Tonight I outed myself as the Tooth Fairy. I don’t feel great about it, but I’m just freaking tired of keeping up the magical pretense. It’s exhausting! I previously killed off the Easter Bunny and the Switch Witch (I’ll explain later). Santa Claus and Elf on the Shelf are still going strong. I really hate that effing elf…
My eight-year-old daughter lost another tooth this evening right before dinner. It wasn’t super late in the evening, but not early either. I was woefully unprepared of course. She and I made a quick run to the store to pick up medicine. On the way there, she begins to talk about her anticipated visit tonight from the Tooth Fairy. Since I have managed before to get away with tooth fairy visits that happen while she is at school, I tried that again. I explained to her that it was pretty late in the day and the Tooth Fairy is already booked up, but she disagreed and said it was early. Again, I tried by explaining that it was too late in the day for the tooth fairy to select a gift because she had other kids to visit too. That also didn’t work. Having arrived at the store, I finally put it all out there.
I asked her if she remembered our talk about the Easter Bunny. She nodded her head and pointed at me with a smile on her face. I then asked if she remembered our conversation about the Switch Witch. She responded by saying that I was the Switch Witch. I then told her I now wanted to discuss the Tooth Fairy. The look of understanding slowly spread across her face as she connected the dots. She finally got it. After pausing for five seconds to digest what she had just learned, she asked if she could pick something out at the store. I responded with “Absolutely!”.
So why exactly did I pick that exact moment to tell her? Because I am just exhausted. I am that bone tired, sleep deprived, everything all of the time, kind of exhausted that only moms can understand. I really, truly could not fathom the idea of heading back to the store a second time after dropping her off at home, just to buy a gift from the Tooth Fairy that she would be bored with in a day or two.
A lot of this is my fault. I have poured myself into making childhood magical and fun wherever possible. The first time this kiddo lost a tooth, I took a picture of her sleeping that night, digitally inserted a tooth fairy image, and showed it to her the next morning. She was ecstatic! Ever since she has asked me to try to take a picture of the Tooth Fairy again. The gifts are not elaborate, but always require some thought and planning and are fun. She has come to expect that.
While I have enjoyed playing Tooth Fairy for several years now for both of my girls, I am excited to be moving on. My youngest now gets to pick out her own Tooth Fairy gift, I don’t have to stress quite so much, and all is right with the world!
Switch Witch
In case you were wondering what the Switch Witch is, here’s a quick rundown. Another mom introduced me to the concept when my oldest daughter was in kindergarten, and I will be forever grateful.
The Switch Witch secretly comes to visit a day or two after Halloween. It’s a fun way of getting kids to give up their remaining candy in exchange for a gift of your choosing. I normally let my kids have their candy Halloween night and the next evening until bed and then invite them to leave the remainder for the Switch Witch. They pack it all up and sit it on the kitchen table. Once they are asleep, I take the candy and leave a gift in its place. When they wake up, they get excited all over again and the sugar is gone! It’s a win-win.
After I have the candy in hand, I try to repurpose it somehow. There is a children’s dentist in my area who will pay $1 per pound for the candy you bring in as well as give out toothbrushes. They then send the candy to US military members serving overseas.
Now that my kids are a little older, they know that the Switch Witch is not real but it still works out very well for them as they get the best of both worlds: Halloween candy followed by cool stuff.
Need some Switch Witch gift ideas? Check out these great ideas on Amazon!
