The Elf that Came Out of the Closet

Since last year there has been a list of things I've looked forward to for this Christmas season; from putting up my tree in front of my big picture window, to hanging stockings from my fire place, building snowmen in the front yard, and doing the Elf on the Shelf with my children.

Yes, I'm one of those; which I'm sure you've figured out by the influx of Elf pictures on Instagram and Twitter.

But really, this has been something I've been thinking about and planning all year. So much so, I actually created a secret Pinterest board of ideas so no one would steal them from me (don't worry, the board is no longer secret, feel free to steal away).

So when we finally got to say goodbye to Thanksgiving and bring in everything Christmas I was (literally) jumping for joy.

December 1st we welcomed our Elf, from then on named Felix, who decorated our home for the holiday season; tree, garlin, and pine cones galore.

December 2nd he watched from on high...

 And on the 3rd he dumped an entire bag of powered sugar on my counter and made snow angels (insert "Awe" here)...

The 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th he got a little lazy and just hung out while still keeping the kids guessing as to what he'd be doing next...

How fun right? Doing a little something everyday that brought smiles to my children's faces and kept the magic of Christmas alive in their hearts? What could be better? Best Mom award goes right here.

And so the magic continued.

Felix kept surprising us everyday and the boys practically flew out of bed in the morning to find that he had wrapped the pictures in the living room to look like presents...

 ...and had decorated the kitchen in paper snowflakes...

But my joy and planning of the next few days' elf activities was about to take on a whole new meaning when my son starting asking some peculiar questions about our elf's' daily habits.

On the day of the snowflake surprise (which had taken me 3 hours to do the night before) my precious Tyler looked up to me with a questioning expression on his sweet face and asked, "Mom. Why does Felix decorate so much? Isn't he a boy? Boys don't decorate."

Dumbfounded I looked at him. What is he talking about? Boys do too decorate. I have several male friends that decorate, but they're all....ugh oh. What was a mother to do so early in the morning? Before her first cup of coffee?

"We don't judge Tyler" was all I could come up with. And just like that our dear, sweet elf from the North Pole came out of the closet.

I suppose there were better ways of handling it and had they happened later that day, the conversation probably would have gone much differently. But alas, it did not. It was not intentional. I just forget how to be June Cleaver in the mornings; with all her perfect answers to life's questions.

So now I'm going with the line of thinking that there is no better way of teaching acceptance to my child than by using the magic of Christmas. If for no other reason than to keep the Mommy guilt at bay.

But, honestly, I'm perfectly happy with having a Gay elf who likes to decorate. What better way to teach my children a valuable life lesson and make my home overly festive around the holidays without much effort?

**Have you been celebrating Elf on the Shelf with your kids this year? What crazy antics have your elves been up to? Have you found your elf experience to be fun or way too time consuming? Let me know! I may steal your ideas for next year.**