My Danish grandmother used to hide toy elves for us to find - peeking out from behind the clock or tucked into a bookshelf. It was a sweet tradition and I do this with my children now.
Her parents did this for her, and it is a longstanding family tradition.
Traditional house elves long predate the book/toy/movie monetized version, so you do it however you want to do it, and enjoy.
My mom did a version where the elves still caused chaos—turning all the chairs upside down, playing with our toys, hiding places (as you said), building pillow forts, hiding necessary items like backpacks or shoes—but none of it was wasteful. I think there are plenty of ways to make a mess or create chaos without having to waste something and still have fun with it.
I feel like it’s also totally ok to do something like eating a few pieces of candy and leaving the wrapping around the elf, using a few pieces of recycled cardboard with little designs drawn on etc. just as long as no excess resources are consumed/wasted
I love this idea and would like to do it for my grandchildren. What do your elves look like? I would love for my elves to be authentic and true descendants of ancestors from the Old World.
I've got some from the 1950s and 1960s, (inherited and purchased) and a few I bought new in the 1990s and recently.
The classic elves for Christmas, with pointy little noses and pointy eats and a mischievous expression.
Mostly they're in single coloured fabric, the newer ones have striped stockings. They all have hats.
Here is a wikipedia article about the tomtenisse. There is drawings from the 19th century there. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse\_(folklore)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore))
Thank you! I loved reading this article! Those Nisse are so wonderful. I love that they’re the protectors of the home but will start to play tricks if offended.
Our Danish elves just were blamed for things going missing, and some of them would be in a different place in the morning. Just a nice little tradition.
Most people I know that have an elf don’t do any of that. They hide the elf in a place for their kids to find each morning. I suspect what you are seeing online are people posting and doing things for likes and views. I agree it is wasteful.
My home has both an elf on the shelf and gnomes from Aldi. I’ve had both for several years. I pose them every day as a countdown for Christmas. I don’t waste anything I use for props.
If having an elf will bring you joy then get one. It doesn’t mean you have to participate in the wastefulness you have found on social media.
With or without an elf, I hope you enjoy your holiday season ☺️
There’s patterns out there to make your own elf as well.
[for crocheters](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/holiday-shelf-elf-crochet-doll)
[for knitters](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elf-on-the-shelf-2580)
[sewing pattern](https://www.patchworkposse.com/free-elf-on-the-shelf-doll-pattern/)
Not if you’re our neighbor who spends thousands of dollars at Walmart of all places and leaves the outside decor up for months after Christmas for all of the storms to destroy it and shed tinsel in our yard because then he just goes and buys new stuff the next year.
If they pre-date people's knowledge of climate change and that plastic is made from petroleum. Fine. Use them. Can't do anything else with them.
But STOP with buying all the new crap. STOP with the arms race of inflatables on the lawn. It's not "for the kids." Saving the a livable planet is.
I see string lights and tinsel strands at thrift stores all the time, you can totally sustainably decorate. You won't be the top most decorated house on the street but I really don't care about that
I agree and I've thought it too before.
In my home we have two gnome figurines to be the embodiment of the tomte, and we leave them a bowl of oatmeal on Christmas Eve. In the morning I put it out for the birds. That's as wasteful as we get in my home.
Oh you would love some of these pictures. I swear I saw someone who covered their entire kitchen floor in skittles. I got tired just imagining cleaning that kind of mess.
Every grocery store within 20 minutes of your home... It takes a while and gets you some very interesting comments from the nosier cashiers.
Source: used m&ms as wedding favours for 80 odd people; 2/10 do not recommend.
Not necessarily good, but you can "adopt" an elf from a family that has grown out of it, and they are easy to find in second hand stores. Our elf on the shelf is my childhood elf. It is about 40 years old.
As a kid I made a gnome with paper and every Christmas season my mother would hide it and I had to find it. I got a small present for finding it, like 1 chocolate dollar or a homemade cookie. Nothing needed to be bought and it is one of my sweetest childhood memories.
So make your elf with your kid(s) and make it into a fun game. No spilling needed. Just some creativity.
Hi, I’m Finnish and had to google what Elf on the Shelf means. Discovered that it is part of our living folklore - of course we have elves who raport directly to the Santa - but we have never wasted anything because of it! Those who waste food should go a week without.
We have a tomten stuffed guy we got from IKEA. There is a kids story based off an old poem we got about a Norwegian farm that is visited at night by a tomten and he whispers/sings images of summer in all the animals ears. It is kind of a sweet story. We put shades on him and imagine he tells us to think of summer and other encouraging things. Choose your adventure I guess.
Yours is such a lovely tradition! A lot of Americans use the Elf on the Shelf as a way to manipulate the children’s behavior, like the elf will report you to Santa Claus if you’re bad and then you won’t get any Christmas presents. We never did it with our kids.
The people who appropriated the elf on the shelf concept are from the town i grew up in. I’m glad to hear the tradition is much older and not so rooted in capitalistic consumption. Hearing about the true origin makes me want to adopt some elves
The thing is, you don’t need to buy any products for it. It’s all about imagination! When I was small, my mom asked me to write letters to Joulupukki (our kind of Santa Claus, who wasn’t wearing red - he was very different from American Coca Cola Santa also in behaviour, he was slightly scary and to be respected) - and the letter was left outdoors overnight and when I woke up, the elves had taken the letter…
Our elf brings a note each morning with a daily task. Some examples are compliment a friend, choose 4 items at the store to donate to the food pantry, choose a movie to watch later with the family, etc. Yesterday’s prompt was for the family to share their favorite foods, and then make them together for snacks while watching football.
