My Kids No Longer Believe, But Our Elf On The Shelf Still Came Back

My kids are past the age of believing in Santa. We made the choice when they were young to do the whole Santa and the north pole magic. It was something we contemplated for many reasons. I still recall when I learned the truth and I was crushed; I hesitated on if I wanted my kids to go through that. We also worried that Santa would take the focus off of Jesus and it was important to us to keep His birth at the center of the season.

But after that contemplation, we did settle on bringing Santa into our household and we never regretted it. I have such wonderful memories of my kids staying up waiting for Santa and experiencing that magic when they found their stockings filled on Christmas morning.

There was another decision we had to make as parents when it came to Christmas magic.

Would we bring Elf on the Shelf into our household?

In my opinion, this Elf is a bigger decision than Santa. It’s a huge commitment. Each night the Elf has to fly to the north pole and then fly back to land in a different spot in your house for the kids to find in the morning. Not an easy thing when life is busy and you basically give yourself one more thing to have to remember to do each night after the kids are asleep.

Not only did we decide yes we’d start this tradition, but my husband and I threw more complication into the Elf on the Shelf by getting not one but two elves. A boy and a girl since we have a son and a daughter. Our elves also leave notes each night. Or most nights. There have definitely been nights when Chippy and Snowflake somehow forgot to fly to the north pole and back and were in the same spot two mornings in a row. Whoops.

We survived and enjoyed the years of Santa and Elf on the Shelf. My kids still see Santa because I like having the picture each year and they are really good sports about it. What I wasn’t expecting is that our elves would continue to be a part of our household during the holidays.

Before Thanksgiving this year, my kids were already asking about Chippy and Snowflake. My immediate reaction was something like, “What? Really?” But it was so sweet that they still wanted them to be a part of our tradition. As much as I would love to judge the process and the silliness of it all, the truth is that our family absolutely loves them.

I still fill stockings and try to bring the Christmas fun and magic to my kids. Our elves are another way to keep that fun going even as my kids grow older. The fun part for me is that they actually enjoy taking turns moving the elves sometimes so it’s less pressure for me and more just pure fun.

We won’t lose sight of the reason for the season but I have no problem continuing to mix in other fun as well.

After the Thanksgiving feast was over and we reflected on all we are thankful for, I was anxious to start unloading the Christmas boxes and finding good ol’ Chippy and Snowflake wrapped up in a box the kids won’t get into (because even though my kids know the truth, they still have to arrive from the North Pole, not from a box in our garage!).

I know that eventually Chippy and Snowflake will not make an appearance and our traditions will continue to evolve as my kids grow. But for now, I am thankful that we still will find laughter seeing what naughty behavior our elves get into this year.

Let the Christmas traditions begin!

Elf parents, is your Elf coming back this year? We’d love to hear your stories!