Arthur's Christmas

I took it hard. Personally. A new Christmas tradition, one that extended the excitement of Christmas Eve over the span of the whole month. Elf on the shelf. I was so excited when that shiny white box arrived in the mail, the contents a new hardcover story to read to the kids and an adorable little elf perched on a cardboard shelf. The kids were also excited when he arrived. Our entire dinner revolved around choosing a name for the little guy. Each of us was to choose two names that at least three family members liked--majority still rules, right?--and then the top two of each of ours were placed in a hat that the littlest munchkin, Wyatt would draw from. Wyatt stuck his pudgy little hand in the hat and pulled out a name, carefully written on a piece of Christmas tree stationary. His name was to be Arthur.

We jumped into bed that night and read his story. He was Santa's helper. He would leave every night after the kids were in bed to travel to the North Pole with a report on whether or not they had been good that day. On Christmas Eve when Santa made his rounds, dropping off presents and enlarging his bowl full of jelly belly with mounds of chocolate chip cookies and whole milk, Arthur would make his final trip the North Pole until next year. I passed out hugs and tucked the kids in for thier long winter's nap--ok, for the night.

In the morning, I crept into their rooms and woke them up whispering, "Where's Arthur?" Ryleigh leapt from the bed and met Caleb in the hallway where they went on a scavenger hunt for our little elf. They asked for a few hints to which the hubs provided them clever riddles. Then,they spotted him...


This routine went on for three or four other mornings but this morning when I asked them as usual, "Where's Arthur?" the excitement was gone. The novelty had already worn off. Ryleigh, instead, wanted to get in a show or two of Spongebob Squarepants before having breakfast and getting ready for school. She didn't have time to look for an elf, and she didn't want to. Caleb found out this year that Santa isn't real and because of this and the simple fact that he is older, his excitement was linked to hers. Without her excitement, his wouldn't even spark. I was crushed.

I truly wanted this to be a tradition that would bring a little bit of the thrill of Christmas Day to every day in December rather than just being limited to one day. My hope was to increase the magic of Christmas for them. I guess as a mother you try to do things that will excite your children, make them happy, and in turn, keep them kids longer. It doesn't always work out that way. The fact that they are children means that they can be easily distrated by something or that they can quickly lose interest in something else. Even though it's hard, we should try not to beat ourselves up about it, because as parents, everything we do is to see a smile on their sweet faces. It's really all we can ever do. Try. And even as I say this, inside I'm still bummed.

Having said that, I'm not ready to give up on Arthur just yet. Sure, this year was a crapshoot but next year the kids could be busting at the seams to read his story again and see him sitting patiently on our mantle the next morning, waiting to be found. Then again, they may never mention him after tonight. I guess the magic of Christmas is a lot like childhood, you have to really enjoy it while you have it because it can vanish with the blink of an eye.

It's morningtime again and I left my blog last night to sleep on it before posting, the ending just didn't seem poignant enough. I followed my typical morning routine of putting the baby in his play area and making my way to the kitchen to select a coffee mug. I opened the cabinet...


The hubs. He's good. He overheard me yesterday desperately trying to coax the kids into finding Arthur, attempts that went in vain. He must have found Arthur in the closet where I put him after I realized that tomorrow morning when he wasn't hiding, the kids wouldn't even notice. The hubs. I love that guy. He makes me smile. Perhaps the magic of Christmas isn't entirely gone this year after all.