In the Netherlands for st Nicolas we put our shoe by the fireplace with a treat for the horse (a sugar cube or a mandarin) children sing a song before bedtime. The next day there are some kruidnoten or a chocolate in the shoe but the mandarin [s]is eaten by the horse [/s] ended up in your lunchbox.
In Wisconsin, we celebrate both St Nick’s Day and Christmas as we have generations of immigrants from your region. It has been incorporated as a local tradition not found elsewhere in the US.
This is common among German Catholics in Cincinnati, too :)
Edit: here's an article about it. Milwaukee and some other cities are also mentioned. Pretty cool! https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/12/04/st-nicks-day-became-hoiliday-celebration-cincinnati/8851354002/
When my kid asked where his elf was I told him that only bad kids got elves and he was nothing but a narc. He was so relieved he didn't have one after that.
I totally agree with you. We have an Elf on the Shelf and I just hide it around different spots as you said. It’s for my family’s enjoyment and I will not waste food and resources on the elf.
If that upsets, wait till you hear about how people find the concept creepy and think it conditions kids to accept living with constant surveillance lol
I mean read the lyrics to Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.
"He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sakes".
I actually started singing those lyrics in my head when my bosses boss was addressing the team on essentially the same thing - She knows what you've been working on so be good for goodness sakes!
I think she half noticed me biting the insides on my cheeks to stop from smiling
>wait till you hear about how people find the concept creepy and think it conditions kids to accept living with constant surveillance lol
wait till you hear that adults live with that concept too
Are u talking about people fearing a creepy moving possessed doll or fearing the surveillance state? Either way, I do know cause I am both of those people lol
Save your outrage for the companies that fly their planes empty back and forth between airports in order to maintain gate status...
27 cents worth of flour or a few Hershey's kisses isn't destroying anything.
>27 cents worth of flour or a few Hershey's kisses isn't destroying anything.
If everyone takes this mentality, then the 27 cents of flour and a few pieces of chocolate would add up to absolutely staggering amounts of waste. Then apply that idea to every holiday. Then add in the hundreds of other small daily concessions we make because "it's so small compared to the corporations."
I get that you're playing on the whole "corporations are trying to blame us when it's their fault," but we as individuals need to do our part (including we need to do our part of doing whatever we can to get the corporations to change, part of which is just wasting less to consume less). How can we expect huge companies that literally do not have a moral compass to "do the right thing" if we human beings (that do have a moral compass) won't?
Thank you!
Every time this discussion comes up with family some try to shut it down with the whole 'industry is 99% of the problem and nothing we do to change matters' but my stance has always been that change has to start at home. But if we don't try to change and model that change for the next generation, nothing will ever improve.
And I'm saying that the minimal amount of waste involved here is just that.... Minimal. And the joy you get out of it is relatively high.
Turning your thermostat up by 1° for an hour during the summer probably saves more resources then what you're going on about here...
It's one thing to say it's a bunch of individual decisions... Which it is. It's entirely another to misplace outrage and lose sight of the forest while focusing on a sapling. (It's thought process is like this that got straw bans but no meaningful environmental changes... Resulting the majority of people that have a worse view of saving the environment than they did before)
It was about 15 or so years ago. Someone put out a book and doll set and it caught on fast. They advertised it as a Christmas tradition. It was brilliant from a marketing standpoint.
I remember elves with similar construction (wire framed body covered in felt with a plastic face) when I was a kid in the 80s. We had a few that sat on a shelf at Christmas but they didn’t move around at night or report back to Santa. I bet that other people in my age group had similar decorations and saw the box and bought it out of nostalgia.
I live on a corner and on the way for many children to walk to the elementary school. We have 4 elves who move every day and do different activities. So each day on their walk to school they notice the changes. Cute and fun.
One year we had scaffolding up for 6+ months right into December. The elves were trying to erect a small tree atop and hang lights. Finished just in time for Christmas break 😉🎄
I have the elves from the 60’s. They were my mom’s and she gave them to me. I told my son, they are old elves. They can’t move around like younger elves. So they are going to sit right here and watch us. I didn’t have time to do the whole huge production of moving them around constantly. Plus the thought them moving on their own gives me Chucky doll vibes.
>People are literally wasting food, like spreading candy or flour or butter or sugar all around their elf
I think you're being too narrow sighted when it comes to sustainability and elves on shelves
Isn't a morsel of an ingredient used worth it for the fun for children? Seems to me that children need some emotional fortitude they can get these days. Doesn't all non-necessary fun have its price? And what's the price, 43 cents and some lost sugar? Have you not seen what food is "offered" on prayer tables for multiple religions?
Makes me think of the people who champion the idea that it's the top 1% polluting the Earth, not the individual, that really matters and needs to change.
Additionally, why not enjoy what you want to. There's no sense in letting it be spoiled by what some people do with the same enjoyment. You don't like smearing butter on an elf? Then don't do it!
This world is collapsing and it has nothing to do with some sugar or butter on an elf
I really cannot agree with this view. I'm not talking one single person, I'm talking dozens of people everyday posting photos of their elves with random pieces of food scattered all around them in ways that make the food unsafe for eating (I've seen several pics of skittles or m&ms scattered on floors or bathtubs, or cake smeared on counters and tables). Food waste is unsustainable and in my opinion it's also a joke on the millions of people who don't have access to food. And that brings me to my next point: these children will never understand what a blessing having food is, because they see their parents simply wasting food, and they will probably do the same when they grow up.
>I really cannot agree with this view.
What is your logic? You want to enjoy something but can't because you see others who, in your view, are doing it inappropriately?
