Elf on a Shelf – A Christmas Tradition
I discovered the book and magical ‘Elf on a Shelf’ craze on Pinterest. There were hundreds of hilarious photos with the often mischievous Elf in various situations around the family home. I found their webpage and did my research – www.elfontheshelf.com.
When I discovered that this mystical ‘Elf on a Shelf’ reports directly to Santa and relays his ‘good and bad behaviour’ findings to Santa each night, I knew I had to have one…after all, no kid wants to be on ‘naughty’ list ;).
A brief rundown of what happens –
You purchase your magical Elf with a lovely children’s story book that explains the process and gives you the information to name and register your Elf – effectively bringing he or she to life. This is typically done on the 1st of December.
Your Elf will then keep an eye on everyone’s behaviour in the lead up to Christmas and magically fly back to Santa to update their ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’ list status.
Here comes the FUN part…each night after he returns he likes to play a little game of hide and go seek – he will be hiding in a different place each morning…and will be up to all sorts of things (only limited by your imagination ; )
He then catches a ride home to the North Pole with Santa on Christmas Eve and gets ready for his visit on December the 1st the following year!
This is our Elf named ‘Rain’ (it was raining when we first read the story so my 4yo daughter thought it was a fitting name).
He also recently sent us a postcard from his mid-year vacation. Thanks to East Coast Mommy. You can download that free printable here – http://eastcoastmommyblog.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/elf-on-shelf-summer-postcard.html
These are just a few FUN ideas for your Elf on a Shelf –
There are so many great ideas to be found over at Busy Kids Happy Mom – I found it very difficult to pick my favourite picture to share! Here is their Elf ‘Franklin’…or should I say ‘Super Franklin’?!
http://www.busykidshappymom.org/2012/11/meet-our-elf-franklin.html
And this is Elf ‘Buddy’ from Adventures at Home with Mum– having some fun fishing (I bet the kids laughed when they found him there!).
East Coast Mommy has some fantastic ideas on their blog! I loved this gift & tiny card that their Elf ‘Elfie’ left as a goodbye gift when he returned back to the North Pole with Santa.
http://eastcoastmommyblog.blogspot.ca/2012/11/20-nice-not-naughty-elf-on-shelf-ideas.html
Play Dr Mom has a great collection of photos and ideas on her blog too! Here is their Elf ‘Brief’ taking a relaxing Marshmallow bath in their Play Kitchen sink – CUTE!!!
http://blog.playdrhutch.com/2011/12/24/our-elfs-adventures-week-4-2011/
If you’re on Pinterest we suggest checking out this cool Pinterest Board for Elf ideas – http://pinterest.com/kedesigns/elf-on-the-shelf/
Where to buy your Elf on a Shelf…
I chose to write this {Christmas in July} post about ‘The Elf on the Shelf – A Christmas Tradition’ so other families will have plenty of time to adopt their own ‘Elf’ in time for Christmas (I found it very difficult to buy one in Australia last year – I had to get one of my American friends to buy one and send it over for me).
It’s important to note that there are Girl and Boy “elfs’ available in light and dark skin and Angus and Robertson Bookstore (Australia) do stock them all BUT they don’t currently have any in-stock (as it’s not Christmas time). I would highly recommend ordering a copy – either through your local bookstore or via an online source *just be sure to check the shipping rates.
You should be sure to have your very own ‘Elf’ in time for Christmas and at a reasonable price if you order soon.
Louise x
We would love to hear if you had an Elf visit your home last year – what is your Elf’s name? Were they cheeky? Which hiding place did your kids like the most?
Louise x
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Hallmark stores sell them in the United States
Thank you for linking to Buddy our fishing Elf
You’ve compiled a great post here- can’t wait to use some of these ideas this year
Very interesting concept. We never heard of this with our children, but would love some of these ideas as we are now raising our grand child.
Wow that’s amazing Mae! What a wonderful Grandma you are! We hope to bring you plenty of fun ideas for you to use in the future! Jenni & Louise x
Hi! Love this postcard idea! My daughter (almost 9) will love it!
Our elf arrived 2 years ago and has done some fun things, like hang upside down on a ladder and write Merry Christmas in lipstick, and toilet paper the christmas tree, lots of fun:)
Then after Christmas I print out a booklet (postcard size of each of it’s antics and give it to my daughter on New Years:)
This way she has a memento.
Thanks for the postcard idea!!
We love our elves!! My son was 4 when our first elf, Hermie, came. The first year he did things like helping with the laundry and hanging upside down from the ceiling fan. My son was very sad when Hermie had to leave, and asked if Hermie was married. Of course, we told him I don’t know, but he said, I hope he is, I wish his wife would come too! So, the next year, Joy came with Hermie. That year, I made a double chair, like you would see on the beach, out of large popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners. I also made a palm tree out of pipe cleaners. I spread brown sugar on the bathroom counter, and set up a beach scene. The elves sat in their chair, with their feet in the “sand” relaxing. That was my favorite one! I love the postcard idea, and will check to see if they have one with 2 elves. Thank you!!