Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

How do you explain not having a elf?

356 replies

ItsJustASimpleLine · 01/12/2018 08:33

Really don't want to have to do elf on the shelf. Can anyone help with and explanation for why we don't have one that DD would believe??

OP posts:
msnowtybach · 01/12/2018 23:54

Say they only come to supervise very naughty kids.

MovingNextYearHopefully · 02/12/2018 00:05

Am I the only person who hasn't got the faintest idea what this is even?

1forAll74 · 02/12/2018 02:22

Well,as an oldie here, I would suggest speaking to your parents,or grandparents, and ask them what it was like for Christmases long ago.
As in all lovely, no stupid commercial stuff, no big long present lists, no stupid elf stuff, and no Christmas eve boxes., and no Christmas trees up at the beginning of November ha ha

Bluerussian · 02/12/2018 02:42

I'd not heard of elf on a shelf before I started coming on here.
Didn't have it in my day (when we lived in a hole in the road, etc); parents tried to convince me, unsuccessfully, about Father Christmas but deffo no elf on the shelf. Sounds creepy!

I didn't teach mine about it either, or Santa, but said it was a Christmas story, fun to pretend.

I googled 'Elf on a shelf' and see that it is a children's book - should I shoot the author? The elf knows which children have been good and who hasn't.

Dreadful. Glad i'm past all that. If I have grandkids I sincerely hope they aren't into it.

Bluerussian · 02/12/2018 02:43

1ForAll74, I agree with you!

MrsDrSpencerReid · 02/12/2018 03:19

This is our 7th year of doing the elf. My DD is in year 6 and this is the first year she knows it’s not real. She’s very excited to be my helper this year Grin

DS is 9 and still believes. He was so excited the night before she arrived, he couldn’t sleep, bless him.

I reminded him that not everyone has an elf visit them, so it’s best not to talk about it at school. This way he won’t be making other kids upset if they don’t have one, and if anyone says anything nasty to him about the elf, he thinks they’re just upset that they dont have one.

It’s just a bit of Christmas fun, I know it’s not for everyone but I don’t really get all the nastiness on here Confused

Angeliki159 · 02/12/2018 05:27

If she asks...
"Santa told me that because you are such a good girl, he doesn't need to send an elf to keep an eye on you!"

If you want to play it up:
Knock up a letter from South pole saying that DD is so good he doesn't need to send an elf to watch her and tell him when she is naughty. He is very proud of her and knows she will be extra good for mummy this year.

When she asks about the elf, say " I dont know. I will ask santa!"
Then the next day, present her with the letter from Santa.

If she doesn't ask about it, don't worry about it

fireworkbang · 02/12/2018 07:03

It’s just a bit of Christmas fun, I know it’s not for everyone but I don’t really get all the nastiness on here 

If mumsnet has been around hundreds of years ago posters would've been as sniffy about stockings/trees/Father Christmas when they started becoming part of the tradition.

LaDaronne · 02/12/2018 07:13

More like ten minutes

Ten minutes of valuable sitting on my arse drinking wine time. I'm not giving that up for some crappy invented new plate to keep spinning, thanks.

ParisNext · 02/12/2018 07:15

We live overseas and are one of the few families who have the tooth fairy. The children in school just accept that we have her and their don’t as it’s our tradition- apart from the horrific time a child brought all their baby teeth to s sleepover to cash in but that’s another story...Anyway I find that saying it’s not a tradition from our country/culture/family works well and not over doing your explanation. If that fails say that anything you buy in a supermarket isn’t magic...

fireworkbang · 02/12/2018 07:18

Ten minutes of valuable sitting on my arse drinking wine time. I'm not giving that up for some crappy invented new plate to keep spinning, thanks.*

Yes how about just say this op? I'm sure your child will understand.

