The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition

This elf is much loved.

This was a nice book, but did not include the elf so we had to return.

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.

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!)

Have to be creative and placed him different places

I purchased the Elf on the Shelf in November and started using it December 1st. We are not doing the naughty elf, so he simply changes positions every night. It has made getting up and going in the morning more enjoyable for my 2 little kids (3 & 4). If we ask them if they want to see if Chippy (our Elfs name)has moved overnight, they are happily getting out of bed. This has been a nice change from the sour attitude weve had lately from the 4 year old. The story is nice to introduce the Elf. The website where you go and register your elf is well made and the activities (coloring pages, letter to Santa, etc.) were fun for my kids to do. I like what the elf looks like because he reminds me of elves my grandma had as decorations when I was a little child. My kids are not afraid of him, but I can see how some kids might be. My one and only complaint, and the reason that I didnt give it 5 stars, is that I really wish that the elf was posable (had wire in his arms & legs). It makes it difficult to be too creative with what to do with him when he is limited to sitting places. I will be spending a bit of time this morning seeing if I can insert some wire myself.

I have always wanted a elf on the shelf growing up so we decided to start the tradition with our 3 year old! He doesn’t know yet but I think he’s going to be so excited! Exactly like pictured.

We just bought the elf on the shelf to start as a Christmas season tradition with our little ones. We have two girls, ages 4 and 2, and they are enthralled with the elf. I have been moving him around the house when they are sleeping. So far he has been on a shelf, in the Christmas tree, in a stocking, and hanging out on the ceiling fan. The first thing they do every morning is go on an elf hunt. They spend time talking to him every day, telling him things they want, trying to convince him to forget if they were bad, and highlighting nice things they did during the day. We had a great time picking a name for him. I can honestly say that knowing he is watching has given them pause a few times when embarking on questionable behavior. The only negatives I give this product is the lack of pose-ability. If it were wired in some way to allow it to be positioned differently, or to stand, it would be a much more versatile product. I can think of tons of cute ways to set him up, but he is too floppy to do it. Also, my older daughter has been asking astute questions like how can he get places since he has no feet, etc...Had to make her believe that he flies everywhere he goes, so he doesnt NEED feet. This was rather a hard sell since she pointed out the Superman can fly and HE still has feet..so future product suggestions to help pull this off would include some little pointed shoes and some stiffening wire. It would make it that much more life-like.

This is our first year using Elf on the Shelf. Our boys are almost 2.5 and 10 months old. Our toddler LOVES to look for Jingle every morning. Its so fun to see how excited he gets. He loves his little elf. We read the story during bed time every night as well (along with several others). I loved that the book mentions children saying their prayers. I feel like its a great way to merge the fun Christmas traditions with our Christian beliefs and offer the Children a special tradition they will hopefully pass on one day. The elf is adorable and the perfect size for hiding and posting. We kept his hands sewn together because its easier to hang him in different areas. Im glad we waited until our son was big enough to enjoy the Elf and am looking forward to next year when we can play with both boys. There are lots of cute ideas for Elf posing on Pinterest and Ive come up with a few on my own as well. We take our nightly picture of our son with Jingle before bed so we can keep track of all the hiding places. It will be fun to look back on as well each year. Great idea and love that this product started as a family tradition with sisters and they shared their tradition with all of us.

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.