Savings on Elf on a Shelf

[RichNKatHolly]

http://www.amazon.com/Plush-Santas-...e=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1224877755&sr=8-7

This little elf is cute - there is a girl available too. Sorry, don't know how to post photos.

 

[T. Lynn]

I love Elf magic:

www.elf-magic.com

 

[Louise-Montreal]

Having no creative bones in my body- what are some of the pranks these little elves can do? Do they do these pranks every night, or do they just change their location?
Thanks!!

 

[T. Lynn]

Having no creative bones in my body- what are some of the pranks these little elves can do? Do they do these pranks every night, or do they just change their location?
Thanks!!

Check out the elf magic website I posted above. Last year they had customers post things they would do. Very helpful and entertaining...

 

[Melissa]

our Elf, Spencer drove our car one night or the small covered sleigh as he likes to call it, he thought we wouldn't know but he parked in the lawn. He also blogged about all his adventures on his myspace page. He did not get along with our cat and they were always trying to get the best of each other. Spencer met a girl while he was here, she was a fairy and they moved to the NP after Christmas and got married. We saw pictures of his wedding on his blog. He has a son now and I suspect the little elf may come to visit this year as he will need to learn how to be a Shelf elf. Spencer often used our camera to show us things he did at night. This is a lot of fun.

Here is his blog www.myspace.com/spencerelf

 

[piratemamaof3]

This is really cute and I am thinking of doing it this yr. Few questions.
Do you have one elf or one for each kid?
Also if you are not supposed to touch it (the kids) b/c of their powers how do you clean up the mess they are in and keep them some where safe for the day? IE they watch movies and leave a mess and you find them on the couch. How do they get off the couch onto some where like the mantal for the day? I am thinking of making up a store about how they wake up at night (like at Night at th museum) and freeze at day light but can still see you. We can only pick them up to put them back on the mantal where they can watch. What do you do?

 

[Melissa]

I think you just make the story suit you, our elf told us that we could touch him so dd played with him a took him places, but he could not move or talk to us, when we are looking he must freeze and make himself look like a doll. He comunicated with us via myspace and pictures he took with our camera and sometimes he printed tiny notes off our computer. He has a magic sack
( glittery gold bag that is really for giving wine in, I think) that he uses to go back to the NP for elf report each night, after dd goes to bed then he comes back and sometimes gets into trouble. He doesn't understand about the human world so many things get him in trouble while he is investigating it. I just made up stuff as I went along to suit my family. My sisters kids have one too and they are friends and comment on each others Myspaces, they have the same "rules". Just make up how it will work best for you. I will not have Spencer arrive so early this year b/c it is hard to keep him doing tricks for 24 days. This year he will come about the 10th.

 

[piratemamaof3]

Thanks for that. I want to start this yr. Now to find a elf and decide when he will show up. I guess if we have one or several will depend on what Elf I find.

 

[Kate and Pete]

You might be able to find elves on etsy.com (I KNOW you'll be able to find them, it's just that you'll have to search for the price point you want. But you can be guaranteed to find some really cool elves!).

 

[3mickeymom]

Thank you. The elf from amazon is very cute. I may order this one if I don't find one this weekend. Since I am trying to do the Elf thing Budget, I am skipping the book. Although I am sure the story is very cute, I would need four sets(one for our house and three for my nieces and nephew). So I am planning on composing a letter for when he arrives along with a verbal story to tell about Christmas magic and reporting good and bad behavior to Santa. I think our elves will not be TOO mischievious -NO car driving without a license. I am planning on putting together a little kit for the parents with

Confection sugar-so the elf can make a snow angel on the kitchen counter one night
Mini marshmallows -so the elf can roast them over a tea light one night
Cotton balls- so the elf can have a snow ball fight with some toy friends like Barbie or Hannah Montana.
Candy Canes- so the elf can hang them around the house or maybe from Daddy's ear when he is sleeping(make sure you do this on a day when the kids wake Daddy)
Wrapped Christmas candy-so the elf can be found head first in the candy dish

Other ideas are: take a bath in the barbie bathtub, play cards with some webkinz,play playstation(set him up with a controller in his hand),build a christmas tree out of soup cans, ride in a small sleigh or car pulled by stuffed animals, write Merry Christmas or Be Good on the Etch-a-Sketch, play with my sons pirates(tie a little bandana around his head),color a self portrait with crayons on the easel or at the table strewn with crayons, eat cookies from the cookie jar, maybe have some spaghetti with maple syrup(elves very favorite)do this on a day with spaghetti leftovers, make a snowman out of modeling clay or leftover mashed potatoes, read a favorite book to an audience of dolls, have a tea party with the tea set. I'm still thinking of more and I am trying to make it as simple as possible for my brothers and their wives since they are very busy. Any more ideas are appreciated. I am so excited about doing this!!!

 

[irishprincess]

I found one at Big Lots last year, I believe it was only $5.00? He is really cute!