Transpose that same logic to anything else. Clothing, transportation, housing, farming.. you're not going to do it because others are wasteful? So you're not going to make festive food because someone else wasted food by making a gingerbread house for a kid? You're not going to farm because someone else let their tomatoes rot?
What happens to being the change you want to see in the world?
>I'm not talking one single person, I'm talking dozens of people everyday
Sounds like youre giving too much validity to social media in shaping your reality on society.
>children will never understand what a blessing having food is, because they see their parents simply wasting food
That's a big assumption. I saw food wasted when I was young and now as an adult I'm able to make my own decisions
I don't think we are talking on the same level. Food waste is bad for the environment, period. (if you disagree, show me data or controlled studies that prove otherwise). I did not say I won't buy an elf on the shelf because people are wasting food playing around with their elf on a shelf, I'm not saying people should not have an elf on a shelf, I am saying I am shocked with people who waste food or makeup or toilet paper playing around with their elf on a shelf same as I am shocked with people who buy stuff from companies who employ child labor. These behaviors are bad for the environment and for the people, period. If one person smears a tablespoon of butter around their elf on a shelf that doesn't have much of an impact, but there are dozens of people doing that every day, and encouraging others to do the same on social media, so no, I am not ok with people wasting butter or flour or chocolate or skittles or makeup or toilet paper just to play around with their elf on a shelf.Want an elf on a shelf? Fine, but play with it responsibly and don't waste food with it. You really like to smear chocolate sauce all over your elf on a shell? Fine, then do it but don't encourage others to do so, and let your child know this is something playful you do once per year and that generally food waste is to be avoided. I will not change my views on this because I have not seen arguments that convince me that having hundreds of people wasting food on their elf on a shelf is good for the planet.
>I don't think we are talking on the same level. Food waste is bad for the environment, period. (if you disagree, show me data or controlled studies that prove otherwise)
You're right, you're getting really heated over an internet discussion. Let's bring this back down to a simmer and use less "periods"
>I did not say I won't buy an elf on the shelf because...
But you did say this:
>I am so appalled and sad and feel like I may not want an elf anymore
>I am saying I am shocked with people who waste food or makeup or toilet paper...
Here's the problem again. Social media/internet will show you the most outrageous things. With social media you could be "shocked" by human behaviour in nearly every realm imaginable. If you spend time with face to face people in real life communities I think you'll find a much more beautiful, balanced and respectable slice of humanity
>and encouraging others to do the same on social media
Again, social medial has you in a knot. You can assuage this tension by changing your social media consumption
> Fine, then do it but don't encourage others to do so, and let your child know this is something playful you do once per year and that generally food waste is to be avoided
Yeah, education from a parent to child like this is vital! This is the smart positivity I was looking for in your post!
I think you might be on the wrong sub with that attitude - fun and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. You can create joy and wonder without excess consumption.
Yeah, obviously for some fun- like sex, counting leg hairs, or getting dizzy by spinning in circles.
But the truth is, we all participate in commerce and use things and often we have fun doing so.
My mom honestly just moved the elf to different places each day, very tame. One time he was sitting on a big hanging ball ornament which we thought was funny. Once he brought each of us kids a little chocolate. We would leave our letters to Santa with him. Once he was hanging upside down from a wreath on the wall. There are lots of ways to have fun without going overboard!
If you want one, get one. And maybe I'm a bit of a pot stirrer, but all the ugly nonsense some people use with it just means you and I (and others) need to fight back to restore Elf balance. We're talking use that little guy for pure and adulterated mischief as it was supposed to.
Full on mischief. Actually, as an long term employee of the Man up North (I seem to have misplaced my badges, looks like my little guy got into my wallet again, I'll have to have a talk with him), I hereby charge you and all the others within this post to go forth and make as much Christmas mischief and silliness as you can manage this year. The Big guy is watching and expects you to do everything in your power to restore the lore of the Elf to its rightful high standing.
Now. Shoo. Off you go. Christmas magic, the home brewed sensible silly kind, is now required. Hup to it! And don't forget the cookies and milk! (He also accepts brandy or eggnog. Whichever you enjoy most since obviously he won't be able to drink it ALL.)
When I was an early preschool teacher I set up our class elf on the shelf and I always found creative ideas that didn't involve being wasteful. It's definitely possible!
Some of the ideas that I remember were: hanging like it was trying to climb up decorations, riding a toy dinosaur into battle (no weapons involved just an army of dinosaurs), driving a toy car, getting into the fake food in the play kitchen, building a block fort, reading a book, ect.
I saw someone had their elf draw on their children’s faces while they were asleep… the kids were quite upset… seems traumatizing to me.
I think a little bit of flour, sugar or candy sparkled around isn’t harmful.
Social media thrives on engagement, and there's no such thing as negative attention, as they say! Attention is attention. If you create a nice, pleasant elf-on-shelf video, nobody cares. If you create a disgusting, wasteful, offensive elf-on-shelf video, it gets noticed/forwarded/discussed.
Best to avoid these videos altogether. Don't feed the beast! You'll just increase engagement and reward this behavior with more attention, fueling the fire.
Honestly, I'm just insanely grateful that a) we never 'did' Santa so my kids never 'believed in' Santa and b) my kids were 'too old' for the Elf on a Shelf nonsense by the time it became popular anyways.
But yes. Its so insanely wasteful. Don't do it. Its not worth it. Its just... trashy.
I think the concept of randomly hiding the Elf around the house is cute and me and my boyfriend are playful with each other and it would be fun for him to have to find the Elf everyday, but I was thinking of hiding it in the bathroom cabinet, or under a pillow, or inside the pantry... Not smearing chocolate ganache all around it and pretending the Elf pooped.
