To not do 'Elf on the shelf'

[Alottodoaboutssomething]

I understand it as a magical annoying elf turning up 1st December, to watch your children, and report their behaviour back to the North Pole. However, it back fires when it is the "naughty" elf who infact is the one who needs watching. This is demonstrated by his antics each night (set up by the lucky parent who has to think of various mischievous predicaments for 24 days)! Please correct me if I am wrong on this.

I promise I am not a grinch! We do crafts, baking, advent calendars, small Christmas box with night before Christmas book, Santa key, leaving mince pie, carrot on Christmas eve etc in the lead up. I just find the elf idea creepy, especially the whole watching/monitoring idea. Surely it could lead to a "mummy is this you doing this?" and create further risk of them questioning Santa as well. I don't know if this has happened to anybody!

Dc1 has asked about his elf, and I don't want to do it, and feel mean, because the other kids get it visiting them. I don't want a festive squatter in my home!

Im doing it this year but I know I’ll enjoy it. I’d feel a bit bad if my DD was going into school each day In December and her friends were talking about what their naughty elf did, your DC might feel a little bit left out. But that said, it’s not a big deal, you make it fun in other ways so if you really don’t want to then that’s OK too.

I am 100% with you. The last 2 years it has always been a strain as I try to hold firm on this, but it’s hard when the kids perceive that everyone in their class does it. Prior to that it wasn’t such a thing I don’t think. I hate the social media creep that spreads this stuff! Like you we have plenty other fun traditions but fuck sitting down at night in December and remember to make the fecking thing look like it’s shitting in the loo, or some such festivity.

Oh gawd it sounds like a pain and I feel for parents (usually the mums) of young children whose peers (and their parents) have been sucked in by social media and so you feel you HAVE to follow suit otherwise it’s a bit harsh on the young DCs.
My kids are teens so we escaped this trend but could the naught elf come out once a week, e.g on a Sunday and have the good one the remainder of the time?

I have an irrational (or maybe not irrational) hatred of it. Particularly the oh so hilariously 'naughty' pictures on social media - ie booze and fags, sexual positions, etc..

Just bin the stupid thing and get your kids to perfect a haughty 'We don't do that in our family'

I can't stand the motherfucker! Lazy, troublesome little git should be in the north pole working, not slacking off causing mess in my house!

I am so thankful this was not a thing when my kids were little. If you are going to do it, do not post daily pictures on SM - your friends will despise you if you do

I refused to have an elf. It wasn’t a thing with my eldest, but I firmly told my youngest, I have enough on my plate with two DC and a cat, we have no time to be clearing up after elves!

The elf didn't come to our house because we had a cat. Then poor cat died and we got a dog, lots of people have pets and the elf comes but for some reason it knew our dog wouldn't like it so skipped our house. Thank God for that. I know so many people regretting the day that thing arrived.

I love doing fun things to make DD smile but I have no desire to do elf on the shelf as it sounds such a chore, I had a hard time remembering to fill the advent calendar last year. I’ve held out so far but there’s a small part of me that wonders if I should do it. I think she won’t expect it yet as she’s only 3 but I might end up sucked into doing it in the primary years.

That being said my dad used to fill our advent calendar with clues for a treasure hunt to go and find the chocolate and it’s a really magical memory for me, so I might do that when she’s old enough to read, I do remember my dad looking weary and tired of doing it each evening though!

No Elf
No Boo boxes
No Christmas eve boxes.
No Christmas bedding.
No Christmas nightwear.
The end.
We do lots of other things though!

I did it before it became a 'thing', our elf just added to the Christmas magic and he never did anything naughty and certainly no reporting back to Santa. I hate parents using Santa as a behaviour tool.

1st year we did it I wasn't at work so put in way more effort.

