People with young DC who don't do Elf on the Shelf- what do you tell them?

[TheCraicDealer]

DD is only ten weeks old so we're a while off this being an issue, but I'm genuinely curious.

Most of the parents on my social media seem to do this Elf on the Shelf shite and I just can. Not. Be. Bothered. I can get on board with Santa sneaking into the house to leave presents by ~MaGiC~, but I don't want DD thinking we have security issues with repeated breaches

Anyway because it now seems to have become such a thing I'm a bit worried that once she gets to childcare/nursery/school she'll ask me why the elves don't come to our house. I'm shit at thinking on my feet so I need to have a response sorted to spring out when the question comes. So if you've been asked what did you tell them?

Father Christmas is real (if that’s what you’re telling them) but the elves are not real elves, they’re just cuddly toys, that’s why you can buy them in shops. Father Christmas has his magic to check if you’re being kind, and the real elves are too busy making presents!

I don’t have children but my boyfriend’s children thankfully have no interest in one...

Elf and safety

I tell my 5 year old it's not real and I don't have time for that shit.

I don't care about upsetting other people kids about this. I've kept the santa mystery alive for so long I can't cope with another one!

Plus she is scared of the idea and it's watchful creepiness so it makes sense to say it's not real!

Make your own Christmas traditions and dont be sucked into commercial a going with the herd ... unless you want to.

We have never done Advent Calendars for example.

Unfortunately some kids do ask - the others had been talking about it in school and dd was talking excitedly about when ‘our’ elf would arrive and what would he bring etc. I think she was 5 at the time. I actually had a different little elf toy she hadn’t seen yet so I did bring him out but it wasn’t too long before she realised it was all nonsense. thankfully.

I think with them being all over the shops, even children who believe wholeheartedly in Father Christmas probably do know the truth, at least from an age where they are old enough to read.

We've never done it. My youngest are 7 and EOTS is definitely in a lot of their classmates homes. I think they see it as a bit of fun.

Don't worry about it and take it as it comes. Mine love hearing what their friends elves get up to but have never asked why they don't have an elf to bring them random presents or whatever. They know everyone does things differently.

DD only ever asked about Elf on the Shelf once. I said it didn't come to our house because it would get eaten by dogs.

dd hasn't asked but if she does I'm planning on using the cat as an excuse. Either the cat doesn't like elves or elves are allergic to them or some such.

When DD1 was about 3 she asked what robins had to do with Christmas and off the cuff I told her they work for Father Christmas, flying down from the North Pole to check behaviour and fly back to tell him. She totally bought it. So I guess it's nature's answer to Elf on the Shelf, except it's totally random and you don't have to do anything (except maybe encourage them into the garden with a bird feeder). I used to only have to say "oh is that a Robin?" when behaviour was getting a bit questionable and she would realise. My youngest is 11 now and I still say it. Now she did ask for an elf but I said we didn't need one because of our Robin.

DD has never asked about it (she's 5)

None of my 3 DC have ever mentioned it - DC3 even has an elf in her classroom at school which moves around keeping an eye on them in a similar way, but I've only heard about this from other parents.

I love Christmas but seriously who even has time for that shite..

I think I'd have to go with @Paddingtonthebear suggestion.

DD only ever asked about Elf on the Shelf once. I said it didn't come to our house because it would get eaten by dogs

Great! I don't have a dog but we have foxes and badgers around, so I'd just blame them instead :)

(ds is 17 and we never did Elf on the Shelf, I think by the time it really took off he was too old. Didn't bother with the Easter Bunny either, in fact I didn't actually know it was a thing - did do Tooth Fairy but she was a bit rubbish and kept forgetting to leave cash)

DD never asked about the elf, if she had I would have just said that they don't go to every house, it's just random .

I could be honest and tell her that it's just a load of crap, but wouldn't want her to repeat that to younger children who believe in the elf.

I don't do Elf. My DS is autistic and I think it's just too confusing a concept for him. (How come the elf is reporting on naughty behaviour to Santa but gets away with being really naughty himself....) Mixed messages.

I just told DS that the elf has to ask Mummy if he's allowed in the house and Mummy said no. He didn't query it.

Elf on the Shelf isn't a tradition. It's bollocks.

We never had one, and at least DD3 was still of the age group they are aimed at when this shit first started, apparently in the early 2000s.

I had a labrador puppy back then too, and he was such a mischief and a chewer that elf wouldn't have lasted a crack. I might even have used elf as a dog training toy had I had the misfortune to end up with such a twatty thing in the house. Best thing to do with it.

Luckily my DC are too old this nonsense but if they weren't I don't know how they would find out about it. It's not even really a thing that the majority of people do, feeling stressed about not doing stuff you see on social media is a waste of headspace and a path to misery imo

It seems to me most parents do it for the sake of social media. It's for sale in the shops so kids will see it there anyway. My son is 6 and hasn't mentioned it, I'm just going to say we don't do it in our house.

@Heartofglass12345 YES

An old acquaintance on Facebook (who I should probably unfollow/defriend) put up yesterday’s elf picture late last night and said “do sorry it’s late guys I was so busy today!!”
I was sooooo tempted to write...“oh really...I hadn’t noticed because believe it or not your elf is not the highlight of my bloody day!!”

My cousin told her five year one that her and daddy wouldn’t allow a strange little man to roam round the house while they all slept. Not sure whether I’m horrified or impressed

We don't do it, my children have never asked about it. I see parents posting their elves hilarious activities on Facebook, but have never known any of their children talk about it, so I assumed it was a tradition that was more about the grown ups than the children.

We have an elf but he’s a good kind elf. He doesn’t do anything naughty. He puts the chocolate in DD,s advent calendar and dies helpful things like rearranging the Christmas tree to make it look better. He occasionally hides for DD to find him the morning but mummy can’t be arsed would be really cross if he did anything naughty.

Witches in your wardrobe. .....actually I've not thought that through

My 3 year old saw one in the shop and wanted one, I told him it was an Elf that reports back to Santa about bad behaviour, He decided he didn't want one.
He's in Preschool and doesn't know about the " fun" aspect of it yet! You might have longer than you think!.

I did it for a few days last year then my daughter just said I know it's you doing it and I don't really like it. She still believes in Father Christmas though 🤷‍♀️