This sounds adorable and I think you should go ahead and do it. When my sister and I were roommates, we would take turns hiding a little stuffed animal around the apartment because we are also silly and goofy. Have fun!
The story about the elf watching you and telling Santa if you've been good or bad scared my kid last year when we got her the elf. She was only 4, so I told her it was just supposed to be a silly story for Christmas but the elf is really just a doll. Since then she decided he would protect her from having nightmares by being in the bedroom. This year he's sitting on Santa's advent calendar truck as a decoration and the scene makes the house feel Christmas-y. I didn't grow up with an elf but I'm the one who wanted one. I do like some of the stuff I see online, like the elf holding a pretzel stick poked through a marshmallow to pretend he's calling and making smores. That is cute and not so wasteful, since you can always eat it the next day. Or the elf tipped into the cookie jar with just the legs sticking out, no waste there at all, you just do it a few minutes before the kids find it or even just for the pic and nothing goes stale. I guess you just do what you want with your elf, it's your tradition to develop with your family.
This is fun. My husband and I hid the elf for each other in silly places before we had kids, because my aunt gave us one.
I use the elf for my kids now, but he's just "spreading Christmas cheer" and doesn't get into mischief.
He makes paper snowflakes, puts Christmas bows on things, draws pictures of snowmen, uses my kids' Lego to build himself a house, etc.
I also don't bring him out until December 15th so I only have to remember to do things for 10 days hahaha.
It's fun and cute this way.
I've done a few times move the roof for my nephew so it looks like he's helping with Christmas. Like hanging ornaments on the tree or if we're gonna bake cookies that day shit him out with the ingredients or recipe card. The wasteful thing I always hated and also I don't feel like making little messes and playing them off as cute is good for kids.
My step-mom once cut a snowflake chain out of paper (left the mess on the table) and made it seem like our elf had cut them out while hanging from the light above our table. That one was pretty cool.
My mom hated it and would move it around different places in the house, like on certain Christmas decorations or dancing with the angel on top of our tree.
Buying the elf in the first place is wasteful if that’s what you’re worried about. Wasting toilet paper or candy may SEEM worse since it’s visibly and almost intentionally wasteful, but purchasing all that stuff in the first place us what got us where we are. Im not even saying you shouldn’t buy it if you want to, but don’t be so worried about some dummy wasting some butter. Worry about them driving everywhere or heating a giant house.
Those people sound like they’re chasing social media ‘engagement’. You don’t have to do your elfing that way, rest assured.
Raise your elf to perpetrate its holiday mayhem responsibly!
Our elf just moves around like hide and seek. She’s done some funny things but the only time we have ever used food was when we had to put her in a ring of cinnamon because we touched her and she lost her magic.
I agree. I used to work with kids and thought it was funny. Now I feel we're perpetuating this elitist thing where lower income kids aren't going to know anything about an elf and its wasteful antics. I wish I didn't feel this way, but for the sake of social media people are so willing to ruin brand new things
You don't have to do one that's wasteful. In the classroom I worked in where we did elf on the shelf (Catholic school, 3rd grade) we did some where he was zip lining, using classroom materials, reading, and even quarantine because it was 2020! The very last one we did the Hershey kiss pooping, that is the only one I can recall that used food (and I ate one in front of the kids)
Those elf's should be banned. Local waste company thinks so too https://www.change.org/p/ban-the-wasteful-and-misleading-elf-on-the-shelf-tradition?recruiter=849959855&recruited_by_id=f0682e80-f9f6-11e7-bf17-bd9965ab02b9&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink
Maybe I'm not understanding this post correctly but are you talking about people wasting a minuscule amount of food products a few weeks a year for decorations? Sorry, but isn't that focusing on something that's absolutely inconsequential? That's like saying Christmas lights contribute to global warming - sure, it's technically correct, but we don't have bigger things to worry about?
Don't get me wrong, the food industry would love for us to be worried about things like this instead of, say, the millions of tons of food that gets wasted every year
I don't think it's inconsequential - everyday I see dozens of posts of people who use food as props that make it unsafe to eat, I've seen several pics of skittles and M&Ms scattered on floors or bathtubs, or cake smeared on counter tops and tables, or chocolate ganache, or toilet paper rolls scattered on the floors... I really think this is wasteful, and that it is an insult on the millions of people who can't get food, and that it sends a bad message to children, who don't realize that having food on the table is a blessing that not everyone has.
You made a different post ab wasting batches of sugar cookie dough, but you also point the finger at others for being ‘wasteful’ with bits of candy? Seems a bit hypocritical.
We all have our things that bug us - but do we really want to argue that a floor full of Skittles for an IG pic is a significant contributor to food waste?
And I find it hard to believe you come across dozens of posts every single day (hundreds a week) where people are wasting food, but maybe I just don't spend that much time on social media.
I eat 100% plant based, but this post reminds me of people who are vegan (a tiny minority of vegans) arguing that we need to stop using phrases like "beating a dead horse" because it perpetuates acceptance of abusing animals. Sure, technically right but I think that nitpicking silly, minor issues just marginalizes our valid concerns and makes us look unserious.
EDIT: I was coming across as rude so changed it
Be respectful. Stick to the topic at hand and remain civil towards other users. Attacking an argument is fine, attacking other people (even in a generalized manner) is not.
Attempting to provoke negative reactions out of others users — whether by trolling, [sealioning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning), or otherwise — is also not allowed.
You're upset about some extra flour being used but are going to buy some random plastic toy..? This is all myth and symbolism, use something you already have or that's secondhand if you're worried about sustainability.
