Hello !!

I hope everyone is safe and doing well !! Another Holiday Season means Holiday cards for you, you , and you !!

First some sad news…

It’s been one year since our poor Berry left us so tragically. A poor Elf on the shelf, gone way too soon. (For some people, but not for me.) Yes, it’s true. Our Elf on the Shelf Berry has died… So, we are gathered together today to pay tribute to one of the fallen, Berry.  He was very special to us and even though we were blessed to have him for only a short time, he made a lasting impact….

So for those of you who don't have an elf (and what a good decision that was), here's how it works: Santa sends down what is called a scout elf after Thanksgiving to hide in the homes of families to keep an eye the children to see how they're behaving, good or bad…. Creepy right ? Every night, the elf returns to the North Pole to report back (to Santa) your children's behavior. He returns to your home every morning before everyone wakes up and watches your child from a different part of the house…. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY !!! Honestly???? He/ she goes back and rats you out to Santa ?? My mom taught my sister and I never to be a tattle-tales, and when my sister got older she would whisper, “Snitches get Stitches” while making a knife cutting gesture at her throat… yeah, she’s younger than me, but that girl has some pretty big you know what.

The craziest part is that if your child for some reason touches the elf, he gets sent back forever. So every day as he watches, he watches from up high and out of reach of the kids. Elf on the Shelf comes with a cute book explaining his story and space where you can write his name and the date he was adopted into your family.

The elf goes back to the North Pole for the year on Christmas Eve returning next December. So, he is a spy from Santa sent to scare your children into behaving in order to still get their Christmas presents.

Every night was mayhem trying to figure out where to move Berry… so many nights we’ve woken up in a cold sweat, remembering we forgot to move him… I contemplated telling my nieces, Berry had a mid-air collision with a Boeing 747 the night before on his return to the North Pole, and how he’d gotten sucked into the engine and spat back out in a million tiny pieces of shredded polyester… but before I had a chance to sit them down and tell them my bold and ugly faced lie with no redemption for my soul, my Christmas miracle came…

One December morning… we woke up to blood curdling screams !! We ran into the living room and found my two nieces screaming, and what we saw in that ill fateful moment, will be seared into our minds and souls forever… my sisters’s Newfie Malachite (aka Mally Moo Moo) puppy had taken a huge bite out of Berry’s head… not a nibble, but a huge chunk !! Whose idea was it to leave Berry within Mally-lMoo Moo’s reach ? It turns out that villain was me… Getting into the Holiday “spirits” the night before, I thought I had placed Berry hanging from the Dining table light fixture, and I had actually put Barbie up there and basically stuffed Berry into Mally Moo Moo’s slobbering mouth !!!

The rest of the day was filled with tears, promises that Christmas magic was not lost, and Santa would still come… all while making arrangements to find Berry a bed at one of the best Trauma Centers at the North Pole…. Meanwhile, the guilt of everything was tearing a hole in my heart, and my inner grinch started melting… so I decided I had to knit Berry a hat, and matching sweater, so he would know how much we loved him, and because the gaping hole on his plastic head was too traumatic to look at, and was beginning to make me cry…. Berry was airlifted back to the North Pole and unfortunately despite the heroic efforts of his medical team, he succumbed to his injuries and we lost him forever (Technically, Berry’s not GONE but just not coming back) …. But the little prankster will never be forgotten. Because of him, we were guaranteed 30 days of the best behavior, all with 2 magical words… “Berry’s Watching”

So after a moment of silence, or since technically he is still alive, maybe we do thoughts and prayers… I would love for all of you to please fill out my Holiday Card Form… I love the Holidays… like LOOOOVE the Holidays !! I absolutely loved sending cards last year… there are so many new freindly faces here, and I would love to get to know all of you better, and send you a card, sharing and spreading the good tidings of the season !!

Couldn’t decide on a theme, so went with a few choices…. Please have FUN with the form, the only required questions are the usual ones… username, name, address, and which card you would like…

Sharing the Holidays with each and every one of you gives me more joy than you can imagine. While 2020 was hard, 2021 the Sequel (like all sequels) was tough for all of us. We’ve all had to navigate what has quickly become our new “normal”, deal with public health becoming political, having to wear pants without the elastic, wean ourselves off of Netflix, move happy hour back to 5 pm, instead of 10 am, etc... So, with all of my butt (my butt is bigger than my heart… ) I’m wishing all of a you and yours the Happiest of Holidays filled with good health and happiness ❤️

Sleigh What Holiday Form

Our Mally Moo Moo