Magical Christmas Elves

We would wait for hours for those sneaky little elves to make their way from the North Pole to leave bits of candy in our tree decorations.  We were diligent about it too.  We schemed about how we would stake out in corners and eventually catch the little guys, but man were they fast!   My brother and I could not figure it out!  We would turn our heads for one second and, BAM!, the candy would appear, nice and cold, yet tucked neatly in our Christmas ornaments.  Puzzled, we walked away, not understanding how we missed them again!

This one particular time I turned to my grandpa and questioned why the hershey's were so cold.  He looked down into my inquiring little blue eyes and said, "Well, sweetie, those elves come from way up north at the North Pole where it is very cold."  Good call grandpa.  He was a very wise man you see. 

I remember bending my little knees and leaning forward towards him all-the-while my grandpa mimmicking my action as I sneakishly whispered closely to his face, "We'll catch them next time grandpa, won't we!"  Indeed little one, he replied, Indeed.

You see, it took my brother and I a few years to figure out this fun little game that was being played on us, but alas - one cold night in December we were at my grandparents for dinner and I opened the freezer door to get ice out and.. what was in the door you ask? Huh, my question exactly.  I turned to my grandma and asked why they had Christmas colored Hershey's kisses frozen just like the elves brought?  My grandma replied ever so nonchelantly, well, your grandpa likes frozen hershey's. 

It was in this moment I figured out there were no magical little Christmas elves.  That they didn't venture miles through the land of 'swirly,twirly gumdrops' in hopes of finding their dads.  It was then I realized my grandpa had been the magical Christmas elf all along.

It is memories like these that make me love Christmas time.  They allow me to venture back in time to my best childhood memories and re-live special times I had with  my grandpa.

My grandpa is no longer with us, but because of the magical Christmas elves I will never forget him.  Every year I  put up my Christmas tree and hang my magical ornament on it in hopes that my elf will make his way through the land of 'swirly, twirly gumdrops' to bring me a christmas colored hershey's kiss.