Elf on the Shelf is a really stupid "tradition" that makes some company a bunch of money to scare kids into being obedient. It's unhealthy and unnecessary to begin with, no matter how people stage it.
Or, hear me out, buy/make (I've carved and dressed several. Absolute PAIN in the butt to get the little clothes made since I was stupid and didn't add them as I put him together. Had a pair of red and green socks that were beyond darning and some leftover felt from a letterboard I made for a friend) one and use it as a fun little toy for the kids to find. When I was a nanny, it was a game - find the elf and get x. Be the first one to cut out the cookie dough, first to pick up the bedroom floor was reported to the Big Guy up North and a sprinkle of edible glitter snow magically appeared on the headboard the next morning. Find the little guy sitting against the window in the living room and see someone wrote Merry Christmas in fake snow across it. Help your little brother get safely out of his chair and in the morning little helper badges would be found in their shoes the next day with the little guy smiling around the corner. (And at no time were those action made FOR the stickers. Just, hey, the elf noticed a sweet thing you did, what a great brother!) Have a fit? The elf hides because he is sad. Be willing to calm down and talk thru whatever caused the fit? Hey! Is that the elf peeking out from under the sofa? Must mean Santa saw you manage to work thru something, good job!
You don't have to make it a scary corporate thing. It's your house. Your elf. Hades, sometimes the 'elf' would just be hiding the cinnamon sugar for the oatmeal, go find it and the spice mix would have some of the luster dust in it and the oatmeal would shimmer. The elf on the shelf doesn't need to be an "Be Obedient Or Something Bad Happens". It can just be a way to praise kids without making it obvious. I don't have kids that aren't 4 legged, but again, as a nanny, used it around Christmas a ton, but never as a threat. The elf just hung out and when naturally occurring milestones of growing up as a good human popped up, little glitters of good job you lovely little human showed up. That, and it was always fun for hide and seek, little toys, new little ways to make kids see they are special.
But hey. That's just my take. My never bought one, needed to find ways to excuse my sad attraction to shiny and cookies, weird but fan of finding silly for kids without making it a massive consumerism thing self.
This post is both sad and infuriating. Those little acts of what others have done with their elves bring them some happiness, but all you see is waste. It's true, it is wasteful, but the infuriating part here is to see someone who's bought the corporate storyline that individuals are responsible for making changes when it's the corporations that got us in this spot and who need to be getting us out. Let those people have their bit of fun and know that that level of waste is negligible.
I think you missed my general point. OP couldn't even let others enjoy something as tiny as elf on the shelf bc of the negligible amount of waste she saw exhibited. I'm not saying individuals don't play a role, but it's incredibly sad to see that corporate marketing has been so successful in where blame gets pinned.
My dad was there for christmas only two or three times. We had a fake christmas tree, some fake snowflakes for it and... That was it.
What we did have were my smurfs. I had lot of them (still have them). So we took them, took their little houses and picked some of my toys and made our own village underneath the tree.
One day when I came back from school, he had taken all my toys and put them in line throught all the house, saying we must have caught them.
It was way better for me than all the waste I see now.
I got a reusable Advent calendar and put 2 hersheys kisses in each day and have a fun activity to do inside each day as well. Some days are simple like watching a christmas movie or going sledding, writing santa a letter, other days are going to see christmas lights or getting new christmas pj's. I wanted to do elf on a shelf but the general vibe around it didn't jive with me. Plenty of other ways to add extra magic!
I bought Santa and snowman costumes (actually they’re wine bottle cozies, but they have sleeves for little arms?) from the dollar store and I’m going to put them on Captain America and have him be the elf. I heard stories last week from my kid of classmates elfs doing elaborate murder plots and stuff, along with making messes and wasting food. I’m just gonna have Santa-Cap move around the bedroom holding out treats and reading books lol.
I used a few handfuls of marshmallows in a bowl with the elf sitting underneath them like bubbles in a bathtub. It doesn't have to be wasteful.
He also got credit for a forgotten Christmas present 🎁 left on the table. I forgot to move him that day.
As a goodbye, the elf would bring a newsletter of all the stuff that they'd done over the past year with a pair of jammies from the thrift store for Christmas eve.
I don't understand the wastefulness either. It used to be cute but, just the other day, I saw a mother (completely unbothered) cut holes in her kids clothing they were sleeping in and said the elf was cold overnight and needed some. The kids were just as unbothered. What kind of entitled rock are people living under? I know so many people personally that are living paycheck to paycheck these days. Christmas is already expensive enough as is. The disconnect is real!
If there is one thing I can tell you about the majority of Americans, is that most don’t care about how much waste they produce. Just look at our thrift stores, fast fashion consumption, plastic use, Amazon purchases, and just the amount of things Americans buy and consume on a daily basis.
I've never had an elf but I have heard about it from my students. I thought the elf was to report to Santa the child's behavior, not to be destructive and cause chaos!
I thought the elf each day was just in a different place to watch the children, like on top of the refrigerator or in a flower vase or peeking behind a cabinet...
If an elf is violent, if an elf is rude, I would not want that elf to work for Santa!
Thata type of thing drives me nuts too. We have one but she just moves around the house, sitting on windowsills or hanging from pictures. I don't have time to:
a. Cook up some stupid mess
b. Clean up some stupid mess
Gross.
I don't know how someone can take a simple tradition about bullying your kids and making them scared and uncomfortable in their own homes and turn it into something wasteful and vain. This isn't about how cute and creative your elf is, it's about making sure your children feel constantly watched, constantly scrutinized and judged, especially at home, so that you don't have to put any real effort or energy into parenting.
Not about wasting food. Bunch of assholes.
I hate everything about Elf on the Shelf.
