Questions About Starting the Elf on the Shelf Tradition

We've also never done it for the same reason as Jen C, but I know a lot of families have fun with it. Have you searched on line for ideas? I know there's a lot on Pinterest about it.

Whatever way you do it, keep in mind that the kids at school talk to each other and may talk about their "Elf" too.
So, each kid, will have a different "story" about it and how it works.
So, what I tell my kids is, that each Elf, and each home, is different.
For us, the Elf... starts his "job" once we get our Christmas tree.
And I/We move it to another spot when the kids are sleeping. So when they wake up in the morning, it is in a different spot. My kids, check it EACH morning AS soon as they wake up. For example.
ie: my son is now in 1st grade. And he has come home, from school, telling me that his classmates have Elfs too, and how THEIRS are. And the other kids talk. So I remind my son that OUR Elf... and each family's Elf, is different... if they were all the same, it would not be special. Each Elf is FOR their family, and the Elf knows.

You can put the Elf wherever you want. For us, we move him around in the same room as the Christmas tree is in.

Sure, they are not supposed to touch Elf. But little kids like to touch him. Just gently remind your child, not to touch him too much, he is not a "toy" and you don't want him to get worn out. He is very busy. I don't harp on this too much with my 6 year old son, because if I tell him the Elf's "magic" will go away if he touches it, he will get "worried." So. Keep things like that in mind, too.

Then, for you or your Husband, you have to REMEMBER to move the Elf around, each day. Because, the kids really look forward to seeing their Elf, move around.

My Daughter is 10, and she now knows that "we" move the Elf around. But she keeps it to herself, so her little brother can still enjoy it.

OMG..this has got to be one of our most favorite traditions. The kids love it!! They are not freaked out at all by it. And we have had some doozy monster under my bed/closet phases in our home. But our elf..is special...cute and magical!

How "Buddy" came to be-A couple years ago the elf was on our back porch all wrapped up in his box. The kids unwrapped it and we read the story. We followed the instructions. He flies to Santa each night then shows up the next day in a new spot. Our kids are good to not tell each other where he is..they find enjoyment in watching each other try to find him. Yes..if you touch him, then you rub off some of his magic..not all of it.

Our elf,Buddy, does not do any of the crazy Pinterest ideas.

But he did do something SUPER special this year when he showed up on Dec. 1st. He had a teeny,tiny note on his lap. The kids read the note and it had a person's phone number and name on it with instructions to call her.

Well...we called her and she is a foster mom for homeless cats and dogs and had a cat for us. Santa had arranged all of this for us. The kids were so sweet and grateful for this Christmas gift. When the cat came home to us they all immediately went on their own to write "Thank You" cards to Santa so Buddy the Elf could take the notes that night back to Santa. THey also requested special gifts be brought on Christmas day for our furry friend.

As a side note...I have currently read a couple books written by Holocaust survivors. They have pierced my heart and saddened me so much. These survivors lost their childhood, saw inhumanity at its worst, had their faith tested. It has caused me to reflect much on how we are raising our kids. I want to make fun traditions with them...bring them joy and lots of laughter. Childhood is fleeting and I want my children to believe in the magic and miracles of Christmas as long as we can keep it going for them. Our Elf let's me see the magic through their eyes.

We do not indulge them in every wish they have on their lists...but we love to do these fun and magical traditions. We do the 12 days of Christmas for a few families each year, go caroling, visit Santa, and do service for others. There a lot of ways to feel the spirit and magic of Christmas.

If you get the Elf. Make up your own rules that will fit your family. Let them know that each Elf is different..and many of their friends have an elf. My kids have heard traditions about friends' elves..and they are very different than ours. But...that doesn't keep them from believing..and having fun.

For me, we are not doing the elf because as a child I did have a fear of my dolls coming to life at night and this would have scared the hell out of me. But, if your kids don't have those issues it should be fine, many families I know love their shelf elf.

There is some leeway with how you do it. We got one this year after my daughter saw the box, book etc at her cousin's house on Thanksgiving. So I wrote Santa that night and asked for one to come to our house. It arrived 2 days later in the box. We then read the story and that night the elf got out of the box and found a place on the shelf.

