Making of "Freeze"

Despite how it may come across in the comics, I do actually enjoy Elf on a Shelf.  6yo stopped reacting to the "Reporting to Santa" part, so I've largely dropped that aspect.  I'll occasionally use it on the 3yo, but he doesn't get into trouble so much.  

So now it's just a fun game that makes December feel a bit more magical.  I move the elf every night, either just sit him somewhere, or do (quick!) little setups with the various toys and curiosities we have in our house.  The kids come down in the morning and search the house for him and then I play along and act surprised when they find him.  There's no denying he's a creepy looking SOB, but it really is a lot of fun! :)

The beginning of Dec is always a bit dicey though, before I've gotten into the habit of moving him.  I used to be able to dash downstairs in the morning and move him quickly if I forgot, but this year they are usually roaming the house before me.

Early in Dec I stirred in bed and thought "I FORGOT TO MOVE THE DAMN ELF!"  Before I'd even opened my eyes, my brain came up with a lie -it was a bit frightening how easily it happened! :)

I tweeted about all this and it made me think of The Grinch lying, which was a perfect follow up my previous Elf Cat comic!

For the Grinch face, I found the movie on Youtube and went to the bit where he's thinking up a lie to tell Cindy-Lou Who.  I screen grabbed the image and drew over it, changing what I needed to to make it more Fran-like.

This comic actually saved me the next day after forgetting!  I was about to go to bed when I thought I'd take one more quick look at my work from the day.  Immediately I thought "I FORGOT TO MOVE THE DAMN ELF!!"  and ran downstairs to fix it!  Since then I haven't forgotten again (touch wood!)