What do you guys think of the "Elf on the Shelf" idea?
My daughter has been telling me that several of her schoolmates have an elf that eats goodies left out for him and reports on their behavior to Santa.
Apparently the parents have great fun with it, reminding the kids that the elf is watching to be sure they’re being good, and they dispose of the goodies and frequently move the elf to a different location in the house.
The kids also seem to love knowing that their own personal elf is reporting to Santa each night. They have fun leaving out the crackers and water and it’s a blast for them to get out of bed each morning and find where their elf is hiding that time.
So what do you guys think about this tradition? I think it sounds kind of cute!
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I like it. Let kids be kids as long as they can. There’s no hurry to make them grow up and deal with the real world. That will come soon enough.
When reading this the first thing that came to my mind was 1984, lol.
That’s a great racket for the parents.
“Uh, junior. Tonight your elf would like some spinach lasagna, a garden salad with ranch dressing, and some Boston Cream pie”. ;-)
I think it’s sweet. Works out well for both the kids and parents.
I kind of think it is creepy, but I got pushed into it this year by a well-meaning friend. I admit my daughter is super excited about it – first thing every morning is “Let’s go see where our little elf friend is!”
My problem is this: Are parents really going to make Santa skip their house if the kids don’t behave and the elf sends bad reports back to the North Pole? I mean, the whole point is to “remind” them to be good… what if it doesn’t work? Now you’ve backed yourself into a very uncomfortable corner.
It’s a remodel of a very old tradition. I grew up with the Krampus, a German “elf” but more demonic who reported to Santa and if I was good, left candy in my shoe every Saturday in advent. If I were bad, of course, there was the threat of being beaten with a chain and carried off to… hell, I guess. Germans, sheesh.
My dorg already plays this game with me if I happen to leave any junk mail on the floor. She’ll chew that up (never shoes or furniture), and then I have to look (not too hard, really) to see where she’s going to hurk it up on the rug (it’s always on a rug, dammit).
I don’t like that game. Your version sounds much more enjoyable—and cleaner.
It’s better than the monster under the bed ;)
I think it is a great idea.
Of course, my mischievous boys, equipped with no small sense of humor, would probably find all sorts of ways to re-arrange the elf on the shelf (several of which would, no doubt, be quite inappropriate) to produce no end of elf jokes around our house.
In short, sounds like loads of fun!
Um… it’s a little bit creepy if you ask me!
I think it’s okay as long as parents start this at a young age for their children. I’m going on 17 and my mother insists that a-santa exists and b- the elf on the shelf is real. For those parents teens out there do not do this unless your goal is to drive your kids crazy or embaress them.
I loved Santa when I was little, so I’m sure that I would’ve loved this, too, my own elf.
Actually, I’m not sure if I would’ve bought that that was an elf. My parents already had to tell me that the Santas at all the malls (“How can all of them be Santa, mom?”) were really Santa’s elves cause Santa himself was too busy with other Christmas-y things…
But the older I get the weirder the be-good-for-Santa idea gets. What a way to work kids into “behaving”! I remember so many Christmas Eves I went to bed freaking out that I’d wake up with a lump of coal, and my parents would be so dissapointed that I had dissapointed Santa… sure, it’s fun for the kids to think they have their own elf. I’m just not sure I agree with emphasizing that “you be good, now!” part of Santa any more than it already is? That’s just me, though.
Makes for a cute family tradition. : )
Ha- at the post office today, I heard a woman tell her son(looked about 3½ or 4)“Stay where you can see me, what if the elf sees you?” as he started to walk off around the corner to the next room.
The book and gift set is making a lot of money for the author. It’s a well-marketed concept.
Creeeeeeeeeeeepppyyyyy! Like kids don’t have enough problems with dolls that are alive and watching them?
@CaptainHarley I know kids who have put all their animals under the bed because they were scared they would come alive in the middle of the night. Having an elf who specifically does that? Creepy as hell!
Sorry, but that just strikes me as funny. Not trying to make light of the fears of small children at all.
My sister has one for my nephew (5) and started it last Christmas. He loves it! As described above, he goes looking for it every morning. His explanation of the elf and of his own behavior keep me in stitches.
I don’t believe in lying to children or anyone. We try to help the child understand that he and only he is responsible for the way he behaves.
Some days it works better than others.
Now that you have had this “Elf on a Shelf” for a while what are your thoughts?
It seems so coercive. On Friday a father with a distraught 4 year old (at home), asked a classroom Santa if he could video him saying it was ok and “Brittney”’ should not worry about touching the Elf. He will be fine and she will still get presents.
Come on! This seems like another bubble that will have to be burst.
Our kids love our elf. Even when my oldest found out about Santa last year then connected that with our elf, she was okay. She now enjoys moving him at night after her sister goes to bed. And my little one doesn’t argue about not being able to touch him, she just accepts that as one of the rules. I don’t spoil the hell out of my kids like Brittney’s dad seems to…
If it is presented in the spirit of a game, than OK, but I am against lying to children.
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