Disney's Prep and Landing: The Christmas Elves of Advent

It seems like everyone has been playing Christmas music and watching Christmas movies since Thanksgiving. So if you manage to hold off until Gaudete Sunday before pulling out the jingle bells, I applaud you. Society has been rushing into Christmas sooner and sooner each year, skipping over the all too necessary liturgical season of Advent. Its a time to prepare our hearts for the Lord's coming, a time to practice patience and make straight the path.... so where do Christmas elves come in, you might ask? By tinsel, I'll tell you:

In the secular world of Christmas movies, where everyone has a different way of explaining and depicting the magical world of Santa Clause, we find a recurring ribbon that runs through all the stories: Santa's elves. Traditionally the toy makers, modern culture has transitioned to placing these elves in charge of virtually all the aspects of behind-the-scenes Christmas preparation. Disney's Prep and Landing depicts these festive creatures as the team who goes ahead of Santa and prepares the house for his arrival .... Do you see where I'm going with this?

Christmas elves are always depicted with a fervor for festivities and an enthusiastic devotion to their important job of preparing for Christmas. Although depicted with different interpretations of what Christmas elves actually do, the elves are always the ones behind the scenes getting things ready for Christmas. Prep and Landing takes the elves' role in the preparation a step further, which I think goes along with Advent better than fruitcake and.... whatever goes well with fruitcake, I'm not actually sure. These elves are portrayed as physically seeing to all the details for the arrival of Santa Claus. They take their responsibility very seriously and know that, without the necessary arrangements and accommodations, Santa will not be able to properly visit the house.

This is where we can take a hint from the elves as WE prepare for the coming of Christ this Advent. The elves prepare the treacherous snow covered roof for the landing of the sleigh, just as we must make straight a highway in the wasteland for our God (Isaiah 40:3). Just like the elves make room under the tree for the presents, we must make room in our hearts for the greatest gift of all. So in a way, we should all try to be Christmas elves this Advent, as we make sure everything in our lives is "prep and landing" ready to receive the Christ Child on Christmas day.

Besides their devotion to preparation, the Prep and Landing team also has another Advent message. The elves are utterly appalled by the thought of being on the naughty list. We should be too. Look at how repulsed the elves react towards being on the list: now imagine if we reacted like that towards sin. Elves know that if they are on the naughty list, not only does it mean "oh frostbite, no presents!", but even worse, they disappoint Santa. Just like elves can get off of the naughty list, we can find absolution from these sins that tarnish our heart through the wonderful (and very Advent appropriate) Sacrament of Confession. Although it can be nerve-wracking, taking the time to go to Confession this Advent is one of the best ways to prepare our hearts for Jesus.

Although Christmas elves are often brushed off as secular clutter in the chaos of the season, they can actually teach us a valuable lesson in the importance of preparation this Advent. If we could only approach the mission of making room in our hearts for Jesus with the same ferocity with which the elves prepare for Santa, we're in for a wonderful surprise this Christmas season. In their festive and light-hearted way, the elves in Prep and Landing remind us to take preparation seriously this Advent season and to make sure we stay off the naughty list!