Opinions on Elf on the Shelf and Christmas eve boxes

[Titsend]

All opinions

It’s all shite to make people buy more tat they don’t need.

Not part of our Christmas tradition.

I do it all!! On 1st December elf arrives with advent calendars and Christmas blankets, mugs, books - these are the same ones every year.

We have been doing the elf for 8 years now, heard about it on Mumsnet and was hooked! Ours does a couple of exciting things, but mainly just hides somewhere new everyday. My youngest was talking about him this morning actually!!

Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year so I love to do the box! Our elf will leave the dc a goodbye present of new matching pjs(not sure how much longer I'll get away with this!), toothbrushes, bubble bath/bomb and a chocolate treat. I used to put in a Christmas DVD, but no point now with Netflix etc.

Each to their own... What one family enjoys another won't...

Dec 1st - We do Advent calendar, Christmas Tree Bauble (our tree is a lovely mix of random baubles from my childhoods and theirs and some Christmassy Pyjamas

Dec 24th we reuse Christmas Eve boxes and they have a book, pyjamas, a mini selection box and this year a toy for DS2 and a PS4 voucher for DS1.

No elf here.. I tried the North Pole behaviour cards one year and that resulted in many a rushed trip back home after dropping DS1 at childcare

At least those doing the Box of Christmas crap palaver are not calling them Hampers.

We do both, I'll do the boxes forever but not sure about the elf this year. My two are 12 and 10. We've never done the elf as a behaviour thing - rather the elf is the naughty one, putting loo roll or Cheerios everywhere, or drawing moustaches in photos (on the glass, obviously!) They know it's not real, but it's fun, I'll see if they think the elf will come out this year 😉

Elf on the shelf is creepy, loads of hassle and I don't buy into telling children they have to be good or they won't get any presents.
It can be a creepy idea! We don't do the behaviour aspect - we have an elf that my mum made, and he doesn't report back to FC or watch the kids - he just does silly stuff. They don't believe it now but they loved it and last year still wanted it to continue even though they knew.

We have a Christmas fairy so hangs around. She occasionally posts letters to and from Santa saying things like well done for helping your little sister and remember to eat your veg and go to sleep.

We don’t do Christmas Eve boxes but the girls do get new Pjs on Christmas Eve as I always did as a child and now I’ve started to add in a book to read in bed on Chris eve but there is no specific book.

Christmas Eve box: we use the same box, dd stocking, copy of 'Twas the night before Xmas, snowman hot water bottle and Santa plastic plate and glass that have been used for many years. (Plate and glass were bought, along with a bowl and mug, as a seasonal spare set of crockery for toddler dd, probably cost €25 for all at the time, and we still keep all 4 with Christmas decorations for Christmas Eve and also any visiting small DCs over the season).

New items annually are pjs for DH, dd and I, lush bath bombs for dd and I, hot choc for everyone and a Christmas craft ale for DH. All of which I would buy anyway in. Winter/for Christmas. And it has always been a ritual rather than surprise in our house, with dd always knowing that it's me who does it (she bought DH pjs one year from her own money in a sale, and still wants it to appear despite being mid-teen).

We never did an Elf.

But we did do an advent calendar with pockets to fill for years (it didn't appear last year - I might hang it even just as decoration this year). I always had small chocs for the pockets (nets of Santa's/snowmen from M&S or Aldi generally, except the year toddler dd found the stash and I needed to buy matching soldiers from a deli for the final week as no small things left in stores!) and a slightly larger one for 124th.

Some days, i had a small present in there instead, Lego figures or tiny kits, or other "party bag" type bits. Or a free printable colouring/activity sheet printed from the internet and rolled up. Sometimes it was a note about an activity we'd do later that day, or a treasure hunt clue to send dd chasing around the house for the little present - about 4-5 clues was sufficient but she loved those! . But I kept a long list of ideas to do in advent that I could cull for the calendar.

Very occasionally, I would set up her teddies/dolls in her room for when she'd wake up or get ho,e from school, that they were having a tea party, biggest teddy was reading story time to the rest, or some mischief was afoot - similar to EOTS activities but just her own toys and not something every day, maybe 2/3 times in December.

