The Return of the Elf Pants!

Last year I wrote (in The Elf Pants: A New Holiday Tradition) about something that I hoped would become a new holiday tradition in our household. Perhaps tradition is a bit strong of a word for it though. What I was actually writing about was a new "ornament" for our Christmas tree that I hoped would become a regular part of our holiday season as we decorate the tree each year. And the reason I used quotes around the word ornament just now is because this so-called ornament was never intended to be an ornament. In fact, it was never intended to be anything at all. If it weren't for a small but hilarious misunderstanding, that "ornament" could very easily have become a bit of refuse, thrown into the trash and forgotten about.

The whole story can be found in that post from last year. But to recap, in August of 2018 we were spending some time at the In-Laws' house. The Tiny Creature enjoys crafting and also loves all things tiny. She found a tiny wicker basket that was being used as part of a centerpiece on the dining room table. She decided it needed to be filled and went to work crafting some "food" out of duct tape. She put a piece of green tape onto a piece of red tape and cut out a triangular shape to make a slice of watermelon. It was a smart bit of crafty thinking and a cute little piece of fruit for the basket. I knew that she was working on some project, but didn't really know the details. When I went over to see what she was making I saw not the watermelon slice, but the about-to-be-discarded remnants of the tape she cut the watermelon out of. My reaction was to say that she did a good job with the red "elf pants" (with green shoes) and to wonder why she didn't finish making the rest of the elf.

Once I realized my mistake I instantly found it to be about the funniest thing in the world and couldn't stop laughing--which pretty much made everyone think that I had gone crazy. It was a bit tough to explain just why I was laughing so hard and why I found it to be so funny. But once I calmed down I knew that there was no way I was going to let that little scrap of tape be thrown away. I hid it in my stuff and brought it home in secret. It was not seen again until a couple weeks before Christmas when we had our tree set up and were ready to decorate it. After seemingly finishing up the trimming of the tree I announced that there was a special, brand-new ornament that we were going to start using that year. Naturally nobody remembered the "elf pants incident" from four months earlier when I brought it out, so I had to remind them. We had a good laugh (I think The Little Monsters laughed harder than The Wife) and the Elf Pants ceremoniously became the final ornament to be put on the tree.

It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed, but we now have another Christmas tree set up in our living room. When last year's tree came down in January I packed all the lights and ornaments away until December. Well, I packed everything up except for the Elf Pants ornament, which I put aside to ensure that it wouldn't be forgotten about or lost among all the other Christmas stuff. Instead I put it in a box of stuff that I keep handy, and hoped I wouldn't manage to lose or forget about it over the course of the ensuing spring, summer and fall seasons. I will admit to semi-forgetting about it over the following months, but when it came time to look for it, there it was--just waiting to be put up on the tree again!

They're Back!!!

The 2019 Christmas tree arrives

The lights go on first

And the first ornament is added!

The finished product. Can you spot the Elf Pants?

We have a pretty large number of "special" ornaments that have meaning to us for various reasons. There are a few ornaments from The Wife's childhood. The Wife and I have some "First Christmas Together", "First Christmas in Our New House" and "First Christmas as Husband and Wife"-type ornaments. There are ornaments from each of our Disney cruises and visits to Disney World over the years. We also have MANY "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments from when The Little Monster was born. And then there are a few less "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments from The Tiny Creature's first year (much to her chagrin). Throw in some ornaments that The Monsters have made over the years and a few other special ones, both old and new, and it makes for a pretty full and special Christmas tree. But now the Elf Pants have made their second appearance on the tree. I think that means they have indeed become a true family tradition of sorts! It's still a pretty young tradition I suppose, but a tradition nonetheless!