If you aren’t the type of person who put your Christmas decorations up November 1st, now is the time of year for transitioning from the season of Thanksgiving to the season of Christmas. As part of your Christmas décor this year, some of you may be contemplating whether your family should host one of Santa’s elves in your home for the season.
The Host an Elf program is a great program. Your guest elf has a blast coming up with new ideas for surprising your children, and the kids love the excitement of searching for their beloved elf each morning and learning of their most recent overnight shenanigans.
But hosting an elf can also be a lot of work, and requires a lot of responsibility on the host family. The decision to host is not one to take lightly.
If you are still considering whether to host an elf in your home this holiday season, keep these considerations in mind to learn if it is the right fit for you and your family.
The holiday season is busy. Do you have the time and energy to properly welcome and care for your elf guest?
The holiday season is filled with many activities, such as shopping for presents, holiday-themed events for the kids, school and church programs, family gatherings, baking and mailing holiday cards, just to name a few.
With all of these activities, does your family have the time and energy needed to appropriately host an elf?
Your elf guest will ask you for some assistance. They are unable to purchase many of their own supplies as they plan to delight your children, so much of the shopping and preparation for the elf’s daily shenanigans will fall on you as the adult host in the household. Do you have enough energy to run an extra errand to ensure that the supplies are ready each night?
Your elf guest may also have some difficulty coming up with his or her shenanigans and may need some guidance on what ideas your children will especially enjoy. Do you have the mental energy to sit down with your guest elf each night to help him or her to come up with unique ideas that will delight your children?
Remember that the holiday season can be busy enough without hosting an elf. Prioritizing spending quality time together as a family is a necessity during this busy season to support children to not feel overwhelmed and overstimulated by the holiday season. If you answered “no” to any of these questions, hosting an elf this season may not be the best option for you or your children this holiday season.
Can your children handle the pressure of the elf’s “naughty or nice list?”
Long before our time, the tradition was set: Santa sends his elves to watch over the children throughout the year to determine if the children are being “naughty” or “nice” so that Santa and his elves can save some time and energy on toy production by only making toys for the kids who make it on the “nice” list.
As a therapist, I can tell you that your child takes this very seriously, and also feels a lot of pressure to be perfect.
Many parents love this aspect of Christmas; they can trust that their children are sincerely trying to be on their best behavior in hopes of making it onto Santa’s “nice” list and receiving the gifts that they most desire in this world. However, even though this can be a motivator for children, being constantly watched by an elf in their very own home can put a lot of pressure on a young child. When you add into the mix that the schedule is busy and hectic, sugar consumption is at a year-long high and the environment is filled with overstimulating lights, sounds, décor and people, the combination can be catastrophic.
Making your household an elf-free zone allows your child the freedom to have the normal reactions to the holiday season that aren’t “nice list”-worthy. It also allows for no-pressure family interactions, in which you expect your child to act like a normal child, versus putting on the pressure to “be good…the elf is watching.”
For many families, the presence of an elf guest in the house only leads to increased pressure in an already pressure-filled situation, which can make home life feel more stressful during the holiday season.
If your kid is likely to crack under the constant pressure of the elf’s watchful eyes, hosting an elf this holiday season might not be for you.
Does your child understand that not all families have the luxury of hosting an elf each season?
Some families may wish to host an elf this season but don’t have the time, energy, or financial means to help support the elf in what they have planned for entertainment of the children.
Some families have so much going on at a high level of stress that they don’t even have the opportunity to consider hosting an elf for their children’s entertainment this season.
These differences among families can be confusing for children and can create uncomfortable or conflicted conversations between children when they are unaware of the differences among families.
If you choose to host an elf this holiday season, share with your child that not all families have the privilege to welcome an elf into their home. Remind them that some of their classmates may have families who do not have the means to host an elf, even if they want to and to recognize that if a friend at school does not have an elf staying at their house this season that it does not mean that there is anything wrong with this child or their family. Encourage your children to remember that having an elf at home is not a requirement for Christmas, but instead a choice that your family is making this year.
If you choose not to host an elf this holiday season, encourage your children to know that hosting an elf is a choice that families make, and that your family has chosen not to. Continue to discuss the excitement of Christmas and maintenance of other holiday traditions, even if your family is not hosting an elf this year.
Participating in the Host an Elf program is a personal decision that parents make based on whether doing so is in their children’s best interests. Whether you decide to participate or not this year, be sure to talk with your children about your choice to help them to understand the differences amongst families when it comes to this holiday tradition to ensure that children understand that neither choice is right or wrong. Remember to remind children not to tease or bully others simply because they do things differently, whether it be hosting an elf for the holidays or some other habit, behavior or tradition.
With these considerations, you will be able to decide if hosting an elf this holiday season is the right fit for your family, or if it is best to keep your home an elf-free zone. Either way, enjoy your holiday season and remember to carve out some time to spend together as a family, making holiday memories that will last a lifetime.
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