DAD DIARY: The Elf on a Shelf is up to mischief on Achill Island

We decided to give in.

AFTER a few years of pleading from Frankie, we decided to leave the door open and let the infamous Elf on the Shelf into our Achill Island home this Christmas.

We had resisted it up to now – afraid of the damage he might do or, the kids’ reactions if he slept through the night and did not get up to any mischief.

For the uninitiated, the Elf on the Shelf comes alive at night time when the kids are asleep and can get up to all sorts of dastardly behaviour. He has been known to break things, spill food and generally make a mess. Easy to see why you might not welcome him in…. But we let him in this year, and we’re sorry we didn’t do it sooner – he has been great fun.

We’re just over a week into it. and so far he has been up to all sorts. He climbed the Christmas tree in an unsuccessful effort to put the star on the top. He opened the fridge and was found asleep next to a bottle of pinot grigio. He went out and used Séimí’s potty and didn’t clean up afterwards. (To my untrained eye, his deposits looked suspiciously like raisins, but neither Frankie (7), Éamon (5) nor Séimí (2) were willing to touch them, never mind taste them.)

And, the rascal that he is, we found him one morning driving a car with Frankie’s Elsa (from Frozen) doll sitting in the front seat. The elf had one hand on the steering wheel and the other arm around Elsa. It’s a good job we got up when we did, because the car was pointed in the direction of the spare bedroom.

The kids have found all of this an absolute howl, and their innocence and wonder about it all is a joy to behold. Frankie goes to bed every night asking ‘I wonder what the elf will do tonight?’ and, as soon as she wakes up, she rushes down to find out.

He has also been marking the kids’ behaviour since December 1. There’s four ‘grades’ on a scratch card for every day until Christmas Day – Very Good, Quite Good, A Little Naughty, Very Naughty, earning 10, 8, 5 and 0 points respectively.

The more points you get, the better the reward from the elf on Christmas Day. Santa operates a different league table. Both have proved very effective.

This is the first year Séimí has really starting to appreciate the magic of Christmas. He’s three in January and is very excited about Santa. He’s not too demanding either, just saying Santa is going to bring him ‘presents’. We’ll enjoy that while it lasts.

Frankie and Éamon are like their father – indecisive and procrastinating. They still don’t know what they want and will have to get a move on.

But the three kids are revelling in the spirit of it all. Happy Christmas everyone – and keep an eye on the naughty elves!