Aibu these good behavior elves are creepy

[goodnessgracious]

Lighthearted

I keep seeing updates from friends showing pictures of their elves which their children think are watching their behavior on behalf on Father Christmas.

I am being a total grump or is the whole idea really creepy.

No comments stating the obvious that Father Christmas story is strange too

They are creepy as fuck.

I always imagined Elf on the Shelf to be really twee.

Now that I know it is really disturbing and bound to give children some proper fear, I'm starting to come around to the idea

Haha, I think it's a cute idea, but they are fucking creepy. Remind me of ventriloquist dummies.

Creepy in a chucky kind of way.

Creepy as fuck!

My son would shit his self if he saw that.guess scaring him to behave night work though.

Never heard of it till here anyway

Was thinking the same-my friend put a picture on Facebook of her elf and it's the thing of nightmares. Honestly, it looks like the doll Annabelle from that recent horror film that I haven't watched as I'm too scared.

I fucking HATE these things. Creepy. Everytime DD sees one and asks about them I tell her they are snitches. What a horrible idea!

Yes, Gawjus - ventriloquist dummies, exactly!

snitches!!

Hahahahaaaaahaaaaa!

We know what happens to snitches, don't we?

(Well no, not really)

Yes, it the snitch thing

Very creepy.

Although we have always had Father Christmas, we have never told our DC he only comes to "good" children. He brings the stocking presents.

I can see that the search for the elf each day would be fun, for little ones though. Rod for your own back.

Horrible, creepy, sneaky things. Every time I see one I think of Gollum.

Apart from their creepiness it's the sheer nonsense of this non-tradition that annoys me. Yet another way to part parents from their money at the most expensive time of the year.

Yeah, don't mess with MrsTP. Innit?

I like Mensch on a bench instead!

Also, since when did you need an elf to come up with activities in December? It's not as if there's not enough going on in the run up to Christmas!

Got to say that I also hate the underlying threat behind the Grass Sat On Its Arse. It's really wrong to allow your dcs to start questioning - for the best part of a month! - whether or not Christmas is going to be whisked away from them for some sort of misdemeanour. Especially when that really isn't going to happen.

If your dcs behave badly in December, sort it then and there. Don't allow some sort of creepy creature to sit in alleged judgement of them.

I also think that suddenly having to only behave the month of December is weird too. I also think threatening to not give your children Christmas gifts is a bad threat. You'll never follow through with it, and if you do you really are a terrible human being who shouldn't be allowed to have children.

All holiday traditions are weird if you think about it though. We take a dead (or fake tree) and set it up in the house. We have designated plants we must kiss under. We get children to seriously believe a fat man is pulled by flying reindeer. The list goes on.

I really don't want to do the elf on a shelf thing. I'd be immature about it and stick it in front of the toilet

DD has a few years before she figures out different families do different things, so I have a while to think up a good reason. I'm thinking it's going to be because Santa needs elves to make toys more than sitting in a house.

YANBU, ours doesn't spy on DD, she's just here for the month because she likes our house and the decorations. DD sometimes chats happily away to her about everything and nothing, but she still gets freaked out by her at night. She woke up twice last night wanting to know exactly where the elf was. This morning she officially told the elf she was to stay out of her bedroom.

joyful that's what we're doing. We've got a gorgeous Scandinavian hand-knitted one and he's just pulling all sorts of pranks. Nothing sinister about him at all.

In our house I have convinced the kids that when the alarm motion sensors light up that's Santa peeking in and having a watch - trust me - Santa works ALL YEAR watching in my house!

That's brilliant Fizzie

We do the same Fizzie. Alarm sensors are known as Rudolph Cam

In our house, every year one of dd's sylvanian families are brought to life by Christmas magic. This morning the turtles were caught abseiling from their storage box onto a book shelf. Tomorrow I suspect they will be creating merry hell in the cereal cupboard. I keep it tame for the dc's sake but you haven't known restraint until you are faced with the macabre possibilities of toys come to life. I want them to wield knives and I just know ketchup would make awesome fake blood but I resist and stick to having them having innocent fun. One day though, one day...

We always had Father Christmas's robin! The idea of a sweet little bird flying past or peeping in wasn't the least bit scary, but if one of the kids was having a major tantrum,saying "Oh dear,I thought I saw Father Christmas's robin fly past!" would stop them in their tracks.

We did it last year & DS1 loved it, hoping the same will happen this year.

I saw one today.

The poster had written "no elf for us today, he has booked himself into a B & B due to the dc's bad behaviour"

Then there was a picture added of a small blackboard saying "I'm watching you"

That would totally freak me out and I'm 28yrs old. I can't imagine what a young child would think.

Elves getting up to mischief, fine. Spying elves, creepy as fuck.

I was talking about how I don't like these, as well as the 'father christmas is watching you on his cctv points to house motion sensor' but was promptly shot down by the mother's in the group who said 'wait till you have children' with knowing looks.

I'd like to think I'd still think they were bloody creepy.