Mom's Genius Solution After Accidentally Burning Elf on the Shelf in the Oven

Like many parents, Brittany Mease felt the need to stage elaborate Elf on the Shelf hiding spots for her kids. It was exhausting and eventually blew up in her face—literally. The incident went down last year, when she forgot she put the holiday toy in the oven and ended up burning the poor elf.

So when the holiday season rolled around this year, the mom knew she needed a plan of action to avoid the stress of constantly thinking up new hiding places every night, as well as any other household casualties. Her solution? She sent Elfis, the family elf, to the toy army.

“After my first five years of Pinterest-worthy elf moves, I was just over it last year and that burst into flames right in front of my face,” she recounts. “My whole goal this year was to bring back this creepy little guy to put a smile on [my kids’] faces, but find a way—that I hadn’t used before—to not move him every night.

Her plan: Elfis made the brave decision to join the toy army. But not before visiting the kiddos to fill them in on the big news. The adorable elf left a sweet note and a bunch of candy to hold the kids over for the entire holiday season.

“You probably thought I was too scared to come back to your house after breaking my leg on your toys and getting burned in the oven last year, but don’t worry…That’s not the case,” Elfis reassures the kids in the note.

The elf explains he reports to Sarge from Toy Story and suggested the family have a Toy Story viewing party together. While Santa allowed him to pay one more visit, Elfis wouldn’t be back until Christmas Eve.

Mease’s story was a success. Her kids loved it and were proud of their little elf friend.

“They’re not even sad he won’t be back until Christmas, because they are too proud of him for joining the army and protecting the North Pole.”

“I felt success running through my veins as they grinned from ear to ear looking through the pictures he brought and grabbing their bags of candy,” she says. “We high-fived as my oldest said ‘at least you can’t burn him this year!’ And I knew I had just completed my mission.”

The best part? Without having to constantly worry about where the elf will hide next, the family gets to enjoy the season even more.

“What are we doing now,” the mom asks. “We’re cuddled up on the couch watching Toy Story so we can see who Elfis’s boss is without an elf’n worry in the world!”

Is that chipper little elf spoiling your sanity? Check out how this family decided to send their elf into early retirement.