If you're not doing elf on the shelf...

[bob1985]

What do you tell your DC?

I really DON'T want to do elf on the shelf. DD at an age this year where she might start asking about why some of her friends have a magic elf and she doesn't.

How do you explain it's not one of your traditions without saying something that might be upsetting if she repeats it to one of her friends?

I'd just say oh that's nice for them. We do other things. Elf on the shelf is a very recent activity and I hardly know anyone who actually does it.

I just tell my kids that I don’t invite elves into the house. They might cause mischief and I have 2 little kids causing enough mischief!

My child begged me not to get the creepy elf so it was a win for me!

The kids who need surveillance get sent an elf by Santa but you've been so good this year Santa's said you didn't need one.

I said that the Elf only goes to live with naughty children. But that’s not very helpful

@Theunamedcat oh that would be perfect! 😂

Thanks all. I'll come up with something about it not being something we do.

Some of friends parents seem really into it!

I just never mention it. The kids have never asked. If they did, I'd say, what?

It's a game I don't particularly enjoy so we don't play it?

@Theunamedcat

My child begged me not to get the creepy elf so it was a win for me!

I'm so hoping this is DS in a few years if they are still a thing, they really creep me out.

I think I would just go with the we don't ask them to come and stay line. It's simple and isn't negative towards those who do.

Although whilst here can I please add a public service announcement on behalf of all teachers and school workers. If you do elf on the shelf we really don't want it in school. 3 times so far this year I've firmly told a parent to take the flaming elf home and it's not even December yet!!!

I said sometimes santa needs to keep an eye on some children but she's been so good they don't need to send an elf to us

Do kids believe the elf is real? Isn't it just a bit of fun? I don't think my 4 year old would believe that the elf actually moved around and caused trouble (and shes sometimes quite naive, but asks a lot if questions).

So couldn't you just say its a game that some families like to do in December but we don't want to.

@Username916

I said sometimes santa needs to keep an eye on some children but she's been so good they don't need to send an elf to us

Wouldn't this just encourage kids to be naughty if they wanted an elf to visit

We've never done it. I just told them we don't do it...

I just say no that’s not something we do. They’ve never been bothered though. My son asked at 7 because they had a class one but I just said no. He knows it’s not real though which probably helps.

Nope, I've got enough to do every day without adding to it. I just tell them no elves have turned up yet so the Santa cams must be working well 😁

Didn't exist when mine were younger, thank goodness. We used to tell them Santa watched them through the smoke alarms though

Omg they go to school!

I honestly don’t think this is something which children need to be spared over. It’s a completely commercialised load of rubbish which is now being held up in the same way as FC in that “we mustn’t say anything for fear of upsetting the children.”

It didn’t exist when mine was younger, but if it had I would have said that elf on the shelf wasn’t real, that it was just a game parents played with their children and that we wouldn’t be doing it.

I honestly wouldn’t have had much issue if my DC had gone into school and repeated that. FC is another matter, but I don’t think the magic of elf on the shelf needs to be preserved, or even encouraged.

DS gets a very good personalised advent calendar. I just said “we have this advent calendar instead “

When he was little I was working long hours with a long commute. I was not spending time each evening moving an elf around!

We don't do the elf but the teachers do at my kids school so I have been asked why we dont have one. I just said we don't have a magic elf here because they are at school!!

Elves come and visit some humans for lots of reasons, some come to make sure dc are behaved, some come to understand more about children and toys, some come to see what dc may like for surprises that year some never get a visit.
I did my own letter, own elf and own version

The Elf is fucking ridiculous. It looked vaguely amusing for one year a decade ago when it became a 'thing' but now it's social media shit gone stale. Your DC will forget about it soon enough.

I just say the elf is annoying and they are fine with that

"I've got eyes in the back of my head so I don't need an elf."

DD had one at school in Reception. She never asked why we don't have one at home. If she does, I'll probably say "do you think we NEED one?" She is fairly law abiding and doesn't like being in trouble so will say no I'm sure!

Yeah they have an Elf at school and my 6 year old is terrified of it so win for me! We wouldn't have done it anyway and if he asked I would just have said we didn't invite him.