Elf

Tonight was Elf night. The night we watch the movie Elf as part of our annual Christmas movie watching festival. As tradition dictates, chili was served for our yearly visit with Buddy the Elf. Why chili? Well, many years ago our daughter had her friend Olivia over to spend the night on a December Saturday. We were having my wife’s famous chili for dinner and watching Elf. Well, at some point in the middle of the movie the girls went to get more chili, and on the way back Olivia slipped and spilled her chili all over our light colored carpet. It was an epic mess, and the butt of jokes for years after. Since then, chili is always served on Elf night.

The first time my wife and I saw Elf was at the movie theater 15 years ago. We got to leave our 10 month old baby with my parents and go out with my visiting brother and his wife for a Christmas time movie. The movie was so much fun, but who knew it would one day become part of the Christmas movie canon. Not many movies reach that rare air.  It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, maybe Love Actually, absolutely Die Hard, The Polar Express, and, of course, Elf. Every year we go to our local indie movie house and see the double feature of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. Christmas Vacation is never missed and The Polar Express is usually put on for the few hours before the families arrive on Christmas Eve for dinner. Nothing beats Elf chili night, though.

One year Buddy the Elf actually sent the kid a huge bottle of maple syrup for Christmas. We wouldn’t let her pour it on spaghetti.

And to keep the theme going, a few weeks ago during our daughter’s school orchestra Christmas concert, they played a melody of songs from Elf the Broadway Musical. I don’t think my parents had any idea what was going on.

We started the night off tonight by watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. One thing’s for sure. A ton of emphasis in today’s world is on anti bullying, but without bullying there would be no Charlie Brown specials or Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. To quote some famous lines from A Charlie Brown Christmas:

Boy are you stupid, Charlie Brown.

I told you he’d goof it up. He isn’t the kind you can depend on to do anything right.

You’re hopeless, Charlie Brown.

You’ve been dumb before, Charlie Brown, but this time you really did it. 

Jeez. A few more years and the snowflakes of today will start banning Charlie Brown. Mark my words…