Anyone else got an Elf on the Shelf coming to stay this Christmas?
Yes, yes, I know it is only October and Christmas is still more than two months away, but I’m not going to apologise for bringing it up, because if you want to do this one, you’ll need to get yourself organised fast! I’ve also had three conversations about it in the past week, so I feel this blog is more than justified!
Elf on the Shelf is an American tradition that is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. The idea is that in the run-up to Christmas, you adopt one of Santa’s elves for the season. Every morning when your children wake up, they have to find the elf and see what mischief the little guest has been up to overnight. The elf then reports back to Santa on whether the child has been good or not… and we all know that only children who are good get Christmas presents!
We took part in Elf on the Shelf for the first time last year and already my children are asking whether the elves will be visiting again this year. That’s right, elves plural. We had two come to stay with us – one girl and one boy, Tallulah Tippi Twinkletoes and Sammy Shimmering Stardust, a brother and a sister just like Little E and Little O. Santa must have twinned us with a family just like ours!
They arrived on December 1st, via Amazon, a complete surprise for my children (and Cardiff Daddy too!), sat on our kitchen table along with their wooden advent calendars, a Christmas sticker book each, Christmas pyjamas and a letter of introduction letting us know who they were and why they were visiting.
Every morning, we would find the elves somewhere new. One morning, they were sat inside two of my favourite mugs, peeking over the top. Another morning they were covered in stickers. We also found them wrapped up in toilet paper, reading a story together, hiding in the Christmas tree, and sailing in a Tupperware box boat in the sink! Each day we found them doing something different. They have such good imaginations.
Thankfully our elves were not as mischievous as other elves we have heard about. Some have been found swinging from a lampshade in mummy’s bra while others have dyed the toilet water green! Pinterest is full of photos of what these cheeky little elves have been up to and there are lots of Facebook groups dedicated to Elf on the Shelf, too.
We’ve told Santa we would love to host Sammy and Tallulah again this year. As regular readers will know, we welcomed a new addition earlier this year, Baby I. I have it on good authority that Tallulah and Sammy also have a new member of their little family, so we are hoping all three will come to stay with us this year so that they can learn about how boys and girls celebrate Christmas.
We’ll keep you posted on their adventures.
Are any of you taking part in Elf on the Shelf this year? Have you done it previously? What did your elf get up to?
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Never did it before. But def will this year. I assume an eBay or amazon purchase?
Hope you enjoy! We had so much fun with it. Ours are from Amazon but someone on my Facebook page said they got one cheap from IKEA. X
Never did it before. But def will this year. I assume an eBay or amazon purchase?
We’ve been doing it for a few years now, our elf gets up to quite a lot of naughtiness these days. I’ll have to see if I can dig out some photos 🙂
We’ve been doing it for a few years now, our elf gets up to quite a lot of naughtiness these days. I’ll have to see if I can dig out some photos 🙂
We’ve never done it but think I might this year as can just imagine the delight it brings. Is it for all of December? Thanks for sharing, you’ve inspired me!
Glad you liked the idea. We did it from December 1st until the 24th but I guess it’s whatever you want to do really. It was a very magical and exciting experience. Hope you have fun with it. X
This is such a cute idea, I would love to have an Elf in October 🙂
Ha ha, well, why not start in October!! It’s such fun x
This is such a cute idea, I would love to have an Elf in October 🙂
I first heard of elf on the shelf last year, but haven’t done it ourselves. I don’t know if I will do it, but I can certainly see why children enjoy it. Thanks for linking up to the #binkylinky
It’s great fun. I was a bit skeptical at first as it’s very American but it was brilliant. X
So that’s what Elf on the Shelf is! I wish I had seen this post earlier as my LO’s would of loved this. Defiantly be adopting some Elves next year lol x