How do you explain not having a elf?

[ItsJustASimpleLine]

Really don't want to have to do elf on the shelf. Can anyone help with and explanation for why we don't have one that DD would believe??

[LaDaronne]

it has on this thread boohiss

[Boohissmiss]

😂 very true LaDaronne

[creepymoustache]

I haven't read the full thread but we have an elf. The children named her and she comes to stay with us at Xmas time and flies back to the North Pole each night. There's not much emphasis in our house on her reporting back to Santa on behaviour and she certainly isn't a naughty elf. Just our little Christmas guest. She does move each night and the kids love finding her again the next morning. It's been a lovely addition to the Xmas build up for us but I appreciate it's not for everyone.

[Luna9]

First time I heard of it and I have been in the UK for 14 years; children 12 and 8 have never asked.

[Tyke2]

I Haven't read the whole thread, so excuse me.
But I have absolutely no idea what an Elf on a shelf is.
I have never heard of it??

[Hisaishi]

The people who are asking if the children realise the elf isn't real...children have wild imaginations. They have very little distinction between real and not unreal until they are about 7.

[FeralBeryl]

Every year
We do it, others don't. Ours cost £1 years ago and the kids love it more than Father Christmas.

I love little traditions and for our family of small children, this is one. Chinese food on Christmas Eve is another. Personal traditions - doesn't have to be rubber stamped as a 'time honoured, religiously acceptable' one.

Lots of parents don't have the money to visit panto, ice festivals, grottos - this is an inexpensive way to feel excited with your children about the time of year.

Our elf has never made it to instabrag, he's just for us. Same as my Christmas tree, people around here are paying a tree dresser ffs, but it doesn't impact me, I just throw my shitty decorations on my own and love it just as much.

He also leaves notes asking them to choose toys and books to take to the refuge, he has his food bank shopping bag ready with stuff in once a week, as well as all the biscuit crumbs or sitting in Barbie's caravan shite.

Do what you want, but don't scoff at others. You see it as ridiculous consumerism, I use ours to try and get back to the true meaning of seasons goodwill 🤷‍♀️

[SpanishFly]

We have an elf and a snowman. They don't do something every night, they also sometimes do kind things. It's just a little extra for December. And I refuse to make it a major deal. E.g. last night they hung from the lightshade and were holding Reeses Pieces for the morning. 60p chocolate which they'd have been given anyway, no effort for us, boys absolutely delighted. It really doesn't need to be elaborate.
Oh and my boys are totally allowed to cuddle them etc, none of this "losing their magic" pish

[Loyaultemelie]

Mine are told quite plainly I'm not having one of those creepy buggers in the house

[petitesiirene]

My daughter used to have a elf plush that came every Christmas and I always just said he was visiting to make sure she had been behaving, he never did anything and she slept with him every night over Christmas until he left when she used to cry her eyes out lol, she loved that elf so much that even now at the age of 13 and she knows the truth she still sleeps with that elf every night.

Elf of the Shelf started off as a craze in America and us Brits just kinda jumped on it a few years after.

[HotSauceCommittee]

Christmas is just one day. Is it not enough? To enjoy treats and a bit of luxury on Christmas Day, surely there’s going to be less joy to it if there’s the elf building up to it and then Christmas Eve boxes? What the Hell? A DVD, some pyjamas, confectionary and hot chocolate for the kids to stuff themselves with before it’s actually Christmas? What wrong with waiting until Christmas?
It’s all too much hype and consumerism in the name of one day where people don’t appreciate it as much anyway. Most of us are over fed Throughout the year. It’s just become an extended consumerist festival now which makes me feel slightly sick to think of.

[Whyislarryhappy]

Just simply say the elves are only sent out to the houses where the children have been naughty throughout the year!

[CheeseTheDay]

There is a Jewish equivalent for Chanukah, which is Mensch on a Bench, it's only been around about five years.

We like it, as it came with a storybook, and has been perfect for us in introducing the Chanukah story to our youngest children.

