Christmas Elf - am I the only one who's not doing it?!

[landofmakebelieve]

I keep seeing threads on here and other parenting forums about little elves coming to stay and bringing with them lots of activities from the North Pole or wherever for all the small people to do.
Then I read the said threads and think, blimey, that sounds like a lot of work!
I wrote about Christmas Elves here: castawaywithdreams.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/a-christmas-elf-coming-to-stay-er-no/
Am I alone in thinking all of this?!
I'm a regular on the boards but name change for blog posts threads as they will 'out' me!

Iwantacat my ds has recently been diagnosed with autism. I did not know he had autism last Christmas when I decided to introduce elf on the shelf. He was distraught when he touched the elf and also could not stop crying when the boy in the elf on the shelf dvd touched the elf. I feel like such a bad parent. This year there will be no elf!

Pile of wank. Creepy-looking tattle tale.

Advent calendar with little chocolate/family activity/crafty thing to do
Stocking
Presents
Tree
Decorations
Tradtional food (bar solid farts sprouts)
Family
Cold and snuggly
= enough

No Christmas hamper, either. Present and stress overload - no thanks.

Not doing it. Never heard if it before MN. Nobody round here does it, or the Christmas hamper.

My DD is 5yo and the Christmas traditions that I have done every year are:

Reading The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve
New pair of pyjamas mainly so looks ok in photos next morning.
Leaving a mince pie and milk for Santa

Also, I'm in Catalunya where kids have a log that 'shits' sweets and presents on Christmas eve, when kids hit it a stick.
Caga Tio = shitting log.

with a stick

We do it but in our own style. The elf isn't here to watch them. He just comes and causes havoc a couple of times a week. It's great fun thinking of things for him to do. We are in our third year this year. He sometimes leaves little presents. Not just for the kids. He left me wine so has been invited back.

We do it, but with a very tasteful elf who isn't a spy. She comes to visit us to learn all about how Christmas is celebrated, and leaves little notes with ideas for activities (choosing some things to give to a charity shop, giving to a bfood bank, tidying up, making a bird feeder, that sort of thing).

Nope.... here Christmas is the day - presents, family, feasting and a film on telly.... We have an advent calendar and that is about as far as we go to acknowledge Christmas beforehand....

The Elf wasn't invented til the storybook in the noughties, not like it is a great tradition or anything... just seems another way to wind up the kids pre-christmas and get more folks to spend more money.....