Subsequent years our Elf had been promoted to Elf supervisor and had to go and watch the other 'naughty' elves M-F but stopped off each night to hide a chocolate coin with a little sprinkle of gold glitter (instead of an advert calendar)
At the weekend DD would wake up to find the Elf sat with whatever Christmases thing we would have done normally that day

• ingredients for making salt dough decorations
• ingredients for making mince pies
• sat in the 1/2 dressed Christmas tree with the some decorations left out for DD to do
• Delivering books of Christmas stories (same ones each year)
• once the school holidays started delivering Christmas sticker and colouring books.
• I'm a single parent so would make a big fuss of wanting a particular something (new book / cd / perfume etc) and then have the Elf deliver said thing to DD with gift wrapping materials - gift bag and shredded paper when little then wrapping paper (same wrapping paper as Santa's gift to her ofcourse) etc when she was a bit older. And she would keep it secret and proudly hand me my present on Christmas morning.

I also used him to deliver DDs Jack Valentine present (it's a Victorian Norfolk thing) and she wasn't impressed 😁 as she wanted Jack. And to deliver Easter Arts and Crafts at the start of the school holidays - all stuff we would have done anyway but with a bit of added Elf magic and a sprinkle of glitter

Good on you.

OP stand firm. If you have a dog or cat, a useful reason to add.

A pity that double VAT could not be put on nonsense such as Christmas bedding and nightwear. Proceeds going to those who need help for basics throughout the year.

Elf on a Shelf ..tedious thing that seems to take over SM. I have no interest in what amusing things you got up to with a bag of flower.

We used to use the alarm sensor .. whenever the red light came on, that meant Father Christmas was watching (zero effort require)

The other one was, when a bauble dropped (for no reason) off the tree, that was an elf just checking up on things …

@Alottodoaboutssomething how old is your son? Just wondering at what age I can expect DD1 to start being aware of it as a thing.

I've never done it and have no intention of ever doing it. DD1 is 5 so it's never come up before.

You should never invite in the fae… 😉

I wish I'd never started that stupid elf thing 🤣
Christmas eve boxes are way over thr top too and now it's December 1st boxes too isn't it?!
All too commercialised and over the top. I'm not even getting the tree out til mid December, I'm so done with Christmas..

Never did it, DC moaned once, told them the Elf doesn't come here because mummy won't let him and that was that. Am also a non Dec 1st, Christmas Eve box etc person. I can kind of get it if you are Christian so the build up is special, but I'm not so it's not for me.

I've never done it. DS has autism and needs clear rules and the concept of an elf who gets away with being naughty but then reports back to Santa if children are naughty is too confusing by half.

We have our own traditions - a homemade advent calendar, going to the local stately home to see Christmas lights, Christmas movie nights, carol singing. There are lots of ways to make Christmas magical - you don't have to buy into everything.

We are absolutely not doing it. DS mentioned it last year (Reception) but I just said the grown ups choose whether the Elf visits their house, and we chose not to. Horrible creepy thing, I have more than enough to do in December as it is.

We don't do it.. as such.
My daughter last year saw one in the shops and asked if we could get one for our house. I said yes we can, but he won't be naughty...
he came home with us, moved to a different location each night (literally just sat somewhere) and we told her he was checking on her behaviour and reporting back.
He vanished after Christmas Day.. and will return again this year on dec 1st with the advent calendars.
That is absolutely as far as I'm going with it 😂

YANBU. I hate the creepy little fucker. Why would you want to make your small child think something was spying on the constantly?

We said the same to DS and he never mentioned it again, absolutely something I could never be bothered to do.

Never done it. The idea of it spying on you is really creepy. DD asked once when she was about 5 but we usually go skiing the week before xmas so that’s a good excuse to swerve it and she hasn’t asked since.

ha this is us! I promise we do "do" christmas though. Kids have never asked about any of this, though I know most of their friends' families do have the dreaded elves.

We avoided it for years until someone gave one as a gift. 😡

Bloody hate it.

Think we may have reached the year when no one believes in Santa anymore so hoping we can ditch the elf this year.