Disclaimer

This was originally pusblished on December 31, 2017.  I am posting it early because hellloooo, Gidget is going to be coming back soon.  And I realized that I never got around to posting all of her antics in 2019.  So, with that said, read the content below and then go click on “Gidget the Elf” in the main menu.  

**Random fact and pattern you will see – I like to use disclaimers, so here’s another one: The past 5 weeks have been a whirlwind. This holiday season came with a lot of highs and lows and this whole project got put on the back burner.  I’ve also realized that there’s been an underlying layer of fear behind this whole thing. A LOT of fear.  If I haven’t mentioned it before, for the most part, I have let fear run my life. I have allowed fear to impact most of my life decisions and hold me back from taking risks. It has impacted my relationships and not allowed me to be my true, authentic self. My dad always told me “fear is false evidence appearing real” and after allllll these years, I finally understand what that means and can work on letting go and letting God.  So, with that said, here’s one of the highs from the past month, our Elf Gidget. 

We do Elf on the Shelf a little different over here in my family unit of 4 (plus a fur child.) This is the second year that our little elf has “come to our house from the North Pole.”

Now, before i say anything else, let me say this: I do not condone the whole concept of the elf watching and reporting back to Santa nonsense. #1, I personally don’t think it’s right to label children “good” or “bad” and #2, kids should make efforts to behave year round, not during the holidays because of an overpriced stuffed little elf. Stupid. Now, do my kids behave on the reg? Fuck no! And if any mother says HERS do, I’d ask to take a seat on her rapidly growing nose cuz I’m spent.

My point is, I just don’t think it’s a good message to send children. For example:

“Uh oh, if you keep (insert “bad” behavior) then (insert given name) is going to tell Santa and you may not get any presents (or whatever other outlandish consequence that they already know they won’t follow through with.)”*

All of that being said: I LOVED the idea of getting creative with the elf and adding to to the “magic” and fun of the holiday season. So I put my own twist on it. My eldest daughter, Apple #1 (A1) had named our elf Gidget before even seeing her. I had been telling her that an elf was going to be visiting our house but I didn’t know when yet. The apple does not fall far my friends because when that morning came, she was soooo scared. She did not want to go downstairs to look for Gidget and I wasn’t going to force her. So instead, Gidget came at night, having pictures magically appear on my phone. She would leave Hershey kisses in the advent calendar and it became SO fun for A1 (and me too! A2 was too young to get it.)

This year, I stepped it up a notch and simplified my life at the same time. Gidget came every 5 days and left “gifts” from Mrs. Claus’ closet or Christmas gummies in the advent calendar. Not only that, Gidget’s notes had “lessons” in them too. It seems like the older my girls get, so does Gidget because she really seems to have matured this past year (wink wink!) 

Without further adieu, I introduce to you, Gidget.

3 last things of note:

1. If you actually pause the slideshow to read the notes, I’m sorry my handwriting is so atrocious.
2. If you don’t give a fuck (GAF) about Gidget, zero fucks given (ZFG) here too. Just move on to the next post.
3. According to “The Secret Language of Birthdays,” I am ruled by the #3 and that’s going to be a theme you’ll see throughout this blog, at least in the first 6-7 posts. Sounds crazy, I know. But I’ve always been a little crazy and today, I embrace the crazy.

#morewillberevealed