Why I Oughta...

You can't swing a dead cat and NOT hit a Pinterest board or wanna-be Instagram Influencer without seeing their Elf-on-the-shelf shenanigans.  But, I'm here to say that our elf, Goldie, thanks to a certain someone, killed it this year.  He arrived, had a good time and hit the bricks as fast as he came.  Here he is feeding the reindeer:  I've covered Golide before - most recently in 2019 when he met my guy Hulk Hogan  and when he had tea time with a homeless lady under our tree . 

We've had the Nintendo Switch for a year or so now and it finally suffered some damage at the hands of the kids.  Just to be perfectly clear:  they're TOTAL screen-time addicts.  At least two of them.  And the Switch - with Animal Crossings New Horizons - had made them lose their minds on the regular.  So, it wasn't a surprise to me that they would drop the thing and break off one of the joycons.   Here's a look at it - the front above - and the back below.  I was able to pry the battery out and unplug it from the controller.  Not sure what we can do with it, but I figure we can hold on to the battery and toss the rest, right? Seems like Goldie - our elf - might have to bring a new JoyCon to the house this Christmas season?

Over the years, I've shared a couple of creative situations that our very own Elf on the Shelf named Goldie has gotten himself into in the overnight hours.  Last year (well...actually in January of *this* year), I posted a photo of him having a little breakfast croissants with a little dollhouse doll.    And in 2016, Goldie got a little confused and didn't end up enjoying the dog treats .  What a ham.   But this year?  He's leaning way into the fun by applying what I'd call an unconventional figure-four wrestling move on the Hulkster - Hulk Hogan.   I'm sure that the Elf did this to entertain the kids, but I also was the benefactor of my childhood memories being used to build shared memories. I've posted a few of my childhood WWF LJN wrestlers here on the blog over the years including Nikoli Volkoff (in his USSR red sweatshirt) , as well as a Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake MOC LJN wrestling figure and a Jake "The Snake" Roberts LJ...

It was a nice little set of visits from Golide, our Elf on the Shelf, this Christmas season.  I think this was his final morning with us on Christmas Eve before he flew away for another 11 months.  Thank goodness that he didn't have any sort of cookie/dog treat mishap like he did a few years back .  There's pages all over the web spilled on both sides of the Elf on the Shelf debate.  There are plenty of folks who are posting tips/ideas for what the Elf can do in your house.  Then there are the other folks who shun the Elf.  Then...frankly there are the third set of folks - the militantly opposed to the Elf people.  I'm not ashamed to say that we're firmly in the pro-Elf on the Shelf category.  Have to embrace these years while we can, amirite?!?!

Best day of the year?  Yeah.  Sure is.  Hope you spend it with the ones you love.  I know I will be.  I'm grateful for my family and I'm most grateful for Nat.  Today is the last day we get to spend with our elf Goldie.  I'm grateful for his visits.  And the little bit of magic he shares with my kids.  See you in 11 months, Golide. 

Our little Elf on the Shelf named Goldie gave the little treats that we give Lizzie a try and I don't think he liked them. Naturally, he left the girls a little note with some friendly advice for Christmas Eve and Santa Claus. (To be clear....Nat is the funny one in the family for those keeping track at home.  She continues to impress with her Elf-antics each morning.)