Maor (that's the name we've given our Mensch) watches over our Menorah every night. It's a very important job!

We do also mark Christmas in our house, as a secular holiday (which I think most people do nowadays), but we don't do Elf on a Shelf.

I say to each their own.

[mastertomsmum]

Tell her it's like Santa in the supermarket/shopping centre grotto, aka not real or faintly compulsory. Or better still like the Easter Bunny and Christmas Eve Boxes - aka a new and/or American thing and not part or our traditions.

[billybagpuss]

I'm so glad my kids grew up in a simpler elfless time.

However, I find them very observant with amazing imaginations. So how come they can almost daily walk past the 'elf' display in Tesco and not work out that if you haven't bought one you don't get one!!!

[myhamsteratefreddiestarr]

I have never done this and DC has never asked why we don't have one. I only know of a couple of people who do it in RL.

Just tell her that the elf doesn't visit everyone. I told DC that it doesn't visit untidy houses

[noodlenosefraggle]

Yes my DS's best friend's mum is German, and they have krampus, so they do that. DS never questioned why they do something different. The little bugger must know the elf isn't real and I just use it as an excuse to eat chocolate and biscuits late at night but he still insisted on it

[WinklemansFringe]

I told mine that we asked Father Christmas not to send one as we didn't need one,and that we would keep an eye on each other and make sure that we were all well behaved.

Lying to kids about an elf watching your every move, and even having fake CCTV cameras in the house is just ridiculous in my opinion.

[ItsJustASimpleLine]

Thank you for all the replies!

I'm going to go with we don't have one as everyhouse is different and we have a fairy at ours.

I have no problem with other people's traditions but it's not something I want to do or have time for. I certainly don't want to ruin anyone else's fun by saying the truth or only for naughty kids etc.

[loudhouse18]

We don't have Elf on the Shelf either. My DS8 knows that it's impossible for an Elf to come alive and I just feel its another one of those things you have to really convince your child that its true and an Elf really does come to life and cause mischief...He's already questioning Santas existence.

I feel like all this Elf on the Shelf etc is really taking away the magic of Santa Claus!

[AmateurParents]

I don't really understand all the bitterness towards all the mums that are doing elf on the shelf. Don't moan at other people's traditions because you don't agree with them. If it helps other parents with behaviour issues etc then what's the problem. I work full time and i can manage to move an elf around the house in the evening in a new and unique way after doing the 100 other things mums have to do. Why? Because for my son who had major surgery this year, it's magical. No, not all Elves are naughty. I've made up my own traditions and my son gets rewarded for his behaviour. Not all children who have an elf are misbehaved. Stop moaning because you can't be bothered and stop slating the mums that are.

[CushieButterfield]

I read this thread at the weekend, relived that this craze has kicked in for younger children than mine are ... only to have my 7yo home from school today in tears because he doesn’t understand why we don’t have an elf. I went with ‘I think our house is messy enough as it is’. I have managed to avoid saying it’s not real, or that it’s because his friends are naughty, but he’s still disappointed. Will get on with making his portable North Pole video, which we’ve always done, as a distraction.

[whenthewhistleblows]

I’ve been sucked into this after my dd kept coming home saying ‘oh I WISH the elf and the shelf would visit US’. Our elf doesn’t come until the week before Christmas though as he’s a top VIP elf and has to stay in the North Pole linger to help Santa.

[MrsAmaretto]

I tell my kids that magic only works if you believe in it. We don’t do the Easter bunny or elf but we do believe in the tooth fairy & Santa. They are quite happy with that explanation and have used it to understand why Santa brings their friends Stockings only whilst they get Stockings and a present.

[Ladygaladriel]

Don’t do it if you don’t want but can’t believe all the judging those that do on here!
We have one. DS age 4 knows I move it around when he goes to bed. It’s not real real like Santa for him, it’s just a fun game.
It takes a couple of minutes each evening to move it around.
And for everyone going on about traditions - so bloody what if it’s not 100s of years old. My children will remember it from as long as they can remember. That makes it a tradition for them.