The Elf on the Shelf

The Elf on the Shelf

A year or so ago I started to hear bits and bobs floating around the internet about this Christmas tradition that entailed a strange little Elf toy moving around the house and being found in fun and strategically set up scenarios for children to find every morning.

I did some research and discovered that it actually looked like a ton of fun, particularly with two imaginative little boys but they were sold out that year so I got in early the following year (last year) and bought one.

For those who don’t have a clue what The Elf on the Shelf actually is then here is a brief outline:

The Elf on the Shelf®: A Christmas Tradition is a special scout elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists. When a family adopts a scout elf and gives it a name, the scout elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day’s adventures. Each morning, the scout elf returns to its family and perches in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their scout elf each morning.

We adopted our Elf from The Book Depository and called him Alfie (yes, very creative I know!). Alfie joined us for his first December last year and we started off well.

Here’s what Alfie got up to with us last December:

Elf on the Shelf Day 1
Alfie arrived bringing with him chocolate!
Elf on the Shelf Day 2
Hanging off the picture frame (this is one of my mum’s pencil drawings, she was immensely talented!)
Elf on the Shelf Day 3
Alfie is held hostage in a lego jail with a lego figure holding a pitchfork. Yep.
Elf on the Shelf Day 4
Swing!
Elf on the Shelf Day 5
Naughty Alfie playing with the toilet paper
Elf on the Shelf Day 6
Don’t squeeze into small spaces children or you might just get STUCK!
Elf on the Shelf Day 7
Joining in the birthday fun for Finn’s birthday!
Elf on the Shelf Day 8
Alfie couldn’t resist trying the birthday cake …
Elf on the Shelf Day 9
Alfie caused a traffic jam!
Elf on the Shelf Day 10
Reading to all his buddies

Then this happened:

Strike

NOTE TO PARENTS: 

The Elf on the shelf is a very difficult endeavor to achieve when you have children who keep getting up or refuse to go to sleep! You do not want to be up at all hours of the night trying to set this up so my advice to those of you with restless sleepers is to wait a year! Our Elf stayed on strike for the rest of December until he delivered their Christmas Eve Box.

This year we have already started reading the book every night which the kids are loving. Last year the book wasn’t read because the kids weren’t interested but given the popularity of that aspect, I think this year will be a winner! And these monkey’s actually SLEEP at night now! Woohoo! That will make being creative so much easier!

Now, the only problem is that when Alfie was hidden away returned home to Santa after Christmas he was tucked away somewhere so safe that he is now lost. Wish me luck on my retrieval mission! Only 3 weeks until he needs to start working his magic (ie. making the children think they need to be good boys and girls or Santa will be told!).

No, I am not adverse to bribing good behaviour, if only for one month a year! Bring it on I say!

Do you do Elf on the Shelf? Have you even heard of it before now? Is this something you would be interested in doing?

Linking up with #IBOT @ Essentially Jess

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60 thoughts on “The Elf on the Shelf

  1. We did (not using the official Elf) with ‘twin’ elves a few years but random nights because we are slack.
    It was more funny things .
    This year I want to practice kindness and have kindness Elves instead who leave notes about kind things to do or thank the boys for being kind or helpful etc. Mention something we noticed and filed away (like Jess said).
    Trish recently posted…Happy Hens and dogs who don’t eat them.My Profile

    1. Fair enough too Zoe! It’s definitely time consuming coming up with ideas and executing it, fun though! Buy one mid-year because they sell out fast closer to Christmas. What’s your party for? Exciting!

  2. I like the idea of doing something everyday leading up to Christmas but I just can’t get into Elf on the Shelf. I think I would probably end up leaving ours in the same spot for days on end, leading to the children thinking it had died or something.
    I hope you find Alfie! I always enjoy seeing what people come up with – so many clever ideas that I would never think of!
    Becky from BeckyandJames recently posted…Look what I’ve startedMy Profile

  3. We have an elf too, and ours has a very original name too, “elfie” I had stirct words to our Elf when they arrived that they weren’t to be messy, and set up (and pack up) could take no more than 5 minutes. 🙂 We are looking forward to our Elf visiting again.
    Sarah recently posted…Elf on the Shelf – Ideas (IBOT)My Profile

  4. We love Elf on the Shelf – let the minds games begin! Our Elf was caught in an illegal board game gambling circle, he pulled off Optimus Prime’s arm in a fight, and was plotting with Buzz Lightyear as to how to reach the chocolate… Occasionally he decides to ‘stay’ in the same spot for a few nights, nothing to do with the parents forgetting to move him of course, its just such an awesome position!
    Emma @ Life, kids and a glass of red recently posted…Walk softly and wear big bootsMy Profile

  5. We played Elf on the Shelf for the first time last year. Mary (as in Mary Christmas) got up to loads of fun. We moved to California two months ago, and I’m amazed at the shelves full of EOTS accessories (different outfits, pet reindeer, etc) that are available. My 3 yr old twins (and I) can’t wait for the 1st Dec, when Mary will begin visiting again.

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