Elf Medicine

Five days ago, our beloved friend, Frank the Elf, came back for his annual visit.  Larger Child had been looking forward to it for weeks, and even speculated as to when he might make his appearance.  The morning he arrived, LC was ecstatic, waking us up before the sunrise to let us know that "Frank came! Frank came!!" 

For those of you who don't know, Elves on the Shelf are Santa's Helpers who come every year sometime between Thanksgiving and the first of December.  They show up (unannounced), and essentially are spies that watch the kids. The story goes that these Elves then fly back to the North Pole every night to give the Big Man in Red an update on behavior of the children so Santa can adjust his list accordingly.  So, why on EARTH LC would be so stoked to have this little buggar in the house is beyond me, but nevertheless,  he was over the moon to see his little red friend again.

For a few mornings all was well. Every morning LC would get up, hunt for Frank (who would be in a new location every time... part of the "fun" they say), and then wake one of us up to let us know he was there. Through the day, Frank stays in the spot, watching... juuuuust watching....

The rule is that you can talk to your Elf, but he is not allowed to talk back.  You are also absolutely, without a doubt, NEVER EVER allowed to TOUCH the Elf.  This will make him lose his magic, and he would be then be unable to fly back to the North Pole. Okay, we can do that.

The one thing Santa and his helpers did not count for, however, was the tiny hands of the unknowing two year old little brother who doesn't quiiiite understand the levity and gravity of his actions if he were to say, grab Frank and carry him around the house for a while.

Yeah.

Apparently, it went something like this (I was out to brunch at the time, and did not witness any of the events.) LC and Beautiful Bald Husband were concentrating on a Lego set (like they do).  Frank was innocently sitting on the bookshelf, playing with a Light Bright. Smaller Child saw an opportunity to play with the little man in the red hat, and well, he took it.

From what I understand, Larger Child was devastated. He was crying, sobbing, unable to catch his breath.  He understood that Little Bro did not do it on purpose, that he didn't know any better, and was not necessarily upset with Brother, but was so so so worried about Frank. BBH acted fast, and began looking up remedies, fixes for the Magic-less Elf situation. And much to our blissful appreciation, there IS A CURE!

In case you ever find yourself in a similar situation, here's what you do:
1. Get a pencil and paper, and write a note to Mr. Claus explaining and apologizing for the situation. LC's went something like this:

2. Add some Elf Medicine (which apparently is cinnamon! who knew!?) to the envelope and address it to Mr. Claus at the North Pole.
3. Collect your recently broken and magic free friend and attach him to the envelope.
4. Place lifeless Elf and letter in the mailbox. 

and voila!

Apparently, the Big Man comes by and collects his friend, repairs and restores his magic, and replaces him to his rightful home by morning! The next morning, Frank was right as rain sitting in LC's stocking with a note from Santa himself attached to the toe.

Thank goodness for Elf Medicine, Fast Santa Mail, Christmas Magic, and Quick Thinking Daddies.