So it's that time of year again. Consumer madness at its height. Kids hyped up on sugar. Frazzled parents. Empty wallets. And creepy creepy elves! You know the kind? Sent by Santa to check on boys and girls to see if they're being good and worthy of presents this year. With their creepy big eyes and vacant faces they slowly but surely take over the house causing mayhem wherever they see fit.

Yeah. We don't do that!

Now don't get me wrong, when I first heard about the elf idea it struck me as quite nice. Fostering the magic of Christmas and Santa, lovely. Thing is, I didn't look into it anymore, I took the idea and ran with it my way. I created my own elf (slight guilt as he sat in the oven baking, even more when his head feel off, yay superglue!) and set about creating our own tradition:

Our elf does come from Santa, well where else would an elf come from? But he's not here to spy, no our elf is here to learn more about our monkey and our Christmas celebrations. He's asked that every day we tell him about what we've been doing, an extension of our "what was happy today" discussion we have anyway. We don't do naughty and nice in this household. Too often what is deemed naughty these days is just a child learning boundaries and the way of the world, I don't think they should ever be threatened for that. Anyway, if the child is "naughty" am I really going to cancel Christmas? Unlikely! And what kind of message does that give?!

Our elf isn't mischievous either. Now I know, where's the fun in that right? As I look around t'internet I'm amazed at some of the elf escapades enacted by parents having a bit of late night fun. Don't get me wrong, it looks brill, but... I don't think it's acceptable for my son to cover the tree in toilet roll, to steal chocolate from the calendar, to create a big mess in the kitchen, so why would I accept it from an elf? We try very much to lead by example in this household and whilst I think there's always room for a bit of fun I don't like the idea of confusing the lines and boundaries, deliberate acts of "naughtyness" just seem too much.

So there you go, my bah humbug take on the elf! In our house Christmas is always about magic, family, friendship, thoughtfulness and care, our elf enhances that