LaDaronne · 02/12/2018 07:38

Never too early to teach your child that mummies are people with their own wants and needs too.

fireworkbang · 02/12/2018 07:44

Yeah you're right actually, I'll tell my kids they're not getting a stocking this year cos I can't be arsed andjust wanna sit and watch love actually while drinking baileys on Christmas Eve instead.

LaDaronne · 02/12/2018 07:48

You're right, not doing a longstanding tradition going back generations for one evening is exactly the same as not buying into crass twenty-first century consumerism for a month.

GreenTulips · 02/12/2018 08:00

For those who don't know

The elf is a naughty elf and gets up to no good overnight

There are loads of pages of ideas - stealing food - mishap with look roll or sellotape - sitting in a glass with 'poop' inside - there's loads they get up to and 'caught' when the kids get up

There are some adult versions (mainly with a Barbie doll!!) which can be quite funny

We don't do it, kids are tool old - but I can see the fun in it.

fireworkbang · 02/12/2018 08:21

Why is the elf consumerist? An item you buy and then use year after year? Doesn't sound particularly consumerist.

Ballbags · 02/12/2018 08:25

And it's started..."hilarious" pictures all over social media. Thank fuck for the unfollow button.

LaDaronne · 02/12/2018 08:34

Because no-one needs them and they're made in sweatshop conditions, then shipped halfway round the world for use a few hours out of the year. Ah, the real spirit of Christmas.

MaisyPops · 02/12/2018 08:35

Why is the elf consumerist? An item you buy and then use year after year? Doesn't sound particularly consumerist.
Because people buy the elf and then have to buy more crap to make it do things.

The elf is a marketing idea.
There's a few 'but how is it about marketing and buying things when all you do is buy the elf' replies. That's the point. It's public pressure to buy a pointless toy that only gets used 3 weeks of the year (mainly so adults can show off their hilarious parenting abilities to othet adults on social media).
Actual Christmas eve boxes have now become a 'thing'. Some people had the tradition of new pyjamas on Christmas eve and now it's share share share on social media, push another opportunity for more buying.

Natsku · 02/12/2018 08:52

apart from the horrific time a child brought all their baby teeth to s sleepover to cash in but that’s another story

I am very interested in this story! Grin

WheelyCoteClaus · 02/12/2018 08:56

The elf is scary. And it's spreading....my work have even posted a pic...asking people to find the elf WTF

Momasita · 02/12/2018 09:02

Green tulips

As I previously mentioned we did our own version and just for 5 nights. It was a bit is bind going to bed then thinking... Oh no the bloody elf... However... We did dad's pants and hers all over tree... Which she adored, one morning the elf had drawn all over all our faces... We said dd. What's that on your face and she screamed with delight... What's on yours mummy!

One morning we couldn't find her.. The elf but when we got outside to the car on way to school we found elf had put shaving foam all over the car and strapped herself in!

It was fabulousl but not something I could commit too all December, my dc would also get bored for all that time. And not every year. I'm sorely tempted to have another short visit this year.

But our elf is totally bespoke..

headinhands · 02/12/2018 09:04

Explain how some families don't have a some of the nice traditions you have

Flaskfan · 02/12/2018 09:05

Because the cats will think it's a mouse and rip it to pieces and leave bits a dead elf everywhere.

I have caved this year, though. We have a £3 one from home bargains. Ds is 9 and mightily pissed off with the fact I've said the elf mess needs to be cleaned up by them. Dd is absolutely over the moon that we have an.elf and woke us up at 6am to show us what it did last night. It might not live very long.

fireworkbang · 02/12/2018 09:16

Because no-one needs them and they're made in sweatshop conditions, then shipped halfway round the world for use a few hours out of the year. Ah, the real spirit of Christmas.

In the nicest possible way I think you need to get over yourself. I'd hazard a guess that all the presents you buy, the decorations you put up and the food you eat will not be ethically sourced.

It's a bit of fun that kids enjoy, do it or don't do it but this holier than thou attitude some people have about it is so pathetic.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.