 

[TheLittleRoo]

I didn't even know about this and today I bought the Elf Shelf book at the Yankee Candle Outlet's Santa Shop for $30. The cool thing was, SANTA HIMSELF handed it to me in front of my KIDS and suggested we take home one of his elves to watch over the kids! It cannot get any better than that, ladies!

Of course we bought him... $30 but they had a promo, spend $75 and get a free full-sized Yankee Candle so we bought some customized ornaments for the tree too.

I can't wait to get started... never even thought of doing a myspace page for him! Love it!!

 

[cats mom]

WHERE CAN I PURCHASE AN ELF? I found an Annalee elf at TJMAXX but my son thinks it looks creepy and will scare the little kids. I have to agree. I would like a cuter,friendlier looking elf.

Too funny, I just saw the Annalee elves at our local TJMaxx today and was going to start a thread to give people a heads up about them. I thought the prices were pretty good.

Of course we had two Annalee elves take up residence at our house last year and my kids didn't think they were creepy at all... in fact they absolutely loved them!

FWIW, the Annalee elves actually work really well because they can pose in all kinds of creative positions (and will stay thay way) when they're doing their magic, or mischief, around your house.

Certainly worth taking a look... for those who aren't creeped out by them.

 

[mickimousemama]

I found this really cool site that is a message board about the elves, and many other Christmas things, I am not sure I can post it here tho? I will try and see

http://magicalholidayhome.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=31&sid=28346cbc45d29b30e1532e7a48b3e3da

Also I got 6 elves cut out last night, hopefully tonight the munchkins will go to bed early and I can SEW them.

 

[piratemamaof3]

Saw some of the Annalee Santas at Marshalls no Elves yet. More Elves will start popping up after Halloween when that stuff is gone and more Christmas stuff comes out.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

I found an elf on clearance last year and used this site http://organizedchristmas.com/magic-elf-holiday-tradition to get started.

 

[smacky1]

I just found and ordered these ones from amazon. Both of them together were just shy of $40 with tax and shipping. Thank you so much for this idea. My 2 and 4 year olds will have a lot of fun with this......or maybe I will be the one having fun with it! Anyway, I will be linking up on myspace with all you other elves after Thanksgiving.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1KF75Y1PXZ2X7EZSRTFH

These came in today and they are too cute. Perfect for my 2 and 4 year old. We should get years of enjoyment out of them.

 

[reginaastralis]

I wanted to do this so much last year, and I couldn't find an elf I liked. They all creeped me out ... lol.

Thanks for all the links, I am going to hunt for a non creepy elf, since this is our FIRST Christmas in our new house. My daughter will love this! She's almost four, and is starting to get the idea that Santa is a big deal. She's still scared of him ... but hey, maybe this will make her talk to him this year.

 

[disneylovingfamily:4]

What a great idea!! I am off to search for an elf

 

[jaycns]

We started our "elf" tradition last year. My S-I-L's kids were doing it at my in-laws (where both of our families were staying for Thanksgiving) on Thanksgiving night. She didn't tell me until we got to my in-laws house in the middle of no where, so I didn't have much of a chance to shop (and was NOT going to be the one to explain to my kids why there cousins got elves and they did not ). So, I went to Wal-Mart and found adorable REINDEER instead of elves (not an elf to be had in all of Wal-Mart last year). They are the size of a Beanie Baby and they were about $5 each. We told our kids that santa had a tradition that he didn't make widely known, but that they could chose to do. We didn't have to say anything else , they were all over it!

We leave out crackers, sugar water and a note asking them to stay on Thanksgiving night. The reindeer come and stay with us from then and leave Christmas Eve (Santa picks them up when he drops off the gifts). We ARE allowed to touch them but they are not allowed to move/talk/do magic if we are looking at them. They get into all sorts of trouble at night or when we leave the house. Each of them has a different personality (yes, we really played it up). For instance, Clover (Dasher's son) likes to eat...we often find him in the kitchen, stuck in a box of cereal, climbing on the fridge handles, hiding in the freezer looking for popsicles or sneaking a candy cane off of the tree. Astroid (Astro for short...Comet's son) likes to practice flying so he is often found on ceiling fans, on the top shelf of a bookshelf, hiding on the top shelf of our cabinets or even balanced on the top of a door. And Rudy (Rudolph Junior) likes to figure out how things work and loves things that glow and he has been found taking things apart, stuck inside of things, playing with a flashlight/Lite Brite and doing a puzzle. The reindeer report back to santa if they catch the boys being naughty or nice at the end of every day.

We explained that santa doesn't only send elves (as they had been told by their cousins). That he can chose to send an elf, a reindeer or a snowman depending on who he thinks would be the best match for the child he is sending them to. Our boys write to their reindeer during the year and get postcards and emails in return.

I am all over creating a myspace page for our reindeer! Thanks for the GREAT idea!! My boys are going to be so surprised and truly love it!!

Here is a picture of our boys saying goodbye to their reindeer on Christmas Eve.