The elf on the shelf.
2007. Long before he was hip to have, a funny little elf graced our home. The kids named him Jingle Bell. December after December, he left the North Pole and kept a watchful eye over my little ones, reporting to Santa on who was naughty and who was nice.
For the kids, the excitment each morning was looking for JB…. “where was his new lookout location?”
For us parents, pulses quickened as we tried to remember if we helped JB find a tricky new hiding spot, or be left to come up with clever reasons why the elf had forgotten to move on particular nights.
To sum up, this is basically an elaborate, month-long game of hide-and-seek in an effort to get children to mind their manners during the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Fast forward a few years. New home, new country, and no elf. Of the 6 Christmas boxes on this journey with us, they contained 4 trees (yes FOUR?), ornaments,ribbons, stockings… but no elf.
Enter Jose, el elfo en la plataforma. Or known ain our house as El elfo en la shelfo.
Jose is the elf sent to Puerto Rico to watch over the children and report back to Santa.
He arrived today, bringing the kids an advent calendar. He has perched himself atop the Christmas tree, scoping out his next pit stop.
I am thankful that we avoided some tricky explanations and the loss of a family tradition. Can’t wait to reaquaint ourselves with our possessions in a few years - I am sure that Jingle Bell and Jose will hit it off famously.
**Please note – this is just a fun way to replace our missing elf – do not search the internet for el elfo en la plataforma. This is just our own Puerto Rican version of this fun tradition. **
