What did your elf on the shelf, get up to last night ?

duefrine

Hopefully this will give other elf's inspiration 😁

Mutleyboo

Great idea as I'm always trying to think of things last minute! Our elves haven't come out yet I try to hold off until mid December.. I tell the DC that they don't come to a messy house, so until their rooms are tidy the elves won't come..

TRS30

Two were hanging around (light fitting in kid's bedrooms) and two were having a pampering party (nail polish and fake nails) in the living room.

It's getting harder to think of things already!!

CheerLouth

Thankfully, my children don't like it when they get up to bold things so our elf is very tame & literally just moves from room to room.

TRS30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119962634#Comment_119962634

We got that last year when youngest got upset when one went upstairs so tried it this year to see the re-action and they seem to be OK so far.

Mundo7976

Ours was in a tub of ice in the freezer this morning 🤷🏻‍♂️

Packrat

We've two, one of each gender, and they were both eating out of the cay litter tray with tiny spoons yesterday morning.

This morning they were more predictedly just hanging on to fan blades in the kitchen.

Tomorrow will be toilet roll snow party I think...

Paul MCM

Toilet roll all over the Christmas Tree. Thankfully it was clean 😂

dubstepper

Our elf forgot to move his position yesterday! I said it may have been due to the fact that he was in the room we were watching the football in and he wanted to see more. It was accepted :)

Kintarō Hattori

Our two got the 5 year olds underpants and decorated the tree with them. She was most amused.

duefrine

Went for a selection box last night ⛄

duefrine

She is back 😁

tscul32

I have to say I am not one bit sorry that the elves are no longer visiting us every Christmas 😂😂

crusd

Elf on the shelf is about the parents not the kids. One time the wonder of Christmas was all kids needed. Now parents feel the need to compete with each other to make Christmas “magical” for their little Johnnies and Mary’s. All the stuff that parents now feel they need to do actually decreases the magic of Christmas for the 7 to 10 year olds who are more aware. They see the elf’s for sale in the supermarket, they see their friends who don’t have an elf and they talk about why with each other, they know it’s an inanimate piece of plastic. In an effort to seem magical parents are actually pushing doubts into their children.

Some parents take this to the extreme. In one case parents in my sons class left tickets to one of the Santa experiences and a letter from Santa to their kids on the doorstep. This does two things, make these kids think they are somehow exceptional or above the other kids when Santa is supposed to be about bringing joy to all, and it makes the other kids in class question why Santa didn’t do the same for them or else figuring it’s yet another lie told by parents as many kids sold 7+ have figured that the Santas on these locations are not real.

This misplaced effort by parents is turning the Santa myth into a divisive rather than joyful experience. And it’s all to make the parents feel good about themselves and not about the kids who have been happy with an unseen Santa for generations

circadian

Alright Victor Mildrew, settle down.

Mundo7976

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440730#Comment_121440730

https://media.tenor.com/oNaCRbvHu3oAAAAM/johnny-english-rowan-atkinson.gif

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440708#Comment_121440708

Amen to that.

tscul32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440730#Comment_121440730

The very same could be said about Santa

crusd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440768#Comment_121440768

Not really. Elf on the shift is a book written in 2005 and a commercial opportunity exploited by the publishers. Santa is around for hundreds of years.

Ever hear the phrase if you’re explaining your losing. But trying to make the Santa experience more “real” you are in reality exposing kids to the plot holes in the myth. In the effort to alleviate their fear of their kids no longer believing they will actually leave more room for doubt

dubstepper

We are done with the elf on the shelf. We never did the naughty piece but just remembering to move them every night was a chore. Especially if you have had a couple of drinks :😀

duefrine

Slept in the hay last night 🥱💤

Loughc

Some inspiration…

Loughc

Thanks ladbible

duefrine

She is back

Kintarō Hattori

Coke = cola bottles.

Kintarō Hattori

Just reading a few posts above. I certainly don't do the elf thing to make me feel good. I do it because my 7 year old loves the idea of her elves (they are like soft toys for her) coming alive and getting up to mischief. We haven't gone big on a background story, only that they arrive on the night of the 1st to check on her and that she's OK, behaving etc. She massively looks forward to their arrival and is excited first thing in the morning to see what mischief they have gotten up to. If anything, it adds to the excitement and magic of Christmas.

Loughc

We started the Elf tradition this year for my 3 year old and he absolutely LOVES it.

duefrine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122920158#Comment_122920158

Yes, have to fully agree, our 8 year old loves waking up every morning to see what the elve got up to last night. Actually helps with getting them out of bed for school, win win all around.

talla10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122920158#Comment_122920158

Don't let the Scrooges of the world get you down 😁

Likewise our children all love the Elves arriving and run down the stairs every day to see what they have gotten up to. Our Elves bring a letter from Santa and an advent calendar so always excitement in our house on 1st December.

duefrine

First night of mischief

klondike99

Whole thing is complete cringe. Driven by egotistical parents trying to keep up with the Jones.

dickdasr1234

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122951296#Comment_122951296

Sad sack!

klondike99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121440730#Comment_121440730

Repped to the max.

Nigzcurran

Jeez what's with all the grumpy shites in this thread! My 11 and a half year old jumps up every morning in December dying to find out what the elves have been up to! We don't post pictures or videos online so don't have any Jones's to keep up with. It's just a new extra magical part of Christmas. We don't have many years of Santy left now so we enjoy every minute of it

crusd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122920339#Comment_122920339

Is something based on a commercial book first published in 2005 really a "tradition"

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122920339#Comment_122920339

Come back to us when he and any siblings all have their own elves, you're tearing your hair out and blaming your other half when it's forgotten before bed, you've run out of all possible situations to use, and your son is about seven.

It's a lovely concept that quickly becomes a rod you made for your own back.

Protip: 1 elf per house.

Take is from one who made the mistakes..

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122952418#Comment_122952418

Ok you define a tradition so?

Myself and my wife have yearly traditions we do every year since we've been together, do they not count until a set time?

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122953272#Comment_122953272

My wife started it so when I'm not arsed I make her come up with something, she's not impressed when I wake her to do the elf. I'm getting lazy, my best this year is photo copying their backside on the scanner. Other years we, gift wrapped the remote, the Tv, (doubled down and gift wrapped the kitchen) we've blocked door with gift wrap paper too.

She's away so I've to do it tonight - dam

crusd

The amount of parents I know who have been caught moving the elf is unreal. Sh*te like this pulls back the veil. And once the kids know the elf is not real the next step is only round he corner.

But if parents get to joke about pretending the elf pooped bran flakes it’s all worth it eh