Last night I did my nightly Pinterest review of the Elf on the Shelf shenanigans that moms from around the world are putting on display for their followers to see.
I have never read the storybook that is included with this cute little elf, but I’m assuming that this Elf teaches children that while it’s OK to have a mischievous side, you have to be good. Am I right mothers? I don’t really care what the message is because this character makes me think of days gone by.
Yes, I am a mother of teenagers. Two typical teenagers with typical teenage problems and mood swings. Like every other typical teenager, they can’t wait to move out and live their own life. (We’ll see how that goes) Like every other typical teenager, they mumble I love you rather than say it aloud. In fact, my 16-year-old son now claims that he likes me a lot but telling me he loves me is “girlie” and he simply won’t say it.
So what do I do? I sit lonely many nights remembering the days where my kids actually wanted me in their life. A time when money and a drive wasn’t on the top of their list of things to ask Mom. Elf on the Shelf has provided me a lot of memories from the days where I would do silly things to make them smile.
Back to last night, my son patronized me a little when I showed him a few of the Elf shenanigans on Pinterest. I have to say that he was pretty good about it.
“Look at this one Brandon!”, I said with a chuckle. The Elf had taken flour,made snow angels on the counter, and baked cookies.
He smiled.
“You know what you would have said if I had done this? You would have said that our Elf on the Shelf was one smart elf for baking but, like me, he didn’t clean up very well.” I chuckled and sighed knowing that once upon a time this would be a fact.
I’ve come to the conclusion that moms who post Elf on the Shelf photos are very smart marketers. Very smart indeed. They may not have young moms gawking at their pictures and clicking through to their blogs but I’m certain that moms like myself and grandparents are clicking on it simply for a little chuckle while they become melancholy about what they did when their children were small. A whole new demographic going to their website.
If Elf on the Shelf was around when my kids were small, I probably wouldn’t have resorted to Sergeant Pepper who walked the streets after dark looking for children who weren’t asleep to join the army 🙂 I still can’t believe I did that……but I did, and it’s one of those things that they will always remember with a giggle, a shake of the head, and a smile.
“Mom, you’re just so silly!” I’ll never forget those words as long as I live because it’s the silly side where we connect on a whole different level with our children. It’s also the side that makes them roll their eyes when they are teenagers. I love it!
Kudos to all the young mamas out there who are taking the time to bring a little silliness to their home!
(I bet that secretly my son is on his laptop checking out the latest Elf on the Shelf pictures and doing the same thing as I am)………..he’ll never admit to it but he loved my shenanigans.
