The only reason I have this Elf in the first place

is because the school sent a memo home telling me to buy it. The exact words were:

We all know how important magic is to children, so in the interest of Christmas, please purchase your Elf at Joanne of Hallmark. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you.

Of course, due to the above memo, the stores were sold out. And because of all the hype the school put into this Elf, my second grader woke up every morning with a frown on his face, because Santa didn’t love him enough to bring him an Elf. When we did finally get one, I had an awful time hiding it from my children… and at one moment, I had to shove it down the back of my pants just to keep everything secured.

But we’ve moved beyond all that now. I’m much wiser; I know how to handle the Elf. So, to my surprise, this year the same school has done a complete 360. Here is this year’s memo:

(photoshop allowed me to white-out the principal’s name, just to protect everyone)

Due to these issues, we request that students leave their Elves at home.
Citing disruption, loss of instructional time and “negative relationships.”

17 Comments

Greg

December 13, 2007 at 5:58 pm

This is great! Education at its finest. Kids always will figure out a way to have fun.

Colleen

December 13, 2007 at 7:19 pm

I can’t believe the school made you buy an elf.

SusieJ

December 13, 2007 at 7:22 pm

Oh, no, Colleen.. . They shamed us into buying an Elf.

Jenny McB

December 13, 2007 at 7:39 pm

Could you send me an email and let me know what the elf is all about? Thankfully this never happened when my boys were that age. I just hate when the school gets into family life. Just teach please….

Painted Maypole

December 13, 2007 at 8:24 pm

wow. i so would have written a letter of disgust to the school after the first letter they sent home.

we almost didn’t let MQ do the little “shop” they set up at school to shop for us, because we felt like it was teaching her to buy stuff just to buy stuff… but in the end I let her do it anyways.

but to have to buy an elf at a store? bite me.

Kelly O

December 13, 2007 at 8:51 pm

Oh. Wow. Nothing says Christmas magic like “Please prove your love by buying this crappy toy probably made in China by workers not much older than your own sweet child.”

Michelle at Scribbit

December 13, 2007 at 9:35 pm

I don’t understand why they wanted you to buy it in the first place–a fundraiser?

Bizarre.

SusieJ

December 13, 2007 at 10:48 pm

Just some crazy fad — that really caught on. It was bizarre how the teachers saw it as so important to their development of their imaginations to have this Elf.

bill

December 14, 2007 at 7:42 am

You surely don’t expect consistency, or intellectual rigor, from a school administration that thinks pushing elves is a good idea, but apologises for it in the very same letter?

Laundry & Children

December 14, 2007 at 9:57 am

Our daughter goes to Catholic school so you know that there is a lot of shaming the parents in to doing things. I absolutally hate it. Sometimes we are just not in a position to do what is requested and sometime, like buying things for the sake of buying them, it goes against our parenting philosophy. I agree that schools should teach and leave the parenting up to the parents. Nonetheless, your kids having the elf over the fan is hysterical.