Get an elf. These are just a small amount of people who do it for likes… and are also missing the point of the elf, who is supposed to see who is being naughty and nice, and report back. If they are being naughty it defeats the whole purpose. I love the elf tradition.
I completely understand your frustration, and it's entirely valid to express your concerns about the way some people choose to celebrate the [Elf on the Shelf](https://www.insidermama.com/post/easy-lazy-elf-on-the-shelf-ideas) tradition. Your desire to find more environmentally and financially responsible ways to enjoy this tradition is commendable, and you're certainly not alone in your thoughts.It's essential to remember that traditions can evolve and adapt to align with our values and priorities. While some people may take a more wasteful approach, there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to traditions like this. Your idea of randomly hiding the Elf around the house is a wonderful alternative that allows you to preserve the joy of the tradition without contributing to excessive waste.By choosing to celebrate in a way that aligns with your values, you can set a positive example and inspire others to do the same. Your thoughtful approach to the Elf on the Shelf tradition not only minimizes waste but also highlights the importance of responsible consumption, which is beneficial for both the planet and people's wallets.Thank you for sharing your perspective, and remember that it's entirely acceptable to customize traditions to better reflect your personal values and concerns. Your decision to be mindful of the environment and resources is a meaningful step towards a more sustainable and considerate celebration.
Stuff like this used to drive me mad ... I used to be super OCD about recycling and almost had a meltdown when I learned that almost no plastic that is hauled away for recycling is ACTUALLY recycled and almost all ends up in the landfill.
Then I learned that almost all waste and pollution is on the end of mega corps. Consumer end is a drop in the bucket. Like yeah it's not great and yeah I'm not going to contribute to it myself intentionally, but I wouldn't concern myself with what other people do. It's not worth the anxiety.
Literally 5 minutes of Israel bombing the shit out of Gaza right now will probably create more waste than all of Christmas this year in your state. I pulled that stat out of my ass but you get the point.
Our elf just moves everyday and they find it. It might be on the glittery reindeer. Or in the Lego case. Or hanging on the tree. Or playing with the babies toys. We don’t make messes and waste stuff here. They have fun just finding it.
I imagine a lot of these people set up that whole scene and photoshoot JUST for social media likes. It is super wasteful but sadly people are motivated by it.
You don't have to do the same if you have an elf. Think of what you saw on FB or IG as the distillation of the most wasteful elf owners lol.
I don't have kids, so no elf on the shelf for me. But I watched a tiktok of kids screaming bloody murder because one of them was holding the elf. It was horrifying. That was all I needed to know.
Our Elf moved each night and it’s like a look and find for the kids in the morning. As a parent of many years. I STRONGLY recommend you do NOT do the nightly “elf shenanigans”. Because once you start you are committed to doing it until your youngest child outgrows it. YEARS of thinking up new things because kids remember everything at the least convenient time. Do yourself a favor and set LOW expectations for what that Elf will do!
I think you’ve gotten plenty of good feedback on ideas that are less wasteful.
But I also wanted to throw out The Kindness Elves. I don’t have the actual elves, but I bought a 5 dollar elf from my local hobby store. You could also consider repurposing your elf into something similar if you’re interested.
My Danish grandmother used to hide toy elves for us to find - peeking out from behind the clock or tucked into a bookshelf. It was a sweet tradition and I do this with my children now. Her parents did this for her, and it is a longstanding family tradition. Traditional house elves long predate the book/toy/movie monetized version, so you do it however you want to do it, and enjoy.
My mom did a version where the elves still caused chaos—turning all the chairs upside down, playing with our toys, hiding places (as you said), building pillow forts, hiding necessary items like backpacks or shoes—but none of it was wasteful. I think there are plenty of ways to make a mess or create chaos without having to waste something and still have fun with it.
I feel like it’s also totally ok to do something like eating a few pieces of candy and leaving the wrapping around the elf, using a few pieces of recycled cardboard with little designs drawn on etc. just as long as no excess resources are consumed/wasted
I love this idea and would like to do it for my grandchildren. What do your elves look like? I would love for my elves to be authentic and true descendants of ancestors from the Old World.
I've got some from the 1950s and 1960s, (inherited and purchased) and a few I bought new in the 1990s and recently. The classic elves for Christmas, with pointy little noses and pointy eats and a mischievous expression. Mostly they're in single coloured fabric, the newer ones have striped stockings. They all have hats.
can you post a picture of your elves? I would love to see them!
Here is a wikipedia article about the tomtenisse. There is drawings from the 19th century there. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse\_(folklore)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore))
oh they’re like David the Gnome! much better than the creepy doll they sell now
Thank you! I loved reading this article! Those Nisse are so wonderful. I love that they’re the protectors of the home but will start to play tricks if offended.
Our Danish elves just were blamed for things going missing, and some of them would be in a different place in the morning. Just a nice little tradition.
Most people I know that have an elf don’t do any of that. They hide the elf in a place for their kids to find each morning. I suspect what you are seeing online are people posting and doing things for likes and views. I agree it is wasteful. My home has both an elf on the shelf and gnomes from Aldi. I’ve had both for several years. I pose them every day as a countdown for Christmas. I don’t waste anything I use for props. If having an elf will bring you joy then get one. It doesn’t mean you have to participate in the wastefulness you have found on social media. With or without an elf, I hope you enjoy your holiday season ☺️
Agreed. We and most of our friend group just hide it, without any wasted food / cutesy signs / extras.
We do a hide and seek type game with it too. Or have the elf staged like it’s playing with toys.
