Last year, after a lot of discussion about the matter, we jumped on the "Elf on the Shelf" bandwagon. We heard our local Target had some in stock, and headed out to try to get us one. We may have had to elbow some desperate mothers out of the way to get ours, but we now have our very own little bundle of elf joy. We eagerly read the accompanying book with Paige (Rylie was only a few months old and we didn't think she could possibly begin to understand the idea of constant surveillance and reporting to Santa), and about half way through, they have this part where you have to name your elf. So when Paige was asked what we should name our elf and she barely thought about it before deciding on, "Shelf." We were like, "Ha ha, no, you don't understand, what should his NAME be," and she declared that his name is, in fact, Shelf. So last year we played along and didn't make a big deal out of Shelf, but he was definitely there when we needed him. This year, though, Shelf is like a celebrity in our house.
We got out the book at the beginning of December, and immediately Paige recognized her friend Shelf (I was secretly hoping she wouldn't remember his name, so we could make it a normal elf name this year...I never actually wrote it in the book, but I think we're stuck now). Our elf, Shelf, is not as creative as some other elves, he just hangs out up high, constantly watching. The very first thing Paige asks every morning is, "Can we go find Shelf," so we do have to be pretty diligent about moving him. She asks how his night was just about every morning, and sometimes will be like, "so did you tell Santa I was a good girl," to which he replies.....well, nothing, because he's a doll. But she still asks, every day.
Rylie still doesn't acknowledge Shelf, but I have high hopes for next year. When she is throwing a tantrum and I say, "Uh oh, I hope Shelf doesn't see you..." she doesn't even pause for a second to think about what I've said, so, like I said, next year.
