THE PURPOSELY MESSY ELF

I thought I would repost this since it is that time of year again. I don’t LOVE Elf on a Shelf but I acquiesce for my daughter. She loves her Elf Perry and he still does silly things for her in December each year.

The comment section is not so Christmassy but highly entertaining. I find it sad that some people have to pick on even the most innocent of things. This time of year is hard enough for some of us. Let us have these moments of imagination while they last.

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HastyKid has an elf on the shelf.  Actually, it is an elf on the shelf disguised as Perry the Platypus.  He has been visiting her for 3 years and rarely makes much of a mess; until recently.  He spent the night at a friends house and another elf taught him he could be a bit messy.  The two elves covered the children in toilet paper and taunted them both by wearing the empty rolls on their arms and legs.  

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Since that night Perry the Elf has enjoyed being a messy elf.

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He has spilled crayons all over the place writing letters.  He has made a big fort in the living room, and dumped a whole container of cocoa on the kitchen counter and drew pictures in the mess.  I am telling you this because this elf and his activities have taught me how clever, and lazy, HastyKid can be.

I heard HastyKid talking to Perry the Elf after the crayon fiasco.  “Now Perry, I am going to KungFu and I will expect you to pick up all the crayons before I get back”.  Of course, she said it loud enough for me to hear so I am sure she knows who wields the elf magic in our house.

When she got back from KungFu she was very disappointed Perry the Elf didn’t listen.  She decided to tell on him, “Mom, Perry the Elf won’t pick up his mess!”  I told her, “His job is to make the messes and if he has to clean them up too he would probably stop making them.  Do you want him to stop?”  Her answer was an emphatic NO!

Since, I have decided it is a lovely way to motivate her to clean.  Tomorrow he may dump out all her messy clothes drawers to be redone, or maybe pull everything out from under her bed.  The ideas are limitless