The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition

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

Nice

I would give this 5 stars, but I ordered back in October and just put it on top of my closet til the night of the 30th of November. And when I got it out I noticed it was a girl and not a boy like I ordered. Still using the elf and just calling it a boy, but my kids cousins have pointed out to him that his elf is a girl. And Ive assured him either is fine, its just here to report back to Santa each night. Just wish since boy is advertised that thats what I wouldve got sent.

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.

We have always wanted one of these but it cost to much!! So I was so happy for 22.00! I wish everyone could get that price!!

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.

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.

This gift is more than just a toy. It will create memories that will last forever. Children only get one childhood. And this product is a memory. Not a gift. Priceless

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!)

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.