The true meaning of the Elf on the Shelf

I just read a Facebook post from a new parent asking whether or not they should do the Elf on the Shelf thing this year.  As many of you know from last year, my house has jumped on the bandwagon with both feet.  Reading some of the comments on the Facebook post admittedly got me a bit heated.

Most people were in favor of the elf, but there were a few that get creeped out (which I totally understand) and there were several holy rollers that were pontificating about the elf not bringing the true meaning of Christmas into your home.  I don't understand these.

The Christmas season hasn't (societally) been about Jesus's birth for a long time now.  It's a commercial holiday aimed at maximizing retail profits during the last month of the last fiscal quarter.  And, seriously, who doesn't love presents?... so we go along with it.  It is up to us to bring whatever meaning of Christmas we want into our homes, and it is up to us when we do it.

I keep the spirit of Christmas in my home throughout the year.  I don't bust out the "be kind to others" once a year; I teach this to my son all twelve months.  I don't bring God into my home just one month; he's there all year.  Christmas isn't just about presents; it's about family.

My dad was away working, providing for our family, much of the year.  Christmas was the only time we knew that he would be home.  If we were away with him, Christmas was the time we knew we would go home and see the rest of our family.  Presents are just icing on the cake.

So, yes, we do the Elf on the Shelf thing (even though the company made me mad over some copyrighting thing last year), but we choose how he comes into our home and what he means.  Get over it (unless he creeps you out, then stay away), and have some serious fun with it.