At least those doing the Box of Christmas crap palaver are not calling them Hampers

I’ll take nit picking at my choice of the word hamper* as a win

*don’t even know why, DS has what most definitely can be described as a box. It’s painted red and very jolly - you’d hate it!

Our CEH comes out after dinner and after we have lit the Christmas candle and had a reflection as a family on the year just finishing, the good and the bad, and remembering family/friends no longer with us, which ends with a family prayer. Then the hamper leading dd towards a calm bedtime and plenty of sleep to enjoy the following days (she has Hf asd/adhd and needs certain routines to manage, and with both christmas, and her birthday on 26th being non-routine days, she really really needs enough rest to cope with them).

And there have never been any photos of calendar, any toys having fun, hamper, etc, that have been taken, and only a handful of present opening ones (which have on,y been shared with immediate family via text, never gone up on SM).

They are part of our own family fun and traditions, and not for public consumption.

Sorry Giespeace, I had a quick look through the posts for hampers , as I didn’t want to offend anyone but missed yours.

I still think it is a pretentious description for a box of not very much.

@TrickyD
I agree with you there, a hampers not really a hamper unless it’s wicker, comes from M&S and includes chutney, olives and shortbread

If you do EOTS please dont post daily pics/updates on social media. gahhh, the amount of people i have to unfollow for the whole of December due to this

My LG will be 4 this Christmas and im dreading kids at nursery going about the elves as i really hate the idea of it and already have enough on my plate

Can't be arsed with elf on the shelf, I do a Christmas eve box, it is a Christmas gift box I was given a couple of years ago, I put in some pyjamas (not Christmas themed) a carrot for Rudolph, a chocolate stirrer for a hot chocolate and some marshmallows.

I heard that all the Elves had died of COVID-19.

Terrible shame.

Surely they are in quarantine and shielding Santa and Mrs santa?

Christmas eve box is an old hamper. They get PJs, and maybe a game to play as a family. DH is danish so likes having something to open on Christmas Eve, although he is also a fan of the big opening on Christmas morning.

Elf on the shelf just seems like a lot of work.

@Rainbowqueeen

The planet just can’t take it. Unnecessary consumerism

100% this.

As a child I always got a small gift on Christmas Eve after church so I've sort of extended that into a Christmas Eve box. I put a board game, a bath bomb, popcorn, hot chocolate (for dh), sweets, a Christmas murder mystery (for me), a book for the children (the nativity story that we've had for years). It's mostly things we'd be having anyway.

The same with the Elf. I have a hideous wooden elf called Kimi who is about 10cm tall from my own childhood. He turns up on the 1st with advent calendars, the Christmas trees, decorations and the Christmas books and then loiters menacingly. I can't be bothered to move him though.

I heard that all the Elves had died of COVID-19.

Terrible shame.*

I have to admit that I let out an evil cackle at that one!

Not my thing at all. Commercialism in my view. However if thats what you like to do, do it, each to their own.,

I've got enough shit to do in December without thinking about moving a bloody left around.

My kids get enough stuff at Christmas, they don't need extra stuff on xmas eve (both their birthdays are close to Christmas too)

I love Christmas though, I just don't need to take on any more

Elf on the shelf is everything that's wrong with Christmas now.

Christmas Eve box, it depends. We do one, but it's got the last 10yrs of wind up toys (it's tradition DS has one in his stocking, so after each year, it's put in the Christmas Eve box for next year and he's got quite the collection to reminisce over) we also do a global card exchange and all the cards from abroad are in there to be opened the morning of Christmas Eve. Plus the same copy of Night before Christmas that he's had since newborn. We do go with PJs as well so he's wearing them on Christmas morning. To me, these are meaningful and personal traditions that are born within our family.

What I don't like is bags of tat like reindeer food glitter etc. That's on the same page as that godawful elf.

Each to their own

My opinion, hard work and somewhat takes the shine off Xmas for the adults, as if we don't have enough to plan and prepare for offer xmas