Our Naughty Elf on the Shelf

By Kat McDaniel, Principal at MEDiAHEAD

My children (and I) did not discover Elf on the Shelf until they were in their twenties. As adults, we would all take turns every night putting the poor elf in many hilarious positions to surprise each other in the morning.

According to the book, Elf on the Shelf by Carol Aebersold, Santa sends an elf to each house to be his eyes and ears to determine who is naughty and who is nice. Each night, the elf flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa, and then returns back to the home they came from.

When Christmas time rolls around, honestly the only way to survive it at our house is to have fun with it. The McDaniel tradition is to think up a million ways to entertain ourselves by putting the elf in situations that are something less than PG.

Our little Elf can get himself into quite a few pickles.

From obnoxious pranks to inappropriate scenarios, that little elf has been put into many, many compromising positions.

My favorite time with Elf was when Amy and I lived in the Crossroads. Many times, we woke up to Elfie sprawled face down on the balcony wrapped around a bottle of J. Rieger Gin, with frost forming on his little body.

We lowered him on fishing wire with a tiny set of toy binoculars to the floors below, so he could spy on the other loft dwellers.

He was roasted, microwaved and frozen in a block of ice.

Last year, Elf’s girlfriend Santa Baby came to live with John and I. Many hilarious scenes ensued – one night they even got Teddy lit on a bottle of wine.

My daughter alerted me that this year they are selling clothing for the Elves – when I Googled it, one of the questions was “Can Elf on the shelf wear Barbie clothes?” My thoughts are now rampant as to what we will do with the Elf this year.

Some 2020 themes I am thinking of – a mask of course, Elfie in a dumpster fire, evil Zoom elf and home school frazzled parent elf.

My first December elf today was bacon wrapped and in the cast iron skillet for John – just a little sizzle to get him moving on this cold morning.

Tom Mentzer’s Version

This morning I laughed so hard I spit my coffee out when Tom Mentzer posted a picture of himself as the Elf on the shelf. You’re welcome at our house anytime!