Elf on the shelf

[slo]

I’m so glad this became popular after my girls stopped believing.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We have 2. Even my oldest kids are always looking to see what they’re up to and yes it’s exhausting to find cute or fun things for them to do but my kids love it so it’s worth it. Ours always arrive on thanksgiving and I pack them to take with us on our Disney trip since we always arrive on Black Friday (in the van on the way there right now!) My youngest still believes in Santa and he thinks it’s so cool that they find us in Florida lol. This was ours when they arrived yesterday. They always arrive with some candy for each kid

 

[TwoMisfits]

If anyone gets gifted an Elf on the Shelf, like I was...you just name your Elf "Lazy." Then, if he doesn't get up to shenanigans, he was lazy that night. If he doesn't move for 2-3 nights, he was lazy that night. If he forgets to arrive on time, he was lazy that night. If he forgets to leave on Christmas Eve night, he was lazy that night.

It was the best thing we ever had. The elf guaranteed good kids for a month (b/c he was "watching" and always ended up around the kids' play room), he was enough joy by moving every few days so it was a surprise if he moved and where, and he took almost no parental effort.

My kids now laugh about how we handled the elf, but they loved it then and now...and are prepared for when they have kids to make the elf work for them and not them for the elf...

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I know I'm probably a terrible person, but this has me chuckling at some of the really filthy ones I've seen on-line.

Oh gosh! Don't think I haven't suggested some of those poses to my teacher! We have a good laugh and then keep it clean because, you know, we want to keep our jobs!

 

[Suprize2017]

We ended up with two elves, one was the commercialized elf that most people in this thread seem to despise, and the other was a cute little girl elf my cousin gave me when our daughter was born. We kind of made the elf thing our own. They were both named and one was the naughty elf that did all kinds of naughty things while the kids were sleeping, and the other would just magically move around the house and “watch” us. My husband LOVED doing the naughty elf shenanigans. I wasn’t a huge fan because I was usually the one that ended up cleaning up. The kids loved both elves though. When all three were too old and had figured it all out, one of my twins took over for a season and kept the naughty elf shenanigans going. Overall, my family loved it and it’s a fun memory to look back on, but I’m not sorry we are done with it. It was a lot of work, during an already busy time of year, but the joy it gave our kids was priceless. They’re only little and believe in magic for such a short time, it was a fun thing to do with them that added to the magic of the season.

 

[ncc1701]

Somewhere along the way I got a small elf. It sits on the under a stair bannister that overlooking the downstairs hall. But that is it.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I live in an Elf-free house. And will be keeping it that way. I'm not a creative, pinterest mom

 

[amcnj]

My children were older when this became a thing. I still don’t know a real lot about it. But from the little I do know, it might have become a yearly thing to do at our house.

 

[georgina]

My youngest DD is 28, no elves for us. I would have HATED it.

My nephew and his wife do it with their 3 DDs. They are creative and have fun with it.

I have a hard time with the whole Santa lie. Not lookimg forward to grandson and the Santa thing. He's not yet 2 so not a problem yet.

 

[starry_solo]

What about Mensch on a Bench?

 

[leebee]

I have enough crap to do in the lead up to Christmas that I don’t need to deal with an elf too. I also find them creepy.

My sentiments, exactly!

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Oh gosh! Don't think I haven't suggested some of those poses to my teacher! We have a good laugh and then keep it clean because, you know, we want to keep our jobs!

I'm so glad I teach college because I wouldn't have been able to resist. This is along the lines of something that I would've created...

 

[gshanny]

My son in law is getting a Snoop on the stoop for one of his presents this year...
I am glad the elf thing started after my kids were too old for it.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I do Christmas big, especially when it comes to things that will be fun for the kids, but the elf was a hard no from me. 1) It involved too much commitment and, 2) I didn’t care for the mischievous, troublemaking nature of it.

Instead, our family does the not-sold-in-stores, completely made up Christmas Chameleon. It’s a little plush chameleon wearing a plaid scarf that does good deeds. For example, my kids will clean a room without being asked and leave the chameleon sitting in the center, or someone will leave a snack outside of someone’s room with the chameleon sitting next to the plate. The point of it is to do nice things for one another without taking the credit for yourself. The kids don't think the chameleon is real or anything, everyone knows the deeds are being done by other family members, but they like to pretend that he is. Why a chameleon? We just like reptiles.

ETA: We also got a Snoop on the Stoop this year but that one just kinda sits around in a holiday daze.

 

[mousefan73]

I refuse to buy into the Elf in a shelf”. Am I the only one? I just think some of the stuff is outrageous and some is cute, but to continue the charade is exhausting!

I think My Kids born in mid 2000s just escaped the elf on the shelf. I’m trying to recall when it came out but I must’ve been just a few years after that. I’m so happy I missed that boat. It’s a cute idea but every day.?! no wonder why we’re so stressed and full anxiety just another thing to keep up with so we can post something on social and outdo everyone else

 

[_19disnA]

Someone at work a few years ago had a young daughter and mentioned it. Honestly, I had never heard of it before that. I guess the idea is you move it around the house each day? Didn't seem to make much sense to me and doesn't seem very popular anymore.

Seemed mostly like an effort to sell some toy by making it popular to have.

 

[pezgirlroy]

I flat out refuse to have an elf on the shelf. I do have a 7 year old so she has asked why we do not have one. I have explained that every family celebrates differently. And I do not need an elf because I have Santa's direct phone number. Last thing I need is one more thing to do this time of year.

 

[brockash]

It's almost over I have a countdown til she disappears n Mon. Woohoo!!!

 

[CdnCarrie]

My kids were too old by the time it came out. So glad about that.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I used to have our elves do fun, creative things, like this

But my youngest said this year he wishes they’d just hide, which is so much easier for me so this year they’ve just been hiding