telling child Elf on the Shelf isn’t really

We do too, it's not a surveillance thing at all (I didn't even know about that side of it till this thread!) I was completely against it but decided one year to try it when dc were 1 and 4 and it has stuck. I love seeing them search for the naughty elf every morning. Their little faces light up!

My pal told her kids that the elves only come to kids who are close to being put on the naughty list lmao

What’s the surveillance thing all about? Had no idea! He was just a naughty elf, we’d position in the morning doing something naughty. My daughter loved it and there was quite a lot of chatter in the playground about what the elves had been up to.

Children are a lot cleverer than you think.

Just be aware that sometimes the teachers do the elf at school too.
Just explain that people believe different things, and for you the elf is not real.

I did the elf, still 😂, told mine when they were very little that elves only came to the house of good children to mess around and make them laugh. There was no surveillance, and only naughty elves pop in , as the other ones are too busy in the workshops anyway.

I am sure mine didn't believe very quickly, but they still find it fun.

You don't have to do anything, I never did Christmas Eve boxes etc.. ,never occur to me my kids would be left out. We are all different

The majority of parents don’t do it. And for those that do, I suspect that in most cases the children, if they’re over the age of about four) are 100% aware that it’s the parents doing it. I think most kids enjoy it as a ‘let’s pretend’ game, not because they think it’s a real elf.

Don't you think most children already realise it's not real?
They see the elves on sale in the shops. They will know that the one sitting on their shelf isn't a real elf that can move around by itself.

You don't have to do it.

Just don't do it.
My DD has never done it with her children because she hates it, and I know a lot of other parents who also find it creepy/weird. It just seems to have become one of those things some parents like to boast about on social media. But it's not a necessary part of Christmas like a Christmas tree.

Just say theyre really good so haven't been allocated one. They get extra presents

We don’t. And when asked, I said, “in this house snitches get stitches” (well, an age appropriate version).

And having a bloke telling on your kids while behaving poorly is the most batshit thing, it’s not magical it’s weird.

Never done the elf in this household. DC have never queried why we don't have one. If they had asked Id have said something like not needing it in this house as I knew they were good.
I'd never be able to follow up with all the palaver that goes with it (and the clearing up after escapades) , even if I had a set of prompt cards to help me set the scenes.

My (adult) DSis who has no children has an Elf and her DH sets up scenes for her every morning. Must be love.

We do elf on the shelf. It’s never been a surveillance thing, just a fun elf that visits. We don’t do massive messes or elaborate pranks. Just fun stuff. It is, short of Christmas Day itself, the most magical part of Christmas for my kids. They talk all year about what the elf got up to last year and when he will be back. The elves in stores they’ve decided are just toy versions, just like toy dogs versus real dogs. We’ve never really pushed the “real” aspect, we won’t be going to great lengths to keep them believing once they start to question things. I think my eldest is getting to the stage where he believes because he wants to, which is where I can remember being as a preteen.

I just told mine the cat would eat it

We just did Father Christmas to give kids the magic. Elves were a joke for adults in later years.

I just say the elf is too naughty and I don’t want one messing up the house!

Mine are late teens and we’ve done elf on the shelf since they were about 3/4.
it’s the thing they love the most about Christmas (still!).
I don’t post on social media about it (other than here like this!) and I don’t do the horrid pranks or the creepiness watching you thing.

life is hard and relentless, if I can add a little fun and magic (when they were younger) to it. I will. It’s entirely your call if you do it or not. But ruining that magic for others just seems mean. I think it’s falling out of fashion and I don’t think it will be an issue. When my DCs friends talked about not having one, I said it’s for parents to decide if they can host one or not. As it’s a big responsibility and not everyone is able to.

I have no intention of doing it and my 5 year old has never once asked about it. If they do I’ll just be saying that naughty elves are not allowed in our house.

We never did it. Hate it!!

Just say we don’t have an Elf in our house. I’ve always said we don’t have one, no long-lasting psychological damage has occurred for any household members. I have enough to do in the run up before christmas, without orchestrating pretend chaos all over my home. Apparently because it’s funny/magic.

We never did Elf or Christmas Eve boxes or new PJ’s. etc. DH does go overboard on Christmas lights everywhere though.

It’s just the 3 of us over the Christmas holidays with no visitors so we have no expectations and lots of chilling.

How would you feel if someone told your child Father Christmas isn’t real ? As that’s exactly same thing

Another lie to keep. When did elf in the shelf come about?