As if  Santa Claus wasn’t a hard enough sell, how about the Elf on the Shelf.  Really??? Let’s pile on some more pressure. The Santa myth is dubious enough. Especially implausible to the high tech kids we are trying to fool in 2012. Starting at age 2 they are fully capable of processing a search on their iPads, their Macs,  heck even their Kindles. “Santa – Fact or Fiction?” “How many miles to the North Pole?” I’m sure you get the idea!

Enter the Elf on the Shelf:  The Elf is “a very special tool that helps Santa know who to put on the Naughty and Nice list.” First you have to buy the kit; if you can find it.  Last year you couldn’t — even on the black market.  If you didn’t have it  by Thanksgiving, forget it, your too late.  According to “legend” the Elf starts his nightly espionage duties on the day after Thanksgiving. For the next month Santa’s “scout” is the eyes and ears of Santa.  It is purported that he takes in all the day-today-activities around the house– God forbid someone outside the house should actually witness the day to day mayhem that actually occurs. As if all this isn’t already beyond belief, the Elf flies back to the North Pole every night while you sleep to give his report  to the Big Man himself, who is taking names and making notes. The Elf then flies back again (in the same night) and finds a new perch to observe the household from. On top of all our other Christmas duties, add in finding a new hiding spot for the Elf each and every night leading up the big night, Christmas Eve. This year Thanksgiving fell one week earlier so all the Elf disciples get an extra week of hiding places to come up with.

Incredible? Farfetched? Beyond belief? You bet, and yet anyone with kids who still believe in Santa must have one. The good news– kids today are so savvy and high tech that they will only believe until they are eight years old; that’s down three years from when I believed in Santa. (I was 11– really!)  Yes,Virginia, there is a Santa Claus; but there is also an Elf — and he is watching!