Return of the Real Life Elf on the Shelf

Guess who showed up at our house this week?

Yep, Rock the Elf is back. Check out some of these images from last year. I ended up sleeping with one eye open the entire month of December (read last year’s post here).

I thought he might skip our house this year until Wil showed me an Etch A Sketch message from him two days before December. It was nice to have some notice this year as opposed to last year, but I still didn’t have enough time to change the locks before he showed up.

I have mixed feelings about this elf returning to live with us for the month, we have sort of a love hate relationship.  I noticed myself starting to miss him after he went back to the North Pole (I hope he never reads that) which totally surprised me. He is great with the kids and I love that part, but he has no sense of manners or privacy. I’m going to document each day of his time with us in this blog post, so keep checking back to see the latest update on how the elf and I are getting along.

Day 1: He’s back! I’ve heard that other elves appear quietly in the night – well not ours. He called ahead to make sure we had the confetti and lights ready as he walked in the door. He was so mad when he found out I canceled the DJ he ordered. Im glad the kids are excited he’s here.

Day 2: So far the elf mischief has been pretty mild, but that’s usually how elves are – they gain your trust and then next thing you know your toilet is full of jello and your slippers are filled with pudding. He did however, bring some useful tools. Last year he said we didn’t have enough lights around the house, so he brought a Light-O-Matic 3000. It can shoot over 1000 pre-lit lights a minute and uses a 30 Volt Polar Power battery. Last night Zac got a taste of the Light-O-Matic when he tried to steal one of the elf’s candy canes. The elf lit him up like a Christmas tree and made him stand in the corner for 15 min.

Day 3: He eats even more candy than last year! He is setting a horrible example for our kids so I asked him to start brushing his teeth every morning or else I would make him go back to the North Pole. Apparently, I wasn’t specific enough.

Day 4: I’m pretty sure that jet pack is not FAA certified. The elf left early this morning, after finishing a big bowl of syrup and noodles.  He was complaining about the lack of snow so far this month and told us he was going to pay a visit to Jack Frost. The weather report keeps telling us it’s going to snow, but freezing cold winds usually come in and push it out. Apparently the elf got to meet Jack Frost last year on a hiking excursion with his buddy Cornelius.

Day 5: The elf ate all of the advent calendar chocolates last night!  He apologized once he realized that it was not a game to test how many chocolates you could put in your mouth in 24 seconds.

Day 6: This morning the elf challenged me to a “friendly game” of Five Second Snow Flake. If I made the best snowflake in five seconds, the elf would have to wear normal clothes until Christmas. If the elf won, I would have to wear elf clothes on Christmas Day. I might not be going out very much on Christmas Day ?

Day 7: Nikki and I were looking forward to watching a movie in bed last night. The elf insisted on joining us and complained about our pillows not being fluffy the entire movie. I told him the pillows were stuffed with goose feathers and that they couldn’t get any fluffier. I guess I was wrong.

Day 8: Every year my family and I have a “Grinch Night” party before Christmas. We eat roast beast, Who pudding and watch the Grinch Movie. I didn’t understand why the Elf kept referring to the Grinch movie as a documentary until he invited a “friend” over for the party.