Elf on the Shelf - Clearwater,FL

well to be honest, i put Mr. Elf away last year in a "safe" place and I have forgot where that is.My hubby keeps teasing me as the kids are like i wonder when Gusty is coming back.
so my good first morning idea will have to come once i remember exactly where that stinking "safe" place is. ha ha

curse all you elfers !!

I mean it's cute and all but do i really need ONE MORE Thing on my list of stuff to do!! I'm not doing it this year soley bcause i'm lazy,

but now that everyone in the WORLD does it, I"ll probably have to next year.
Thanks an elfing lot,

For our first morning, the Elf left a note saying he arrived during the night and is hiding somewhere in the house. He left a clue to say where he was and I put the note, plus a piece of candy from him, in my son's toy mailbox for him to find the next day.

I think it went something like this:

Thanksgiving has passed,
the feast was a treat.
Christmas lights are now on,
holidays can't be beat!

While you were asleep,
I arrived at your house;
tiptoed in silently,
quiet as a mouse.

Said hi to Thomas,
gave Jack a pat,
found someplace comfy
and then took a nap.

You'll find me this morning
hiding someplace up high.
Now go take a peek
with your own two eyes!

This works for us because my son loves to get clues for scavenger hunts and also adores his little mailbox. When the flag is up, he knows something is inside. So, the Elf will leave other notes with more clues to say where he is about once or twice a week. (things like "I'm in someplace new; where am I today? You'll find me near something that starts with an A." - he was with the apples.)

I do think that this is a really cute idea, but gosh knows that I don't need anything else to have to manage and keep up with this time of year :)

There is a really cute facebook page called Elf Antics that shares cute ideas. I am sure there are probably some cute ideas on pinterest too. I just put our elf in different places mostly. My kids love it when he shows up somewhere in their rooms. The other day I put him next to some candy, gum, Mrs. Butterworth syrup and a Koolaid Jammer drink. (four food groups ala Buddy from Elf). We usually decorate gingerbread houses, so I will have our elf sitting next to them or put him with a group of my kids' stuffed animals. Good luck and have fun with it!

A.

Lillym's post was so funny , I got a good chuckle out of it.

Somehow we missed the whole elf on a shelf thing.
I can see it could be cute, but I know at least one 19 yr old who's a bit creeped out by the whole thing.
He has elf on a shelf issues and the feeling that someone is 'watching' him makes him a little paranoid.
I guess it doesn't help that his Mom collects little stuffed elves (she has about 50 of them) and he feels like there are little spies all over the house this time of year.

My friend just put theirs in their kids' dollhouse on the toilet...it was actually quite hysterical. He even put a little tiny magazine in his hand! LOL! He also hung him from the kitchen chandelier with toilet paper streaming down. His elf is very mischievous! ;)

There are TONS on ideas on pinterest. I don't do the elf on the shelf but considered it after I saw all these ideas, but, alas, I do not have an elf.

My daughter found ours in with the tree ornaments. She touched him, so he went to the North Pole for a day. She was very upset the next morning when she couldn't find him. I then just had him pop in the following day with no big welcome. They were thrilled and could careless about a homecoming. I even put him someplace boring (on top of the hall closet door.)

My best friend does this and the first year she did it I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. I'm still not impressed. Luckily my girls all think it's stupid too. :-) They're happy as long as we're decorated.

moms do not have to be the only ones in charge of the Elf.. Get the dads involved. My husband has tons of ideas.

http://pinterest.com/chandlerjandk/elf-on-a-shelf-ideas/