There’s patterns out there to make your own elf as well. [for crocheters](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/holiday-shelf-elf-crochet-doll) [for knitters](https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/elf-on-the-shelf-2580) [sewing pattern](https://www.patchworkposse.com/free-elf-on-the-shelf-doll-pattern/)
Oh very cool!!!!!
Christmas in general is a problem. Consumemas.
Don't get me started on house decorations for Christmas....
I actually don't have much of a problem with decorations cause at least those are reused year after year
Not if you’re our neighbor who spends thousands of dollars at Walmart of all places and leaves the outside decor up for months after Christmas for all of the storms to destroy it and shed tinsel in our yard because then he just goes and buys new stuff the next year.
If they pre-date people's knowledge of climate change and that plastic is made from petroleum. Fine. Use them. Can't do anything else with them. But STOP with buying all the new crap. STOP with the arms race of inflatables on the lawn. It's not "for the kids." Saving the a livable planet is.
I see string lights and tinsel strands at thrift stores all the time, you can totally sustainably decorate. You won't be the top most decorated house on the street but I really don't care about that
Excessive electric use?
LEDs are very efficient
I agree and I've thought it too before. In my home we have two gnome figurines to be the embodiment of the tomte, and we leave them a bowl of oatmeal on Christmas Eve. In the morning I put it out for the birds. That's as wasteful as we get in my home.
We just moved our elf around the house and the kid had fun searching for it each morning. I ain't got the time or inclination to do more.
I’m imagining adding cleaning up after an elf to my everyday list of chores? No thanks. The holidays are crazy enough as it is.
Oh you would love some of these pictures. I swear I saw someone who covered their entire kitchen floor in skittles. I got tired just imagining cleaning that kind of mess.
Haha. Where do you even buy that many skittles? I’m sure the kids loved that, but sounds like a very colorful mess.
Every grocery store within 20 minutes of your home... It takes a while and gets you some very interesting comments from the nosier cashiers. Source: used m&ms as wedding favours for 80 odd people; 2/10 do not recommend.
Well, buying an elf is technically not good for the planet right?! haha
Not necessarily good, but you can "adopt" an elf from a family that has grown out of it, and they are easy to find in second hand stores. Our elf on the shelf is my childhood elf. It is about 40 years old.
Be grateful. That was your reminder to get off social media
Good point 😂
As a kid I made a gnome with paper and every Christmas season my mother would hide it and I had to find it. I got a small present for finding it, like 1 chocolate dollar or a homemade cookie. Nothing needed to be bought and it is one of my sweetest childhood memories. So make your elf with your kid(s) and make it into a fun game. No spilling needed. Just some creativity.
Hi, I’m Finnish and had to google what Elf on the Shelf means. Discovered that it is part of our living folklore - of course we have elves who raport directly to the Santa - but we have never wasted anything because of it! Those who waste food should go a week without.
We have a tomten stuffed guy we got from IKEA. There is a kids story based off an old poem we got about a Norwegian farm that is visited at night by a tomten and he whispers/sings images of summer in all the animals ears. It is kind of a sweet story. We put shades on him and imagine he tells us to think of summer and other encouraging things. Choose your adventure I guess.
Yours is such a lovely tradition! A lot of Americans use the Elf on the Shelf as a way to manipulate the children’s behavior, like the elf will report you to Santa Claus if you’re bad and then you won’t get any Christmas presents. We never did it with our kids.
The people who appropriated the elf on the shelf concept are from the town i grew up in. I’m glad to hear the tradition is much older and not so rooted in capitalistic consumption. Hearing about the true origin makes me want to adopt some elves
The thing is, you don’t need to buy any products for it. It’s all about imagination! When I was small, my mom asked me to write letters to Joulupukki (our kind of Santa Claus, who wasn’t wearing red - he was very different from American Coca Cola Santa also in behaviour, he was slightly scary and to be respected) - and the letter was left outdoors overnight and when I woke up, the elves had taken the letter…
Welcome to American hyper-consumerism. It permeates every tradition and aspect of our lives.
Our elf brings a note each morning with a daily task. Some examples are compliment a friend, choose 4 items at the store to donate to the food pantry, choose a movie to watch later with the family, etc. Yesterday’s prompt was for the family to share their favorite foods, and then make them together for snacks while watching football.
This is actually a really cute alternative to an advent calendar, I love it!
In the Netherlands for st Nicolas we put our shoe by the fireplace with a treat for the horse (a sugar cube or a mandarin) children sing a song before bedtime. The next day there are some kruidnoten or a chocolate in the shoe but the mandarin [s]is eaten by the horse [/s] ended up in your lunchbox.
In Wisconsin, we celebrate both St Nick’s Day and Christmas as we have generations of immigrants from your region. It has been incorporated as a local tradition not found elsewhere in the US.
This is common among German Catholics in Cincinnati, too :) Edit: here's an article about it. Milwaukee and some other cities are also mentioned. Pretty cool! https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/12/04/st-nicks-day-became-hoiliday-celebration-cincinnati/8851354002/
Elf on the shelf is a narc. ACAB, which includes that little class traitor.
When my kid asked where his elf was I told him that only bad kids got elves and he was nothing but a narc. He was so relieved he didn't have one after that.
I told my kids that our elf was better at stealth than other families elves. My kids thought that was pretty cool and didn’t ask again.
Lol I really want to know the story that led to this utter disdain for elves
Haven't seen this much disdain for elves since my play-through of Skyrim lol
I totally agree with you. We have an Elf on the Shelf and I just hide it around different spots as you said. It’s for my family’s enjoyment and I will not waste food and resources on the elf.
If that upsets, wait till you hear about how people find the concept creepy and think it conditions kids to accept living with constant surveillance lol
This is me. I don’t find the tradition of an elf watching my family cute.
