Life Lessons from Elf

(Mr. Tobis in his holiday collar)

Lesson #1: Spread cheer (Christmas and otherwise).   

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

Lesson #2: Make smiling your favorite. 
“I just like to smile! Smiling’s my favorite.”

Lesson #3: Be yourself, even when it’s hard to know who you are. 
“Actually, I’m a human, but I was raised by elves.”

Lesson #4: Give out compliments freely.
“Deb, you have such a pretty face. You should be on a Christmas card!” 

Lesson #5: Take risks.
“Papa says my real father lives in a magical place far away… but the thing is, I’ve never left the North Pole.”

Lesson #6: Don’t give up.
“I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.”

Lesson #7: Speak your mind.
“If you can sing alone, you can sing in front of other people. There’s no difference.”

Lesson #8: Let life excite you. 
“Good news! I saw a dog today!”

Lesson #9: Show affection. 

“Does somebody need a hug?”

Lesson #10: Do what you love. 
“First we’ll make snow angels for a two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle.”

(Cat and I lovin' on our fur babies!)