A Diary of Elf-sanity, brought to you by my Friends & Family

I did something very foolish this holiday season, the consequences of which I pay for daily. I’m seriously hoping this ends when Christmas is over, but I’m uncertain. Here’s what I did…

I posted the following status update on my personal Facebook page on December 1st:

Sorry to be rude, but I am not looking forward to seeing where everyone hides their elf each day this month…

Had I known the consequences of said action, I obviously would not have posted it, but when you establish your anti-elfism, you must suffer for the remainder of the month. Let me share with you a journal of each day’s consequences.

December 1st (Day 1)

This photo was posted by a friend to my timeline, with the caption “Hi carrie!!! I cant wait to annoy you”

December 2nd (Day 2)

I received these suggestions: What behaviors will your Elf on the Shelf be giving his attention to this holiday season?

During the next few days, many schools and families will be adopting their Elf on the Shelf. Once named, the Elf will receive his Christmas magic so he can make regular visits to his new classroom or home. His job is to watch and listen so he can report back to Santa who’s been naughty or nice.

Are you ready to give a Conscious Discipline twist to this beloved holiday tradition? Who knows, Santa may become so inspired that he comes with a whole group of elves and reindeer to the Conscious Discipline Summer Institute!

Remind your elf about the Power of Attention: What you focus on you get more of. There is an abundance of research that supports developing our power of attention to focus on behaviors we want to see from our children instead of those we don’t. At any given time, in classrooms and homes all over the world, there are children being helpful and some being hurtful. Which ones will get your elf’s attention? Where do you want to put your elf’s focus?

Allow your elf to be the vehicle that retrains your eyes to see the love and positivity that surrounds you. You can help the children in your care grow up seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty. We can also teach our children that when there is an oops, it is an opportunity to learn, focus on a solution and find the beauty in the situation.

So! How can the Elf on the Shelf tradition be tweaked to focus on the helpful? Here are some suggestions:

1. Read the book Shubert Sees the Best with your class or family.

2. Present each child with his/her own pair of heart shaped glasses to decorate. (We have a FREE printable on our website. A link will be posted as the first Comment on this thread.)

3. Everyone color and decorate their own pair of heart-shaped glasses just like Shubert’s!

4. Once decorated, everyone put the glasses on and have a class or family meeting to talk about what it means to see the best in others.

5. Tell the children that the Elf on the Shelf will be seeing the best in others too! Make sure your elf is wearing his very own pair of heart shaped glasses everyday that he visits!

6. Create a bulletin board (school) or poster board (home) titled, “(Elf’s Name) _____ Helps Us See the Best! Cut snowflake shapes out of construction paper and put them in a basket near the board. Explain that when somebody notices someone being helpful or kind, they can write that person’s name on a snowflake and tape it to the board.
Make sure the Elf on the Shelf is adding snowflakes to the bulletin board!

7. Have the Elf leave little notes that contain encouraging words and notices helpfulness: “You _____ (describe what the child did) so (describe how it contributed to others). That was helpful!

Examples:

You clean up the race cars so none would fall. That was helpful!

You reminded your Mom to put on her seatbelt so she would be safe. That was helpful!

You raised your hand quietly so others can learn. That was helpful!

As always, we wish you well!
#iheartcd #SEL #elfontheshelf

December 3rd (Day 3)

A friend posted this photo to my timeline with the caption: Eli the elf making snow angels in our sprinkles! Carrie. LOL 

Later in the day, another friend posted this photo to my wall with the caption: I made this just for you

I had to take action against the elf after this by revealing his true identity. Here he is… being evil! 

The madness continued that day with two additional links on my timeline: Inappropriate Elf on a Shelf (18 pics) and 33 Genius Elf on the Shelf Ideas.

December 4th (Day 4)

The same “Inappropriate Elf on a Shelf” link above was posted to my timeline.

This image was posted to my timeline:

A new link to Inappropriate Elf on a Shelf (36 pics)

December 5th (Day 5)

This image landed on my timeline:

Along with this one…

December 6th (Day 6)

Today was fairly quiet on my timeline. A friend reposted the “Inappropriate Elf on a Shelf (36 pics)” on my timeline.

December 7th (Day 7)

 The calm before the storm…

December 8th (Day 8)

This is the day true evil was cast upon my home. While my husband was getting the kids to bed, I went to my bedroom to straighten up. I cannot tell you the degree to which I was momentarily stunned when I pulled back my comforter to find THIS in my bed!! It definitely explained why my sister wrote “Wait for it…” on her timeline earlier in the day. Horribly evil $30 prank… 

That image alone on my timeline led to 40 likes and 53 comments.

December 9th (Day 9)

Tagged in this picture…

December 10th (Day 10)

Today began the reposting of this image on my wall…

 

And this one…

December 11th (Day 11)

The day began with the reposting of what I will call the “BBQ elf” above.

December 12th (Day 12)

This was posted to my timeline:

Along with this:

December 13th (Day 13)

Reposting of the dog “I ate your elf” image above on my timeline.

December 14th (Day 14)

This photo was posted to my timeline, with the following caption: Muhahahahahaha, you pesky little elf! You’ve picked the wrong hiding place this time. The way I see it this is a total WIN-WIN for me! ‘Cause either:

A. I can’t cook today, yippppppeeeeeee!!!!!

Or B. I accidentally forget and preheat the oven. Whoopsies!

December 15th (Day 15)

::crickets::

December 16th (Day 16)

Reposting of the creepy man dressed as an elf sitting on the shelf on my timeline.

December 17th (Day 17)

Today presented a new way to harass me about the elf: a video sent via text message.

And another video, posted to my timeline, but because of the type of format that it is, I can’t figure out how to share it. It’s titled “Elf caught on video”, and it’s the elf randomly falling off a kitchen counter.

December 18th (Day 18)

This morning, this article was posted to my timeline: Dear Elf Creators,

After initially posting this, I was messaged two additional photos:

This was posted to my timeline (sorry for the profanity):

I was also found this article that someone sent me, but I don’t remember when: 20 Reasons Not to Trust the Elf on the Shelf.

December 19th (Day 19)

Dog image above was posted to my timeline along with this picture:

 

December 20th (Day 20)

The above image of the two dogs with the elf was shared on my timeline/private messages for a total of 7 times, I believe (the most popular one!).

December 21st (Day 20)

This image was shared on my timeline:

So with just 1 week left until Christmas, I anticipate receiving many more articles, images, and videos. I figured I’d post today, then add to it as the week progresses. I hope you all have enjoyed seeing the evil brought on by this elf that you have shared with me.

Anyone else tired of the elf??