The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition

My son loves this whole thing....I have been going nuts every night making his elf that he named Spikey Hattie do strange things all over the house. There are two things that I would complain about though....first, that the elf doesnt have bendable arms and legs. You would think that this company would know what people will be doing with it and would make the elf capable of holding onto things and staying in certain positions, instead of just being all floppy and really difficult to make it stay in whatever position you are trying to get it to stay in. I ended up having to do middle of the night emergency elf surgery, and opened up the ends of his arms and legs to put wire inside and them sew it back up, so that I could get him to the point where he was able to do more than just sit awkwardly. Also, the price is pretty outrageous, especially for a floppy and not so well made toy elf. I mean, cmon....thirty bucks is ridiculous for something like this....Its taking advantage of the fact that parents want to make their kids christmas special by doing things like this. If I knew how to sew better than I do, I would just make my own, and just buy the book or something.

This creature possesses dark magic. I thought I was going to have to move him around like other people say they do but I didnt. He was always in a different place in the morning. At first the things Jingle did were pretty cute; making the toilet paper into a snow man, writing notes to my child in cute backwards handwriting...but then things started to get strange. The first morning that I became concerned was when I found him in my daughters bathroom in front of the mirror that had writing on it. I expected it to say something cute like Its almost Christmas or Happy Holidays! but what I found was REDRUM. Being horror movie fans, I just chalked it up to him trying to mess with my husband and I and told my daughter that he was just being silly. But then the next morning, I found something VERY disturbing. Jingle was sitting in my daughters floor with one of her barbies in A NOOSE. After this occurred I told my daughter I thought it was time to send Jingle back to the North Pole and ask Santa for a new elf. She was confused but said okay. So I took the elf and tossed him in the dumpster at our apartments and went to Target to purchase a new one. Due to being freaked out over the elf I had received I purchased a girl one this time. That night I showed my child her new Elf on a Shelf and she named her Lulu Bell. That evening I placed Lulu Bell in the Christmas tree and the next morning she was still there! I was elated that I had finally gotten a normal elf and that Jingle was gone. I went to bed that next night after putting Lulu Bell on the couch with a book on her lap and the next morning I woke up to my daughter screaming. I ran into the living room to find Lulu Bell on the floor with what I assumed was ketchup on her neck and there beside her was Jingle, with a butter knife in his hand and ketchup on it as well. I quickly called Amazon and informed them of the situation and then I found out, they had never sent me an elf because the one I wanted was on back order.... (This was a fictional story for the amusement of myself and others. My true review is that my daughter loved her elf and we had a lot of fun with it!)

So let me start this out by saying that I love shenanigans!! Love it!! Not evil shenanigans....anywho. So I thought this toy would be awesome to follow my husband around....and it exceeded my expectations. I anticipate the angry texts and phone calls when he finds it in his gym back, back seat of his car, eating his sandwich, and so on. I cannot wait until my son is old enough to partake *he is currently under the age of 2. When he is older I do think that it will be a fun game to see who spots Valdimir Boulderdash OMaley first, but for now he just tries to stick it into his mouth. Enough about why I personally bought this.... This toy is actually decently constructed. The face is adorably creepy (not like Chucky or a clown doll but more like a sock monkey). I do wish his body had some sort of wire inside to help him pose more efficiently. Since the body is nothing more than stuffed felt, it does fit into almost any space. The book that is included is your typical Santa Claus book. Bad= no presents; good= presents galore. It is cute but will not be replacing The night before Christmas or The Grinch anytime soon. I was confused by some of the other reviews saying that they were upset that it was about commercialism that has become Christmas....ummmm der it is about an Elf that watches you for Santa. But if that is not what you are into then this is not your product. Overall I do think that this was a super cute idea and it is a lot of fun, but you really have to take it for what it is, an elf spy that helps Santa pass out presents. The only reason I did not give this 5 stars was because of the non-wire body.

this was my first year with Elf on the shelf- my daughter is almost 4. He arrived the evening of thanksgiving on the front porch. We opened the package/ read the book and she was so excited. She didnt quite understand until about the second day. But the book is cute and really starts the Christmas magic for the season. Our Elf Ben is a good elf, he packed her bag for school one day, colored pages out her coloring book one night (like 30 pictures all over the table), he missed the cold so one night was in in the fridge, he left her little supries like ABC flashcards, one night her left her a frozen workbook for writing letters, etc but every morning she would look for ben and seeing the excitement through her eyes was great. I wish the elf was alittle more sturdy and I think this next year ill take the advice from pintrest about adding wire for stability but I have no complaints and I enjoyed having him- again he didnt do anything crazy (he did go poop (brown mms) in her toilet and left paper all in the bath room which she was not amused and thus was the craziest thing he did). Children ONLY have a few Christmass of pure magic/wonder- lets embrace it and kindle that spirit.

