The Elf that sits on our shelf

No tantrums for 32 days is what I saw when I picked up the shiny white box. Perhaps that was just my wishful thinking…

Christmas time for the Timmerman boys typically means reaching arms in the store, attention paid to every toy commercial to grace the television, teary-eyed visits to the store, and massive handwritten lists in adorable handwriting asking for things I’m sure even the President of the United States couldn’t afford. iPads, all the Lego’s in the whole wide world, motorized scooters, iPhones, a rocket ship with their very own astronauts, an Xbox 360 with all the games, a car, an alligator, and also the moon with all the stars in the galaxy.

Instead they got Jingle Bells, more commonly known as the Elf on the Shelf. Hand-wrapped and specially delivered by the big guy himself. The package was placed on the counter top with care in hopes the pair soon would be there.  No sugar plums were present at the unwrapping of this special delivery, however. The boys manhandled the wrapping before I was able to remove my camera from its bag. They squealed with delight and then the look of question marks danced in their eyes… “This looks cool, but what is it?”  They cautiously opened the box as if expecting something to jump out.  What they found was their Elf patiently waiting for my boys to bring him to life and a hard back copy of his story tucked inside his box.

Inside our Elf's storybook was a letter to my boys from none other than Santa Claus…

 

We placed him high on the shelf as I read our elf’s story. The boys gazed up at him while I read looking for any spark of movement.  The boys were delighted to find that they could name their little Elf. And so, in true Holiday spirit  they named him Jingle Bells or Jingle for short.

Each morning the boys will find Jingle Bells in a spot of his choosing whether it be at the kitchen table playing a rather intense game of Candyland, making s’mores next to an unlit candle, or even folding laundry (now that’s my kind of elf!).Once he’s been found, up on the shelf he will go to keep a watchful eye on the troublesome duo. Each night he’ll return to his home with Santa at the North Pole to suggest they receive a gift or a lump of coal.