The year we had Buddy the Elf in our front window

People still comment and chuckle about the year we had Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf in our front window at Christmas. Not just a small Elf, but a giant one. Like the kind of clear mylar ones they use for movie display in a Blockbuster window which is exactly where our persuasive son got the 10' image. It was actually kind of perfect, the photo image was of Buddy the Elf peeking around a corner with his impish demeanor and a huge red bow, hard to miss since our son adhered it to the outside of our large Dining Room window. As silly as it looked with our holiday decor, it brought a smile or chuckle to anyone who passed by our house that year. It is quite possible that our fun-living son was telling me to lighten up and I do have to admit that in those days Christmas was a perfectionist endeavor with a 5 day ready-set-go marathon plan. Finish up the last-minute design clients, deck the house and a 4", 6" and 12' tree in designer splendor, shop for gifts in 48 hrs., menu plan, grocery shop, prepare a Christmas dinner for 28, and drop into a exhausted heap for the rest of the week. They weren't my finest moments. 

I still do most of those things but ever since Elf hung with us that year, I do so with a lighter heart. I deliberately lower my perfectionist goals, scale it back,  and if any part of our holiday preparations has me or my boys stressed, overwhelmed, or exhausted, I know it is time to...............think of Buddy the Elf, watch Love Actually, and just lighten up. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it does have to be fun. It is our new holiday tradition. 








Photo 1 from google/photo2 from Pinterest.