Elf on the shelf? I don't get it!

[mineandyours]

Someone help me understand elf on the shelf.

It's a toy elf who watches your children and reports to Santa if they've been bad or good? What? Why?

And he sets your children challenges and activities? To what end or purpose?

And you have to move him around every day?

I don't get it. Is this even fun for the parents??

Omg thank you for posting this! I had no clue what this elf thing and spent couple of days fake smiling/laughing at all the parent posts of the elf on the shelf , here there i'll need to keep up! DS(3) might be expecting it 🤷🏽‍♀️

Commercialism

Bag o'wank

Santa knowing if you'd been bad or good used to be a 5 minute wonder, something to encourage over excited children to go to sleep.
I see people asking about Festive Breakfasts, Christmas Eve boxes blah blah blah. Landfill.

@nocluemummy

Omg thank you for posting this! I had no clue what this elf thing and spent couple of days fake smiling/laughing at all the parent posts of the elf on the shelf , here there i'll need to keep up! DS(3) might be expecting it 🤷🏽‍♀️

Why are you fake smiling/laughing at social media posts? Surely no one can see you . Just scroll on by.

Now there's even an acronym. EOTS!!!!

Yes Christmas Eve boxes too! What the hell! Such a load of commercialised crap.

Bah humbug indeed!

Don’t do it in our house and I have no intention of starting- I actually think the idea that children know they’re being watched is creepy, and it presumes they’ll be naughty.

Commercialised American nonsense.

Where on earth did this come from and when. Completely passed me and the kids by. This year is everywhere

My lovely neighbour bought my 3year old an elf, but there's no way I'm starting that.

We love our tree, our light, our decks, going to see Santa grottos, after tea walks seeing other people lights and most Christmassy things, but the elf, do but No (not yet anyway)

My cousin is so creative and does brilliant things, it's just not me.

And those little pretend security cameras that Santa can watch if you are being naughty or good are just plain weird

We used to tell DS that the burglar alarm sensors were Santa cams so he had to behave because he never knew when Santa would check in on him the elf didn't exist when he was wee.

Ours just does stuff at night, sometimes naughty sometimes Nice 🤷🏼‍♀️ It is a pain to think of something different every night but it’s worth it to see the kids reactions. Christmas is all about the kids, we have our time when they grow out of it, if you ask me kids grow up far to quickly nowadays .

It’s great fun. We’ve done it for 3 maybe 4 years. I have so much fun making ours get up to mischief
He’s rode a rain deer
Been a drummer
Ate all the pies (mince, steak and pork)
Snow angels
Door climbing
He’s had pizza take away

Ours doesn’t report back, he just gets up to stuff at night. Sometimes he hides, sometimes he has a bath or plays with some toys.

Yikes, this would have terrified me.

Its just a christmas tradition. My kids go to bed excited every night wondering what the lf will do. Our elf doesn't spy on the kids or report to santa.

Why does the elf behave like a twat, messing things up etc if we expect the children to behave?

I hate it. I don't like the look of him, he's really ugly. He gives me the creeps. Whose idea was this new phenomenon?

He's so stupid, why blame all the naughty things he does, on that cute elf. Oh naughty elf. Ha ha.
Fuck off.

American nonsense.

I can't help visualising the faces of the kids when adults are trying to convince them that a toy is up to antics.
They probably play along whilst thinking their parents have lost the plot.

It's like a dog in a bog

Dont overthink it.

Owl on a towel

Whatever..

Yikes, this would have terrified me.

IME, parents are generally pretty good at telling when their kids are freaked out, or alternatively, are enjoying themselves. They can often even tell when kids are pretending.

Do people really think it would be A Thing in a family, if their kids were scared of it....?

I highly doubt it's fun for the parents, but it's fun for their DC, so why not? After all, Christmas mood often comes from someone who believes in all its magic and waits for it impatiently. Why do we decorate our houses or make Smartshow 3d slides with Christmas songs or watch Christmas movies? Just to get a bit of this mood.

@camelfinger

Why does the elf behave like a twat, messing things up etc if we expect the children to behave?

I don’t really get that either, so ours doesn’t. He was hiding in a Lego boat this morning. The worst he does is eats loads of chocolates and leaves all the wrappers around him.

If we are going to adopt these 'things' as part of the Christmas package I wish parents would keep grandparents up to speck because when this 'Elf 'guy first appeared and my grandson was telling me about it, I had no clue at all and still don't really.

I took it as a behavioural aid for parents and nothing more. If it works for you then good. I expect we will be having the little fella to stay at ours next year as my newest grandson is only on the cusp of understanding the volume of Christmas, and probably would chuck the Elf around the house defeating the object.
Just inform us please :)