We didn't have this when we were kids. Santa was able to watch over us seeing if we were naughty or nice. I'm not sure if we will do it... will you?
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I have no idea what this is! Haven't googled it yet..
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I won't. My husband and I think he looks a bit creepy... no offense!
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@Leialou: same here!
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I think it's super cute. We didn't do this growing up but I want to do it for Prettybaby.
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I didn't grow up with it either. I thought it was strange until I saw on pinterest all of the crazy cute things people do with the elf. Now I'm sucked in (arg! pinterest!), and we'll probably start doing it when LO is a little older.
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I think the mischeif the elf gets into is cute, but I'm not a fan the idea of it being a threat to keep kids well behaved.
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I had never heard of it until Pinterest either. I think it's cute but I'm not sure if DH will agree! Haven't showed him yet! Hehe.
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We won't. I'm another one who finds the whole thing creepy. Plus, I feel like Christmas is exciting enough to anticipate (and plenty of work top plan, as the parent) without having to add in an extra like a mischief making elf.
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We just started this year and the last few days DD has gotten really excited about it. We're really lowkey about it so I think of it nore as just a fun holiday tradition.
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I mostly think it is creepy, I don't love the idea of an elf sneaking into my house watching my children and reporting on their behavior. That being said, I saw a suggestion to ditch the book and just have the elf come to bring Christmas cheer, one day he might be found near some hot cocoa or some Christmas books, another day he might write a note suggesting we do something nice for a neighbor. I could totally get into that interpretation so I guess I will wait and see what the trend is when we have kids at the right age.
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I think we'll do it once DS is a little older. My family has been doing it for my sister for a few years now. I thought it was creepy at first, but now I think it's cute. My sister's elf doesn't get into trouble though. He just hides each night and she has to find him. He has a quarter for her each time.
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@Cole: I agree with you. The idea of just a happy friendly elf is much more appealing.
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I have seen this on Facebook a lot lately! It seems like a cute idea but not sure if we will do it or not. It does look creepy lol
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No, we won't. I babysat for a family when I was in high school, and the girls would get up at the crack of dawn every morning to look for the elf. It's a cute idea, but not worth the lost sleep!
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nope. too much work! and it kinda creeps me out...
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never heard of this...
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Can someone explain what this is? I went to the website but of course it was all cryptic and in fantasy lingo, with the elf flying back to the North Pole each night. *rolls eyes* Is this thing a camera or what lol?
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@dc yoga bee: It's based on a book that came out a few years ago, which is why none of us grew up with it! The elf comes a Christmas time and reports back to Santa the children's naughty and nice behavior. There's a bunch more to it, but that's the gist.
My nieces LOVE their elf! I think it can be cute. We'll probably do some variation of it, though I might use it to focus on holiday cheer, doing good things for others, and just silly elf "pranks." It doesn't really bug me that he "reports" back to Santa, because the whole concept of Santa watching who is being naughty and nice isn't exactly new. There's an implied threat of not getting gifts just in the basic Santa story anyway.
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@Mrs. Blue: Thank you! Okay, so it's basically a stuffed doll on your mantle for Christmas time, and in the *book* he reports back to santa? No nanny cams going on within this stuffed doll on my shelf right?
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creepy!
though I do think things like this are kind of funny : http://news.stylecaster.com/when-elf-on-shelf-goes-bad/ -
@dc yoga bee: Bahaha. No nanny cams that I'm aware of! People move the elf to different spots each day because he only moves around at night, I *think*. So one day the kids might wake up to find the elf was making snow angels in sugar on the counter, or he'll be hanging upside down in the pantry with a straw into the maple syrup, etc.
This is what I've gathered from my nieces and facebook, so someone else may be able to better articulate the details.
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@dc yoga bee: @Mrs. Blue: The story is basically that Santa sends out special scouting elves to children's homes every Christmas. The elf appears one day around Christmas-time and flies back to the North Pole each night to report on the children's behavior to Santa. Then the elf flies back to the child's house, appearing in a different place than s/he was the night before. Children have to find their elf's new location each morning, and they can't touch their elf, or s/he will lose all it's Christmas magic.
Some people go all out and their elves get into trouble, pull pranks, etc... Our elf literally just moves locations each night. One night she was on the bookshelf in the hallway, the next morning she reappeared in the cabinet in DD's bathroom, this morning she showed up downstairs in one of the toy bins, etc... It can be as complicated or low-key as you have time for, but the kids get really excited about it either way.
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@Mrs. Blue: ohhhhhh lol. I still just was not getting what the fun was. A decorative elf on the mantle. okkk. Now, this is cute. In Germany we had St. Nick walk around the neighborhoods with coal along with Santa Clause with fruit. We were all SOOO scared we'd get coal, but of course we never did. Always fruit. And it was so much fun. We will totally do this elf on the shelf business whenever we have kiddos. That is....after I check for an installed nanny cam lol
@rachiecakes: I just died laughing!!
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I'm not a fan. It sort of irritates me that the whole premise is that kids today can't/won't just accept that Santa knows whether they are naughty or nice (or that their parents can't call him like mine did) without an elf spy, haha. That being said, I can also see it being somewhat problematic if I put my foot down and don't have one but our LO is the only kid around who doesn't...("But Santa didn't send an elf to watch over ME, just every single one of my friends?!?!")...brilliant marketing ploy, I suppose.
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@Honeybee: Thanks!!!
I asked DH had he heard of it, and he was like "duh! All the women in the office were talking about it on his audit." Apparently, now he's in the know! DH died laughing at that slide show of when shelf on the elf goes bad!
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I would love to do this with our DS. I haven't got DH on board yet but this will be happening in a couple years.
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I think it's a cute idea, we will do it with LO when she is old enough to understand.
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