I know of some kids who say you go to the store to buy the elf and then adopt it. When my daughter heard about this, I said 'we were able to buy the elf on line and adopt her there".

The elf stays in the same spot all day.

As for touching the elf, it says the magic "might" disappear. So the first time my child touched it (I think she wanted to see if it was "real"), my other daughter freaked out b/c she thought the elf was going to die. I said that the elf might be okay and if not I could ask santa for one time magic dust to bring the elf back to life. If your 3 y.o. touches it too much, try to move it to higher spots.

Good luck!

I wrapped up our elf on the shelf box in brown paper and put it on the porch like it had been delivered from Santa ~ wrote North Pole in the top left corner and the boys' names and address on the package. They were so excited!
They opened the package and then we read the book. The boys chose a spot to place "Charlie" and my husband placed him there the first time.
Then every night when the boys are asleep one of us has to remember to move him. He has been in the bathroom, each of their rooms, a suitcase when we traveled, in the tree, in a stocking hanging from the mantle, etc. My husband is way more creative than I am!
This year my kids had said Charlie returns on December 1st (they got him last year) so at 7 am on saturday I woke suddenly in a panic and had to locate Charlie and get him out of the box and placed. They found him on the piano.
My 4 y/o popped up out of bed this am (at 6:20!) b/c he was so excited to find Charlie :)

I love it and I wish it had been around when our daughter was younger.

She will be 18 this month and she said this is something she will enjoy with her children someday.

A lot of families I know have a lot of good clean fun with it. Just because you have the Elf and your family enjoys it does not mean you are doing something wrong or idolizing an Elf.

My SIL posted a pic this am and their Elf had tee-peed the Christmas tree. The children loved it. They get up early to see where he landed from his trip. It never dawned on me that it would be creepy, guess I am different because I'm not one to be scared or creeped out too much, especially about a toy.

Enjoy it.. the children grow up WAY too fast.

My 4.5 yo touched our elf the first day he was out. so the next day the elf showed up with a note from santa that said santa understands we all make mistakes sometimes and knows my son didn't mean to touch the elf but was just curious. i also added to make sure he tries his hardest to follow the rules at home and school LOL. i do think my 2.5 yo is a little freaked out. she likes to find him but won't really go in the room the elf is in by herself.

yesterday my 2 yo came up to me and said snowball (our elfs name) wasn't turning the pages of the book he was reading. she was all upset he wasn't turning the pages! it was cute but boy i wish they had an answer manual for these things!

We do not have Elf on the Shelf.

Christopher Pop-In-Kins is the elf that comes each yr on December 1st. Then, on December 24th, he leaves to report back to Santa.

This elf has been a tradition in my friend's family for a very, very long time! This family was given 1 elf to share w/ a family that would keep the traditon going.

Christopher has been with us for over a decade now !!! In fact, my daughter tells everybody that we have the original elf, not the store bought one.

Our elf is hanging off the light in a rm that has a cathedral ceiling. He is always up very, very high ! He arrives when the kids are sleeping...and he moves when the kids are sleeping....That never changes.

The first yr he came, I did not make a big deal about it and the kids did not get scared. In fact, it became much more fun when the other family asked to see ours. My kids were so happy to show them. Ours does not look like theirs. Even though the kids are not small anymore, it's still a valued tradition !

It's a very special tradition in our house !!!

Hi there,

We just got this as a present for my 2nd's birthday. If you read the book it is pretty self explanatory. The elf can't be touched or he is in danger of losing his magic that helps him to fly by to the N. Pole every night. You move him around at night once the kids go to bed and he stays in one spot each day. i don't think you have to tell them he will definitely lose all his magic....just that he is prone to losing it if he is touched a lot.
It is fun and my 3 year old seems to think it is fun to see where he has gone each night. I will say the elf looks a bit freaky but no so much that it is scary.

When i purchased my EOTS a book came with it and i read it to my kids and then explained more in detail of what he would do.
The elf does not roam around the house at night bc he is flying off to the North Pole to report to Santa how the kids are behaving, then he comes back in the wee hours of the morning and perks himself somewhere in your house.
My kids love it! So exciting to see them wake up and try and find the elf. good luck!