To be the only person I know without an Elf on a Shelf

[amysmum18]

Looking through my Facebook newsfeed over the last couple of days, I seem to be the only person I know that hasn't got an Elf on a Shelf.

My two little ones (5 and 3) have got a cloth advent calendar that we pop a couple of biscuits in every day 'from Father Christmas' if they have been good and that's it. Everyone else I know seem to be spending every night putting their Elves in elaborate and amusing situations for their children to find the next day. Between working, organising everything at home, looking after the kids (and the husband) and trying to get sorted for Christmas, I barely have time to think straight, let alone spend my time hiding an elf around the house!

Is it just me that doesn't feel the need to get an Elf on a Shelf or am I just being grumpy! ;-)

We had one about 4 years ago, but DS took a fancy to it and wouldn't let it out of his sight, so it performed no tricks.
I have friends who create really elaborate things for their elves to do, and they bring presents and all sorts, where the hell do people get the time and energy for it?!
OK I may be feeling a little bah humbug at the moment, as I can't even afford to start my christmas shopping until DHs customers lower themselves to pay him, so that may be clouding my judgement slightly, but what with these bloody elves, and people putting their damn decorations up in NOVEMBER, I'm seriously considering moving to a little island in the middle of nowhere and living in a cave 😡

We don't have any elves & no request for them either. I really don't want to add any more to the to do list.

"It does seem very time consuming and a little bit competitive."

I fear doing the Elf malarky would complete my gradual involuntary transformation into 'soccer mum' thus I resist

Same breton
No xmas jumper either.
Tree goes up during Xmas week and stays up until 12th night.
We have our own personal family traditions and those are much more magical for us (IMO).

We don't have one, DD is only 2 though so wouldn't get it.
We do seem to be the only people I know that don't plan to put tree up till the week before.
We will do a Christmas eve box and Christmas bedding for DD though.

I've known about it since DD was quite small (maybe 2/3?) but never bothered. We have a cloth calendar too (mini choc figures from Aldi do the trick JUST as well as the ones from M&S used to do!). At this stage, she also gets a Lego City one, but she really is big into Lego.

Our cloth calendar is now mostly just chocolate. But over the years, there have been many little notes, colouring pages or activity sheets, ideas for what we'll do today, hints to a treasure hunt for either the things for todays' activity or to a small toy....
Lots of free printable activity sheets and colouring pages on the Net, but it can help to keep DD distracted some days. Treasure hunt mornings are always great fun as she runs wild around the house looking for the clues.

I have very occasionally put her teddies, or her teddy snowman or stuffed reindeer in a group reading a Christmas story on her bed, to find at bedtime.

But no EOTS here!!

All the other things can be easily done around the mania that is December otherwise. Print a job lot of sheets in Oct/Nov, and buy the choc figures once they come out, and then all the other things can happen if you have time/energy, but get quietly abandoned as plans in your head if things are too manic...

Nah can't be arsed with all that. Will put my energy onto christmas crafts and baking instead.

We have a massive real tree and father christmas brings a stocking full of bits and bobs. Thats all thats needed surely?

It's a creepy fecker is it meant to be naughty lots of elaborate Elf scenarios going on . My 18 yrold said she would have been terrified if she had 1. Yanbu op it's probably a good idea not to scare your children witless

I have one friend who posts a photo every day of their elf's hilarious antics.

Another friend was selling cheap knock-off elves a month or so ago and people were snapping them up so I guess there are more of them out there.

We're seeing friend and her family this weekend and will try to stay off the subject. I obviously wouldn't spoil things for her DC but if DS asks why we don't have one I'm not prepared to lie to him. I find the whole Father Christmas thing hard enough without having other families' 'traditions' imposed on us.

Sparklingbrook Fri 02-Dec-16 09:06:07 - I thought they just sat on the shelf checking for naughty children. But then it seems the Elf is really badly behaved itself.

Yep, this ^

No Elves on shelves here either. Or santa cams or whatever. All DCs are too old or too young for them at the mo tbh, but i won't be doing it.

We have the elf. My 9yr old dd knows it isn't real but goes along with it because its fun. I do Christmas eve boxes, bedding, table cloth, toilet seat covers etc! I just love love love Christmas

No one in my family has one and I have 9 dgc so you are not alone.
I might have done when my dc were little as I love sentimental twaddle occasionally.

I keep up the santa tradition until the kids are well and truly over it. I love the idea of father xmas. But i agree with pp that this elf thing is something i can't get on board with starting as i feel it's very much a recent commercial band wagon.

First i heard of it was SIL talking about hers xmas before last (doing the writing with pasta thing on the work tops) When did it all actually start?

A xmas toilet seat!?

That's dedication!

We don't have one. I can't be arsed. My 6 year out don't believe in father Xmas I doubt she believe in elf on the shelf. It's a bit creepy to.

Yanbu i hate that nasty wee prick. Is he not meant to report back to Santa or something regarding behaviour ? Judgemental snitch.

Thank you zoflo
Yes it's more shit for parents to buy. And store for next year.
And it all starts so early.

We don't have an elf. It's just a money making gimmick. We don't do Christmas eve boxes either, they get enough presents on Christmas Day.

We have a few family traditions that the dc love so we just stick with those.

I wonder if parents who do this creepy elf get Christmas fatigue I know I would. Mine got an advent calendar tree goes up around the 12th of December elf would just be something else to do meh

I don't have one and neither does anyone I know so DC don't know any different. I'd never heard of it until MN!

No elf here. Neither of my children would tolerate it. DS1 is fully into christmas though and has been demanding the tree go up for the last 2 weeks. We're giving in and doing it this weekend which is about 2 weeks earlier than ever before.

No, I don't like it. Like Taylor22 said, I don't like the idea of watching/judging. Rosesandwreaths, that is a lovely idea. I will probably steal it when the baby is old enough :)

No elf here either. Dcs 4,3 and 10 months. I thought that elves were Santa's little helpers and would encourage good behaviour but from what friends have told me the elf is being a little shit around the house. I don't understand what does the elf actually do?

I am not sure what it's meant to be Santa's elves are Santa's helpers so why is the elf blnaughty ?

We don't have one, and won't be getting one either!! I don't have time!!!!