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Every day from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, each family's scout elf
watches over the children and then at night, once everyone goes to bed,
the elf flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa about what
activities, good and bad, took place throughout the day. Before the
family wakes up each morning, the scout elf flies back from the North
Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house,
the scout elf and the family play an on-going game of hide and seek. The Elf on the Shelf
explains that elves get their magic by being named. In the back of each
book, families have an opportunity to write their elf's name and the
date that they adopted it. Once the elf is named, the scout elf receives
its special Christmas magic which allows it to fly to and from the
North Pole. However, the magic might go if touched, so the rule for The Elf on the Shelf
states: "There's only one rule that you have to follow so I will come
back and be here tomorrow: Please do not touch me. My magic might go,
and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know." Although families aren't
supposed to touch their scout elf, they can talk to it and tell it all
their Christmas wishes so it can report back to Santa accurately.
My understanding is that most parents use this little elf as a way to keep their children in check during the holiday season. "Don't hit your brother, the elf (usually some creative name) is watching and will tell Santa that you've been naughty." Seriously? It just seems strange to me. I'm not a big fan of using the whole Santa thing to scare my children into good behavior, but I guess to each their own.
Oh, and it costs $30!! AND it has sold more than 1.5 million copies! I guess I'm just not on that bandwagon...should I be?!?!?
If you are an elf on the shelf fan, let me know why in the comments! Maybe you can make a believer out of me! :)
8 comments:
We just bought our first Elf on the Shelf this year. Hannah has one in her preschool class and of course spotted one in Target, but we got it on sale. We don't use it as a behavior thing (mostly because she's never naughty and Alex doesn't understand yet), but it's the whole fun part of hiding her (ours is a girl, Ginger) and Hannah searching the house for her every morning. We sometimes put the elf up to mischief, getting into things, and she just loves it. It's just another fun part of Christmas now, something for her (and Alex eventually) to look forward to each morning, but I agree with you that we shouldn't be bribing our kids with Santa!
-Heather
Just another distraction to take us away from the true meaning of Christmas in my opinion. I don't like anything that smacks of deceiving the child so the adult can get the behavior they want or just get a kick out of the child being deceived. Young children have enough trouble trying to figure out what's real in this world (my Montessori influence) - why confuse them more? I agree with Heather though - if you're going to buy into it, at least be creative and fun about it... but a disciplinary tool? Gag! (You asked for opinions...)
I know so many mom who LOVE this. In fact, I've been toying with the idea of buying it for years b/c they rave about it so.
Here's what I like about it: It's fun. The elf moves around. Every night when the kids are asleep it moves somewhere else and the kids wake up gleeful and excited to see where the elf moved. I try not to say, "Santa is watching" b/c I don't really like that concept (how about GOD is watching! or what does your conscience tell you! :) and this is the same concept - the elf is watching to see if you're naughty of nice. I'd just like it to see the kids laugh and be excited about where the elf managed to climb.
What I don't like about it: More commercialization of a holiday that is moving further away from the true, spiritual meaning.
Having said that, I still kind of want one!
No thanks. There are plenty of fun hide and seek games to play with kids without it. We really try to make our family advent times special as we study the Bible and the story of Jesus coming to rescue us. Of course we talk about Santa, but we tell the kids he isn't real but it is fun to pretend. :)
P.S. I might be more interested if he cleaned my house while we were all sleeping ;)
P.S. I might be more interested if he cleaned my house while we were all sleeping ;)
We have the "shelf elf." Actually, my grandmother had about 20 climbing her staircase when I was growing up. A few years ago, I started looking into getting my own collection and they are impossible to find thanks to this crazy book obsession. So I am with you. What the heck? (but for different reasons)
No thank you. I just don't understand it. If you liked it because it was "fun" and seeing the kids get all excited in the morning, then couldn't you just use any object? Use a stuffed animal or something and save yourself $30!
What I really don't understand is why people would use it to try to encourage good behavior out of their children. One other person said it, but really, shouldn't we be teaching our children to do the right thing because GOD is watching?! ....Not some silly elf.
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