Everyone knows that Christmas is a magical time of year, and many parents of little ones will agree that during this season the magical powers of ‘Elf on the Shelf’ can have a wonderful impact on children’s attitudes.
When my grandson was in kindergarten he was obsessed with ‘Pete the Cat’. He not only could recite each and every one of his books, but he also had a small and a medium stuffed ‘Pete the Cat’. For Christmas he only asked for two things that year; 1) a large stuffed ‘Pete the Cat’ that was as big as him 2) an elf costume for his tiny ‘Pete the Cat’. Because we were nine hours away from each other, I got on the phone with my daughter and asked her if it would be okay if I made the elf costume for the BIG ‘Pete the Cat’. She didn’t think that was an issue, in fact it would be cuter and MUCH easier for me to do it that way. I bought three different types of matching Christmas fabrics and proceeded to create curly shoes, a vest, pants, and a hat for the huge ‘Pete the Cat’.
Our family rotates gathering together each year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This particular year we got together on Thanksgiving or as I call it, ‘Thanksmas’. Although we would get back together with our daughter at Christmas, this was the perfect time to give this cute kindergartener the giant ‘Pete the Cat’ as well as the elf costume he had requested. Our creative little guy was extremely excited when he got the elf costume on the big cat. I pulled my grandson aside and asked him why he wanted an elf costume for his stuffed animal and if he would like an elf costume for any other animals. He told me that he only wanted a costume for Pete. When asked why he wanted a costume for Pete; he told me his plan. He said that he really wanted the costume for his tiny Pete, and that when their Elf on the Shelf, Eddie, showed up, he was going to have Pete the Cat in the elf costume touch Eddie’s hand, and Eddie would give Pete magic powers. He went on to say that he knew that he wouldn’t be able to touch Pete until Christmas, but ‘Pete the Cat’ would have so much fun hanging with Eddie and reporting back to Santa at the North Pole each night. As I shared this story with the other adults, we knew that we had to make my grandson’s dreams a reality! The next day, Eddie the Elf showed up to spend the Christmas season with the boys. He was carefully placed where our grandson could carefully place Pete with his elf costume next to Eddie allowing Eddie’s hand to touch Pete’s hand, and the magic could begin. That year, my daughter and son-in-law had to be VERY creative in placing Eddie the Elf so that ‘Pete the Cat’ in his elf suit was by his side, or somewhere close. Whether they were hanging the ‘elves’ from the dining room chandelier, having them make cookies, or even playing in and on the fridge, these elves were side by side. Christmas day, Eddie returned to the North, and Pete the Cat’s costume was folded up neatly next to the Christmas tree. This became part of the Elf tradition for several years to come.
Every time I look at the picture of the grandkids from that ‘Thanksmas’, with the life-sized ‘Pete the Cat’ in his elf costume, it makes me giggle. Our kindergartener had faith! He had faith that ‘Pete the Cat’ would become magical, at the touch of Eddie, the Elf on the shelf. There was no doubt in his mind, that no matter how big that stuffed animal was, it would come to life at night, and head to the North Pole to have a chat with Santa. This little guy challenged me. It made me ask myself, do I have as much faith in God, our father, as this creative kid had in Christmas magic? Do I live my life trusting God and trusting the power of God, as our grandson had faith in the power of Eddie the elf? Sometimes we just need a simple reminder that our faith is God is bigger than us. Who knows what God can do, if and when we put our faith in Him.
“Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
