Welp, it was bound to happen eventually. Chelsea and Matt Hightower have managed to keep control of not one Elf on the Shelf but three of them in their home, but with Jingle, Belle, and Magic making moves on a nightly basis, it’s not always easy to keep tabs on their current location.
After a day in the family’s refrigerator, they took to the oven to warm up alongside an English muffin. Wrapped in toilet-paper blankets with small soot marks on their rosy cheeks next to a sign with a “toasty” pun, it was an adorable sight.
That’s when things took a turn. Chelsea stepped out to do some Christmas shopping alone when she received what she referred to on Facebook as “the call.” It was her husband, Matt: “Babe, I feel horrible [insert long, awkward pause]. I cooked the elves.”
Related: Caught on Camera! Watch This Elf on the Shelf Magically Sneak Around a Family's Living Room
Turns out, while she was on her quick errand, their daughter saw that Matt had turned on the oven, not having realized what – or, rather, who – was inside of it.
“Parent lesson #48,573,728,485: don’t forget the elves were in the oven!” Chelsea joked alongside the hashtag #theywereTOASTYallright. “Thankfully, the Elfspital got them in quickly and they are expected to make a full recovery after several hours of reconstruction and rest.”
That’s, ahem, code for searching five different stores for four straight hours to find their replacements. The hidden benefit? She knew just what their next placement should be: safe on the kitchen counter, away from any heat sources.
“To whomever this may help in this elf season,” Chelsea added. “Bake cookies, not elves!”
Read on to see the three elves throughout this ordeal.
