If You’re Tired of the Elf on the Shelf, Try Santa’s Lazy Gnome
My eight-year-old son confessed something to me earlier this week: for years, around Christmas, he had been looking for his elf.
According to him, all of his friends had elves who came to their house a month before Christmas. These elves spy on his friends and inform Santa about their good (and bad) behavior. His friends gather at school and discuss where their elves hung out this morning or what shenanigans they were up to at night.
Even in his class, there is an elf named Snowflake who has started appearing in strange places this month. However, his elf was nowhere to be found.
All these years, I thought I had successfully dodged a task that many parents seem to be either very happy with or 100% hate: the director’s duties for Elf on the Shelf . I didn’t know my son even knew about this damn thing, let alone that he had been looking for it for years.
Mom’s guilt has reached an epic level; two days later the gingerbread arrived, much to my son’s shock and delight.
A day later, I discovered that I could have had another, lazier option: Santa’s lazy dwarf.
Like an elf, a gnome is a small stuffed toy. Like an elf, he comes with a book that explains what he is. (CliffNotes version: Santa sent the Lazy Dwarf to spy on your kids and report all the naughty and good deeds.)
But unlike an elf, he is not interested in anything that requires real effort, like upholstering your living room, wrapping railings, or even relocating.
He just sits and looks at the landscape. Whole month.
I only have a few days, so I haven’t completely gotten rid of the elf yet. But for those of you who are, the price of this guy with the book is comparable to the price of an elf (that’s $ 34). However, it won’t be delivered until Christmas, so if you’re desperate NOW, you can only get the gnome today for $ 19 .