This is the story of when I was so surprised by my elf on the shelf. I was the happiest 6-year-old you have ever seen. The Christmas of 2012 was one I will never forget, the moment I saw my elf sitting on my family’s side table, dressed in bright red cloth, facing straight towards me. I was stuck with excitement. Up until I was 10, I always believed Santa was real, and so was my elf.

Back in 2012 I still lived in my tangerine-colored home in Oldsmar, where I shared many of my childhood memories, like when I first learned how to swim. That day my cousins had come over to make Christmas cookies and cupcakes, but we didn't have any supplies. We figured we'd drive to the Target near my house to get some ingredients, like the minty sweet candy canes we would use to crush up later. Little did I know, what I would see on the shelf in the Christmas section would change all my future Christmas experiences for the next six years.

“Hey, Arianna, are you excited for today?” asked my oldest cousin Vanessa.

“Yep! I can’t wait to go to Target; I wonder if they will have any mustache shirts? I’ve been wanting one!” I exclaimed. Back then, mustaches were super trendy.

I never really understood my odd obsession with the popular trend, but then again, I don’t know why we would do many things back then.

 “Girls, are you ready?” shouted my mom from outside.

My cousins and I quickly ran to the car, anticipating the moment we got to Target.

As we walked into the store, I saw a multitude of green and red brightly colored lights, which signified Christmas. We traveled from aisle to aisle, following the lights signifying where the Christmas section was, which led all the way to the back of the store. As we got to the Christmas section, we swarmed the candy aisles for anything to add to our Christmas treats.  

“No way….” My other cousin Natalie whispered, as her voice dropped in astonishment.

I shouted from the aisle next to hers. “What did you find?” I turned to see what she was looking at, my jaw dropped.

There they were, mustache candy canes, in all their glory. I rushed to bring them to my mom, due to the fact we were in desperate need for the item. As we swiftly put it in the cart, she side-eyed us giving us the death stare knowing exactly what we had done, but she chose to ignore it, knowing of our unhealthy obsession with the trend.

            After almost dying of excitement, we all walked down the rest of the Christmas section looking all around us, being blinded by all the brightly lit lights and blow-up statues. As we got to the end of the section, I decided to take one last glance at some shelves, but then I saw it. I saw the one thing that would make my Christmas years all that much more anticipated. I saw the elf on a shelf, packaged tight into its plastic and cardboard box, that was designed perfectly to catch my attention with snow and red lights. Now that I look back on it, my mom had quickly noticed what I was so interested in, because as I was just walking towards it, my mother sped up with the cart. I quickly got hold of the oversized box and rushed to my mother. It was not going to stop me from convincing my mom to buy me my own very elf.

“Mommmm!” I exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, as I was preparing to convince her.

“Yes, Arianna” she said while rolling her eyes due to the fact she was aware of what I was going to ask.

“I know you love me so much that you would get me my own very elf, right?” I said in a loving tone.

“Go put it back Arianna, you don’t need it” she stated calmly.

 Now, I will spare you the whole temper tantrum of not getting what I wanted and shedding some tears, but let’s just say I was not a happy six-year-old leaving Target.

            When we arrived home, we began to set up everything we needed to make our treats, like a whisk, bowls, cookie mix, chocolate, candy canes, and more. The smell of sweet chocolate and minty candy filled my nose. Although I was still upset over the elf, the sweet smell of fresh baked cookies eased my senses and made me excited to decorate. Before we started the decorations for the cookies, my mom asked for a blanket because she was cold. Being a sassy child, and still being upset over the elf,  I was quick to respond with a sarcastic “I don’t know, can I?” which I quickly regretted as my mom started yelling at me in Spanish. But of course, I went to go grab a blanket for her.

As I walked back, I sensed it was quiet, too quiet. I quickly turned the corner to see what was going on, but I was faced with the one thing I had on my mind all day since we left Target. My elf on a shelf. There he was there, right in front of me. His red clothing stood out to me the most due to all the beige décor surrounding him which came from my tacky house. My face was pure confusion mixed with joy, as I started squealing out of excitement. My cousins and mother both started laughing as they all planned this ahead of time without me knowing. I quickly thanked my mom for buying him and yelled at my cousins for keeping the secret from me, but they both just laughed.

That night I went to bed, thinking how grateful I was for my elf and that he could talk to Santa for me. As I drifted off into sleep, I quickly figured out a name, Bubbles, I would name my elf Bubbles.