To not do 'Elf on the shelf'

I won't be doing it. I don't really like the naughty/nice concept or the creepy watching over thing anyway but I also don't want to start a tradition that's so laborious at a busy time of year anyway.
I don't really care if other people are doing it. It will just be another thing to add to the list that I won't be doing for my children that others do for theirs, they'll get used to the fact that different families do different things.

I did it when mine were younger but he just hid round the house and they had to find him every morning. It was a bit of a chore but they absolutely loved it and still talk about elf now they're teenagers. I don't think I would have bothered with all the "inventive scenarios" though.

I've done it for about 11 years now, ours doesn't do anything naughty though, he just moves to a different place every night. If you don't want to do it then don't, but it's only as difficult as you want to make it

If you don't want to do it then don't, it's not mandatory. We have the elf, but it was bought in a shop and doesn't report back to santa. I have always told them that there is no such thing as a bad child and parents only say that to get their kids to behave anyway.

For us it is a bit of fun and the elf never does anything mean. Some of the things I have seen, particularly from America, seem disgusting or traumatising.

I hate the elf. Spying on kids while causing havoc is a v confusing idea to sell to children!

my 12 yo ds mentioned the elf once when he was about 7 and about half his class had an elf. I said we didn’t need one as Santa was more than happy with his behaviour and he didn’t need monitoring. He was happy with that. Dd is only 3 years younger and I would say is one of only a small handful of kids in the class without an elf. This has caused much upset because she wants to join in the chats with what the elves had done. So to achieve a compromise, she has a cuddly elf which about 3 times in December gets moved. I’ll put it on the tree or on the wardrobe or something. It doesn’t report back to Santa or do anything naughty. But at least she has something to say in school. I hate that it’s become so popular that everyone expects excerpted else to have one. I also hate that everyone is expected to have the same Xmas traditions these days

We do a lite version, we have a small key ring size elf one of my DC picked out at garden centre. He usually turns up a few days into December and either sits somewhere funny round the house or gets into mild mischief (when either DH or I remember/can be bothered). He’s a bit of Christmas fun, there’s no suggestion he actually reports back to Santa and none of my DC have believed it’s anything other than a bit of fun that mum/dad do for kids.

We avoided it for years until someone gave one as a gift. 😡

Bloody hate it.

Think we may have reached the year when no one believes in Santa anymore so hoping we can ditch the elf this year.

ha this is us! I promise we do "do" christmas though. Kids have never asked about any of this, though I know most of their friends' families do have the dreaded elves.

Never done it. The idea of it spying on you is really creepy. DD asked once when she was about 5 but we usually go skiing the week before xmas so that’s a good excuse to swerve it and she hasn’t asked since.

We said the same to DS and he never mentioned it again, absolutely something I could never be bothered to do.

YANBU. I hate the creepy little fucker. Why would you want to make your small child think something was spying on the constantly?

We don't do it.. as such.
My daughter last year saw one in the shops and asked if we could get one for our house. I said yes we can, but he won't be naughty...
he came home with us, moved to a different location each night (literally just sat somewhere) and we told her he was checking on her behaviour and reporting back.
He vanished after Christmas Day.. and will return again this year on dec 1st with the advent calendars.
That is absolutely as far as I'm going with it 😂

We are absolutely not doing it. DS mentioned it last year (Reception) but I just said the grown ups choose whether the Elf visits their house, and we chose not to. Horrible creepy thing, I have more than enough to do in December as it is.

I've never done it. DS has autism and needs clear rules and the concept of an elf who gets away with being naughty but then reports back to Santa if children are naughty is too confusing by half.

We have our own traditions - a homemade advent calendar, going to the local stately home to see Christmas lights, Christmas movie nights, carol singing. There are lots of ways to make Christmas magical - you don't have to buy into everything.

Never did it, DC moaned once, told them the Elf doesn't come here because mummy won't let him and that was that. Am also a non Dec 1st, Christmas Eve box etc person. I can kind of get it if you are Christian so the build up is special, but I'm not so it's not for me.

I wish I'd never started that stupid elf thing 🤣
Christmas eve boxes are way over thr top too and now it's December 1st boxes too isn't it?!
All too commercialised and over the top. I'm not even getting the tree out til mid December, I'm so done with Christmas..

You should never invite in the fae… 😉

@Alottodoaboutssomething how old is your son? Just wondering at what age I can expect DD1 to start being aware of it as a thing.

I've never done it and have no intention of ever doing it. DD1 is 5 so it's never come up before.

Elf on a Shelf ..tedious thing that seems to take over SM. I have no interest in what amusing things you got up to with a bag of flower.

We used to use the alarm sensor .. whenever the red light came on, that meant Father Christmas was watching (zero effort require)

The other one was, when a bauble dropped (for no reason) off the tree, that was an elf just checking up on things …

Good on you.

OP stand firm. If you have a dog or cat, a useful reason to add.

A pity that double VAT could not be put on nonsense such as Christmas bedding and nightwear. Proceeds going to those who need help for basics throughout the year.

I did it before it became a 'thing', our elf just added to the Christmas magic and he never did anything naughty and certainly no reporting back to Santa. I hate parents using Santa as a behaviour tool.

1st year we did it I wasn't at work so put in way more effort.

Subsequent years our Elf had been promoted to Elf supervisor and had to go and watch the other 'naughty' elves M-F but stopped off each night to hide a chocolate coin with a little sprinkle of gold glitter (instead of an advert calendar)
At the weekend DD would wake up to find the Elf sat with whatever Christmases thing we would have done normally that day

• ingredients for making salt dough decorations
• ingredients for making mince pies
• sat in the 1/2 dressed Christmas tree with the some decorations left out for DD to do
• Delivering books of Christmas stories (same ones each year)
• once the school holidays started delivering Christmas sticker and colouring books.
• I'm a single parent so would make a big fuss of wanting a particular something (new book / cd / perfume etc) and then have the Elf deliver said thing to DD with gift wrapping materials - gift bag and shredded paper when little then wrapping paper (same wrapping paper as Santa's gift to her ofcourse) etc when she was a bit older. And she would keep it secret and proudly hand me my present on Christmas morning.

I also used him to deliver DDs Jack Valentine present (it's a Victorian Norfolk thing) and she wasn't impressed 😁 as she wanted Jack. And to deliver Easter Arts and Crafts at the start of the school holidays - all stuff we would have done anyway but with a bit of added Elf magic and a sprinkle of glitter

No Elf
No Boo boxes
No Christmas eve boxes.
No Christmas bedding.
No Christmas nightwear.
The end.
We do lots of other things though!

I love doing fun things to make DD smile but I have no desire to do elf on the shelf as it sounds such a chore, I had a hard time remembering to fill the advent calendar last year. I’ve held out so far but there’s a small part of me that wonders if I should do it. I think she won’t expect it yet as she’s only 3 but I might end up sucked into doing it in the primary years.

That being said my dad used to fill our advent calendar with clues for a treasure hunt to go and find the chocolate and it’s a really magical memory for me, so I might do that when she’s old enough to read, I do remember my dad looking weary and tired of doing it each evening though!

The elf didn't come to our house because we had a cat. Then poor cat died and we got a dog, lots of people have pets and the elf comes but for some reason it knew our dog wouldn't like it so skipped our house. Thank God for that. I know so many people regretting the day that thing arrived.

I refused to have an elf. It wasn’t a thing with my eldest, but I firmly told my youngest, I have enough on my plate with two DC and a cat, we have no time to be clearing up after elves!