BRAKING NEWS: Elf Shortage, Christmas on hold, temporarily SHELVED! Day Zero, Year ????

Surprise! Which is what we all want, wish for, plan for (as parents, ourselves), a part we welcome, embrace on special occasions, those we not only exchange hugs (on their way back, finally) and good cheer, but also presents. An unwelcome part of recent history related to the celebration of Christmas in particular, is the perennial shortage of toys, gadgets, dolls, and, more recently, whatever tech du jour...primarily due to a run on, overdemand for that one 'thing', that "...outpaces Santa and his elves' ability to keep up...maybe later by the time your birthday comes around..." as the parent tries to ease their child's anticipated disappointment, deflect to points North...BUT, what if, instead, there's an actual shortage of Santas and, as recent experience around here (especially since "Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition" was brought to us, found its way to our shelves, written by Carol Aebersold and her 'co-conspirator' daughter, Chanda Bell, in 2005), those that Santa has come to rely on increasingly to keep up with demand...what happens when they themsElves, come up short?

Likely Stand/Sit Ins, Replacements: Throughout history, through film and TV, there has never been a shortage of those ready and willing to stand in for Santa (so why are department stores been offering singing bonuses, extra pay to play...?), ranging from those who have portrayed 'him', embodied the person of "Kris Kringle" (Edmund Gwenn, "Miracle on 34th Street", 1947), all the way up to Tim Allen ("Santa Clause' 1,2,3...?), to those who have, through their telltale voices, have portrayed the Spirit of St. Nick in animated versions (alpha order, not inclusive: Ed Asner, John Goodman, Mickey Rooney, Frank Welker, George Wendt, et al...). Whereas, at least according to IMDb (one of my go-tos in such matters), there have been to date, a 'Sweet Sixteen' (like the NCAA basketball playoff hopefuls, a few months down the road) who have portrayed Elves...or "Elf" him/itself if you prefer, ranging from Will Farrel, of course, on through Yvette Rachelle and Kate Blanchette, landing at Evangeline Lilly...eleven men, five women...some of which you haven't given a second glance, hardly noticed their appearance...perhaps now...

Trolling: In the case that the living and breathing among us don't step, sit up and take notice of the shortage of elves, which could result in just less-than-disastrous conditions around your house, I suggest that you, yourself simply take a quick look around (like our grandson's recent attempt, under the guise of "mind if I take a self tour...?" which turned out to be a veiled attempt to look for gifts in closets, etc., stealth that was pre-empted by his mother😆)...including a survey of your shelves throughout all your rooms and closets, places where you have stored Christmas gifts of yesteryear, for some thing or some body which might, under the scrutiny of your own little ones, pass as a reasonable facsimile....Given the year and the decreasing likelihood you've held on to those from wa-y-y-y back, I'll highlight just a few who might be willing to come off the shelves, make a brief (re)appearance, ranging from "Cabbage Patch" dolls (1983, the first year I remember people almost coming to blows while in line), on through "Barney" (1992, which got quickly shelved at our house when, after my initial enthusiasm, it/he frightened our youngster), "Beanie Babies" (1995, some of which have found their way elsewhere due to vintage pricing on eBay), to Tickle Me Elmo" (1996, not so funny for the thousands who couldn't get one), to "Furby" (1998, which recently came off the shelf at our house, re-charged with new batteries, which reminded us why we took them out...), and, more recently, the "BB-8 Droid Mini" from "The Force Awakens" and also featured on a Christmas special a few night ago on the Disney Channel ("I refuse to be replaced by a Bot!"). 

A (re) Awakening: Which awakened my own reverie, a few offerings, reaching way back, to some  'critters' which adorned our shelves, desks at school, how😎! and even our Christmas trees for years to come...including "Crispy Critters" in plastic form (which we could fit aplenty in our pockets, to be brought out and hid at the most 'opportune' moments), which gained such popularity to be made into a breakfast cereal, to "Rat Fink" dolls (?!), which you can still find if you are an eBay aficionado, to last, but certainly not least, of those who might be a willing, suitable sit-in for the missing elf...the "Troll Dolls!", also known as "Dam" dolls, named for their creator, Danish wood cutter Thomas Dam, which also came to be known as "Good Luck" trolls...Combine this with the awareness that the Danish language descends from Old Norse and that the legend of the ELF comes from Norse mythology, and we may have found a suitable, even appropriate replacement -- if you can find one, that is...

Spoiler Alert, 'Dis'Claimer: This post itself was prompted by a combination of a few factors which through their confluence, influence, brought this to light: the emergent elf emergency, together with our daughter's request to "borrow" (liberally defined in this case) the "Elf on the Shelf" just yesterday, that she told us last year to "temporarily shelf, as I'm too busy with these two boys, wrapping and all..." which we offered last year good cheer. This, finally followed by a precious video from last Eve of her boys discovering Santa's helper, who will come to also help the parents leverage bedtime, among other behaviors, through December 24th (at which time he'll once again hitch a ride on Santa's sleigh, otherwise get shelved). By the time they're old enough to read this, catch on, the Elf will likely be long gone, but not the Spirit, nor the good cheer with which he was given (who has already been recognized with the moniker "Marvin", a suggestion of their 😎uncle, due to starting with the same initial as their mother 😍)...

Christmas, un-shELVED!