Are your elves ready for their trip back??

[Holiday Joy]

Snowflake the Reindeer will be leaving on Christmas Day (Santa will come back for her so that DD can show her all of her new Christmas things!). DD isn't too happy -- she LOVES Snowflake and is asking if she will return for her birthday and other events!

Are all the elves/helpers going back with Santa? Are your children begging to have them stay? Will anyone cave in and let them?

 

[masonsmommy]

My son is very sad to see Jingles go. He has been crying over it the past two nights. I think that over the course of the year, Jingles might be leaving little gifts here and there. :skate:

 

[MrsSoup]

I'm not sure my son cares one way or the other. He didn't take to it like I thought he would. He has enjoyed it but we went on vacation for a week and then he went to his fathers for the weekend so that cut a huge chunk out of our elf time. Today will be the last gift they leave and it's a gingerbread house kit. They will leave with Santa tonight and Santa will leave a note.

 

[momof4]

Tobias left Christmas Eve night. DD and DS were very sad. They took several pictures of him and each gave him a HUGE hug before we placed him by Santa's cookies. The first thing DD did Christmas morning was see if our elf was gone - she didn't even look under the tree for her gifts! When she saw he was gone, she sobbed :frown: It was really heartbreaking!

 

[Holiday Joy]

Yes, my DD's heart was breaking at the thought of Snowflake returning. I thought that the excitement of Christmas gifts would be enough to get her mind off of it, but she was really torn. So I was a 'weenie' and let Snowflake stay for a few more days -- after all, most of the work is done right now at the North Pole, right? She's really not needed back there for a few more days at LEAST. DD is asking if she can come back on Valentine's Day for a visit, and I assured her that she could come back for some special days. She is slowly preparing herself to say goodbye, but secretly, I'm going to let her make that choice. I hope to have an elf next year, anyway. I know this isn't how it's supposed to go, but DD was truly upset, trying to hoid it in, etc. It was just too much.
It wasn't this way with our leprechaun, but then, our leprechaun was only here for a week.

 

[christmascreations]

Yes, my DD's heart was breaking at the thought of Snowflake returning. I thought that the excitement of Christmas gifts would be enough to get her mind off of it, but she was really torn. So I was a 'weenie' and let Snowflake stay for a few more days -- after all, most of the work is done right now at the North Pole, right? She's really not needed back there for a few more days at LEAST. DD is asking if she can come back on Valentine's Day for a visit, and I assured her that she could come back for some special days. She is slowly preparing herself to say goodbye, but secretly, I'm going to let her make that choice. I hope to have an elf next year, anyway. I know this isn't how it's supposed to go, but DD was truly upset, trying to hoid it in, etc. It was just too much.
It wasn't this way with our leprechaun, but then, our leprechaun was only here for a week.

Kudos to you if you can pull it off, but there is NO WAY I could keep up with elf antics for more than 24 days. I barely made the 24 days. One night I forgot to set things up and before I woke the boys up for school I stuffed tissues in the elf sleeping bags and said they must have a cold... it worked but I still felt bad.

Fortunately for me my boys understood that the elves were going to celebrate all their hard work with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Christmas day, not to mention the fact that Santa also needed the elves' help with the gifts (after all it is ALOT of gifts for ONE night....lol) so they were well prepared. They were still a little upset saying goodnight/goodbye to them and one of my boys even wrote a note to his elf and tucked it in the sled (without telling me about it). They do look forward to seeing them again and I look forward to hear their excitement while I pretend to sleep during their elf discoveries on the weekends!!!

 

[Holiday Joy]

QUICK thinking about the tissues in the sleeping bags! :haha: And you're right -- if Snowflake had to stay and keep up with the antics, we would never make it! But because my DD really knows that we were both pretending about Snowflake (though I never let on), she is not expecting any more antics of any kind. She just loves to play with him and sleep with him.

Hindsight: DD knew Snowflake was temporary and needed to go back. It was mentioned often--he was needed at the NP, he would miss his friends and family, etc. But maybe I needed to build in a more formal 'goodbye ceremony' a day or two before Christmas to give her time to really adjust.