Elf on the Shelf - help please!

[anony24]

I’m really confused what to say to my daughter please help me! She’s my eldest so I have no experience: I hid the elf on 24th December and she thinks it’s gone back to Santa but today she’s been asking me why elf hasn’t come back as it’s supposed to come back now on January 1st and leave again on 24th December. All her friends elves have come back! I don’t want to spoil the magic of Xmas for her, so please help how can I navigate this? Is it supposed to be out again now? I don’t fancy doing that whole thing for another 11 bloody months.

Whaaat? We told DD (and the elf wrote her a note) that he'd be back on 1 December.

Time to get a postcard posted to her I think "I'm hanging out with Santa and hhelping him but can't wait to see you again on 1 December of this year."

Yes! That’s exactly what I was planning to do as I read it online but why have all her friends got the elf back?

Tell your daughter her friends’ elves are clearly still on holiday but yours is back to work at the North Pole.

Tell her elves only hang about after Christmas Day for naughty kids who they need to keep an eye on!

@RhiWrites @CaineRaine thank you so much! That’s amazing! Gosh I could never have thought of that! I feel like such a rubbish parent, I have no imagination

I have no idea why these children have elves that have returned, are the parents really going to be elf things for the whole calendar year ? or have these elves retired and become toys for the children and a new one will arrive on 1st Dec ?

My two are (fortunately) way too old for this elf shit, but even I, with no experience, think this sounds wrong. Surely he leaves for the year to help father christmas and make toys? Then comes back when he has finished his job for the year and has his month off? Everyone I know who does this has bunged theirs back in the loft for another 11 months.

Never had an elf and no idea what the "rules" are but you could use the 12 days of Christmas. Today is the 11th so one more day of Christmas then all the decorations come down. Your elf could pop back to help tidy up then sod off again.

Do you want me to write you a postcard from the elf? He could be on holiday and explain to her he won’t be back until 1st Dec?? I really wouldn’t mind and I live near a seaside resort so can easily get postcards??

I think this too.

Mine are also too old for it, and I never have done it even though it’s been “a thing” throughout my youngest’s life. Can’t think of anything worse in terms of Christmas.

@CaineRaine

Tell her elves only hang about after Christmas Day for naughty kids who they need to keep an eye on!

You should be running the country @CaineRaine . this is brilliant.

There’s a lot of people that let their kids keep their elves all year long. Used to become a bit awkward when we would bump into a kid and elf and mine would be like ‘why are they touching it! It will lose its magic’ 😂 Ours always goes back on the 24th to help prepare for next year.
The friends elves are either having an extended holiday, or lost their magic by being touched so can’t fly back just yet 😱

Every single thread I have ever read about elf of the shelf validates my decision not to have one 🤣

This whole elf nonsense is getting daft.

Why thank you! 😊

Amen to that, @PickledPegs

So glad I dodged the madness.

@Favouritefruits thank you that’s really sweet. I’m going to get my sister to post a letter tomorrow. Gosh so much hassle, I feel like texting the kids mums and asking them nicely to put them away - obviously I Won’t but I’m so tempted. My daughter has been crying at bedtime asking why they have theirs bs k but hers hasn’t returned!

WTF? That's not a thing

My DD got really upset about her elf going back so it hasn’t. Our elf didn’t really do ‘elfie’ stuff though. I told DD that if elf stayed, she’d have to be good all year. She’s starting to show less interest in it staying 😂

I hid my daughter’s elf IN a chair (wedged under seat etc) in my room that never gets used….daughter wanted to make a den…..ran in my room….pulled the blankets off the chair..,out flies the elf! ‘Mummy he’s back!!!!’ I was mortified 😱

I have hidden the elf in an exercise bag and keep meaning to go and get it out and put it somewhere I will actually REMEMBER putting it next year and where there is no chance DH and DD will pull it out to get something and find it. This is my worst nightmare!

MUST REMEMBER TONIGHT.