I used it for my autistic child right after xmas

Our three year old twins are getting old enough where they are starting to understand certain concepts so we thought this Christmas would be the perfect year to purchase an Elf on the Shelf. They loved it and had so much fun with it! I believe Elf on the Shelf is a relatively new tradition but I love the look of the scout elf because he has the look of a 1950s figurine. Included in the very sturdy and reusable box is the elf and a colorful, hardcover storybook which explains in a rhyming, storytelling manner how to use the Elf on the Shelf. The elf itself is approximately 13 inches tall, fully-extended, and his outfit feels like it is made of a felt-like material. His body is stuffed with plastic pellets and his head is made of hard plastic with nicely painted-on facial features. He doesnt sit very well by himself but there are plenty of ways to prop him up. His hands are also stitched together which makes it fun to dangle him from a doorknob, chandelier, or any other fun spot you can think of! The storybook is a beautiful hardcover with colorful pictures and the book reads like a rhyme. It is approximately 26 pages long and explains how the Elf on the Shelf works. The idea behind it is the scout elf is sent to your family each year and will keep an eye on the children on behalf of Santa. You get to name the elf and he will continue to be your familys scout elf. At night, the elf will fly to the North Pole to report good and/or naughty behavior, then fly back to the family where he will get into something during the night and the children will wake up the next morning, excited to find him! The elf is always watching and the only rule is that the elf cant be touched otherwise the magic will disappear. When the elf flies back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, he wont return to your family until the next Christmas season. I really love this activity for my kids and felt that, at almost three years old, it was the perfect age to introduce this to them! My kids always got so excited to look for our elf in the morning and kept asking throughout the day why he was trying to get out the door or why he was hanging from the Christmas tree. I was also very impressed with how well my kids listened to the rule and they never touched him. Whenever they started acting up, I would tell them our elf is watching and we dont want him to have to report any naughty behavior to Santa. It didnt always work but hey, I tried. Overall, I think this is a great activity for families and I felt it was very reasonably priced for the amount of fun we had. I highly recommend this to give your kids something to look forward to every morning during the Christmas season!

I was a little hesitant purchasing The Elf on the Shelf, because I dont try to focus Christmas entirely on the Santa aspect, but more on the giving aspect. I broke down and got one this year figuring if I really didnt like it or thought it put too much emphasis on gifts that I could tell my son that Santa decided he was good enough he didnt need to send the elf for following years. The night after Thanksgiving our Elf landed on our mantel. I called my son (almost 4) and daughter (22 months) in the room and my husband and I read the book to them and explained the process and rules of our new house guest. I never couldve imagined how interactive this little guy would be. My son insisted that his name is Elfey, and is so excited to talk to him every morning. He is genuinely concered about how is trip was and if he got too cold. I absolutely love listening to their one-sided conversation. He knows that if he is naughty Elfey will have to tell Santa and that he may not get his Santa gift this year. The only downside I can see is that my son is already sad at the thought that Elfey will go back to the North Pole with Santa on Christmas Eve and will be gone for an entire year...Hopefully the gift Santa leaves will alleviate this dreaded time. This doll is a great size big enough that my kids can spot him no matter where he decides to land for the day, but small enough that he can fit in/on anything, he even decided to perch on our Christmas tree one day. He has a great little face that adds a lot of character and life to the little doll. The book says the kids arent allowed to touch the elf, which is why its okay that Elfey isnt the most durable toy around. I have no doubt he will be more than able to survive the years of perching around my house for my kids and possibly even grandkids.

Have to be creative and placed him different places

I got this for my nephews first christmas and my sister loves it. I cant wait to see what she does with him and how hell love it.

I was so nervous to try this out. I didnt want to blow Christmas/Santa for my 6 year old. I worried that he might not buy into it, and therefore might not buy into Santa anymore either (he might start questioning it all). I think its incredibly important how you introduce this, so make sure you put a lot of thought into it. I decided to create a letter from Santa & snuck it into our mailbox (and had my 6 year old get the mail that day). Santa told them (6 & 3 year old boy) that because there are so many children in the world for him to watch over, hes decided to send one of his elves to watch over our family. I think its incredibly important to immediately address WHY youre getting an elf right now (when you didnt before) and why YOUR house is getting one, when not everyones house has one (I was worried about kids at school). Santas letter announced that the elf would be arriving that night, so to watch for him in the morning. The next morning the elf showed up sitting up in the Christmas tree, with the book about him underneath the tree, and a handwritten letter (Moms left-handed writing). It was a flawless entrance, and my 6 year old believes it all even MORE than my 3 year old! He was instantly writing letters back to Santa, asking our elf to take it back to Santa that night, etc. The rest of the month was SO fun, not only for the magic in my kids faces each morning, but for the fun my husband and I had each evening getting the elf set up in new fun ways. Make sure you have a plan in place for if they touch him (there need to be consequences or they wont believe hes magical), and make sure to set a daily reminder on your cell phone (I did 10pm). You dont want to blow it by not having moved him one day. They almost cried the day he had to say goodbye! On the last day he was holding baby Jesus from our nativity, leaving a note to remember that while Santa & presents are fun, remember that Jesus is the real meaning of Christmas (were quite religious normally, so I had to tie it in somehow, without being the lame family that doesnt allow Santa stuff at all). ;) Definitely recommend!!!