Patrick, the Elf on the Shelf, has returned

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we have a house guest to entertain. His name is Patrick, and he’s an Elf on the Shelf.

Three years ago my mom purchased an Elf on the Shelf after I heard about them on Q97.9 while driving home after dropping my daughter off at school one day. I thought it was an extremely cute idea, as did my mom, so she purchased one on Amazon that very day. To say it was one of the best purchases she’s ever made would be understatement.

My daughter LOVES her elf. She’s believed he was real since the day he arrived on our doorstep. She talks to him. She makes him presents. She makes his meals. She shows him love and affection, which we all love.

Of course, Mikala can’t actually hear his answers to the questions she asks him, so the rest of us are the ones that provide answers because we’ve told her only adults have the capability of hearing what he says. She knows that she can’t directly touch him because he will disappear. She also knows that he’s watching her, even when she can’t see him and he reports her behavior back to Santa.

A month ago Mikala created a calender to mark off the days until Patrick was scheduled to arrive. Everyday that Thanksgiving drew closer, she got more and more exc

ited. The joy on her face when she saw him for the first time early yesterday morning was priceless. Her face lit up. There’s not a more beautiful sight in the world than a child’s face that is lined with absolute happiness. And that’s what we saw.
I know come Monday morning she’s going to mention him at school and some little kid is goingto finally ruin it for her. We’ve managed to keep her believing in Santa Claus until almost 10 years of age. We’ve been able to keep the Magic of Christmas alive for her for longer than we thought possible and it’s going to be REALLY hard to explain to her that Patrick’s not real. And I hope when we explain why we did it, and how we wanted to give her memories to last a lifetime, she will understand and want to continue to do the same thing for her little brother who wholeheartedly believes Patrick is real.

If you’re a parent looking for a way to bring a little extra magic to your child’s holiday season, I most definitely recommend buying The Elf on a Shelf. The smile it puts on your child’s face will be worth the money spent.

(If you look closely at the photo of my son, you can actually see Patrick’s feet sticking out of the Christmas tree.)