sister, who purchased Elf on the Shelf, and the shenanigans that “Buddy” has gotten into. So far, he went on a swimming date with Barbie, roasted marshmallows with a few other toys, and pooped all over the counter. He’s quite the mischievous fellow and the kids totally love it!
Christmas Memories
After thinking about Elf on the Shelf we started thinking about how we each experience Christmas.
I began reminiscing about our childhood and how special it was to sit in bed on Christmas Eve and listen to the Santa sightings on the radio. How we were filled with joy driving home from our Nanny’s house, looking up in the sky thinking we just might catch a glimpse of his sleigh. Sometimes if you listened closely you could almost hear his bells. We would come home to our mom, who had been cleaning the whole time, open up one present, read the story of the nativity, and try to fall asleep.
Nikki told me one of her favorite memories was when Santa had propped his feet up on a pillow and the impressions of his feet were still there on Christmas morning. Or the time our dad told her that when he was a child, he crept downstairs and saw Santa putting presents under the tree. He spoke with so much wonder and belief. She never forgot that!
We both talked about the Ceramic Christmas Tree at our Nanny’s and how the magic of touching those twinkling colored lights felt tangible.
We decided that the magic of Christmas is in what you make it, how our parents had just as much fun trying to convince us that this magical being existed, as we did to believe it. It’s all worth it in the end; staying up late (past 2 am) to play Santa on Christmas Eve, explaining why every Santa looks different wherever you go, all while remembering to make a silly elf do crazy things every night for a whole month, just to see the joy in a child’s eyes.
Christmas is not about the presents, it’s about being together and loving each other. It doesn’t matter if you believe in Santa or Elf on the Shelf, it’s the belief in the spirit of Christmas that makes it so special. How we are filled with wonder, love, delight, and just goodness, call it Santa, call it elves, call it whatever you want to, we like to call it magic! How can that be wrong?