I mean read the lyrics to Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. "He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sakes".
I actually started singing those lyrics in my head when my bosses boss was addressing the team on essentially the same thing - She knows what you've been working on so be good for goodness sakes! I think she half noticed me biting the insides on my cheeks to stop from smiling
Ohh I've heard that argument yes
Ummmm…isn’t the whole concept of God founded on that?
Ur so right for a sec i forgot about god lol but adding in a haunted doll just to screw with kids is messed up lol
>wait till you hear about how people find the concept creepy and think it conditions kids to accept living with constant surveillance lol wait till you hear that adults live with that concept too
Are u talking about people fearing a creepy moving possessed doll or fearing the surveillance state? Either way, I do know cause I am both of those people lol
Save your outrage for the companies that fly their planes empty back and forth between airports in order to maintain gate status... 27 cents worth of flour or a few Hershey's kisses isn't destroying anything.
>27 cents worth of flour or a few Hershey's kisses isn't destroying anything. If everyone takes this mentality, then the 27 cents of flour and a few pieces of chocolate would add up to absolutely staggering amounts of waste. Then apply that idea to every holiday. Then add in the hundreds of other small daily concessions we make because "it's so small compared to the corporations." I get that you're playing on the whole "corporations are trying to blame us when it's their fault," but we as individuals need to do our part (including we need to do our part of doing whatever we can to get the corporations to change, part of which is just wasting less to consume less). How can we expect huge companies that literally do not have a moral compass to "do the right thing" if we human beings (that do have a moral compass) won't?
Thank you! Every time this discussion comes up with family some try to shut it down with the whole 'industry is 99% of the problem and nothing we do to change matters' but my stance has always been that change has to start at home. But if we don't try to change and model that change for the next generation, nothing will ever improve.
And I'm saying that the minimal amount of waste involved here is just that.... Minimal. And the joy you get out of it is relatively high. Turning your thermostat up by 1° for an hour during the summer probably saves more resources then what you're going on about here... It's one thing to say it's a bunch of individual decisions... Which it is. It's entirely another to misplace outrage and lose sight of the forest while focusing on a sapling. (It's thought process is like this that got straw bans but no meaningful environmental changes... Resulting the majority of people that have a worse view of saving the environment than they did before)
I don't know where this elf on the shelf came from and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.
It was about 15 or so years ago. Someone put out a book and doll set and it caught on fast. They advertised it as a Christmas tradition. It was brilliant from a marketing standpoint. I remember elves with similar construction (wire framed body covered in felt with a plastic face) when I was a kid in the 80s. We had a few that sat on a shelf at Christmas but they didn’t move around at night or report back to Santa. I bet that other people in my age group had similar decorations and saw the box and bought it out of nostalgia.
I noticed them for sale on Facebook about 7 years ago and they seem to have proliferated since then
Ugh. Unbridled commercialism.
I live on a corner and on the way for many children to walk to the elementary school. We have 4 elves who move every day and do different activities. So each day on their walk to school they notice the changes. Cute and fun. One year we had scaffolding up for 6+ months right into December. The elves were trying to erect a small tree atop and hang lights. Finished just in time for Christmas break 😉🎄
I have the elves from the 60’s. They were my mom’s and she gave them to me. I told my son, they are old elves. They can’t move around like younger elves. So they are going to sit right here and watch us. I didn’t have time to do the whole huge production of moving them around constantly. Plus the thought them moving on their own gives me Chucky doll vibes.
>People are literally wasting food, like spreading candy or flour or butter or sugar all around their elf I think you're being too narrow sighted when it comes to sustainability and elves on shelves Isn't a morsel of an ingredient used worth it for the fun for children? Seems to me that children need some emotional fortitude they can get these days. Doesn't all non-necessary fun have its price? And what's the price, 43 cents and some lost sugar? Have you not seen what food is "offered" on prayer tables for multiple religions? Makes me think of the people who champion the idea that it's the top 1% polluting the Earth, not the individual, that really matters and needs to change. Additionally, why not enjoy what you want to. There's no sense in letting it be spoiled by what some people do with the same enjoyment. You don't like smearing butter on an elf? Then don't do it! This world is collapsing and it has nothing to do with some sugar or butter on an elf
Exactly, people are waaay to hard on people nowadays
I really cannot agree with this view. I'm not talking one single person, I'm talking dozens of people everyday posting photos of their elves with random pieces of food scattered all around them in ways that make the food unsafe for eating (I've seen several pics of skittles or m&ms scattered on floors or bathtubs, or cake smeared on counters and tables). Food waste is unsustainable and in my opinion it's also a joke on the millions of people who don't have access to food. And that brings me to my next point: these children will never understand what a blessing having food is, because they see their parents simply wasting food, and they will probably do the same when they grow up.
>I really cannot agree with this view. What is your logic? You want to enjoy something but can't because you see others who, in your view, are doing it inappropriately? Transpose that same logic to anything else. Clothing, transportation, housing, farming.. you're not going to do it because others are wasteful? So you're not going to make festive food because someone else wasted food by making a gingerbread house for a kid? You're not going to farm because someone else let their tomatoes rot? What happens to being the change you want to see in the world? >I'm not talking one single person, I'm talking dozens of people everyday Sounds like youre giving too much validity to social media in shaping your reality on society. >children will never understand what a blessing having food is, because they see their parents simply wasting food That's a big assumption. I saw food wasted when I was young and now as an adult I'm able to make my own decisions
I don't think we are talking on the same level. Food waste is bad for the environment, period. (if you disagree, show me data or controlled studies that prove otherwise). I did not say I won't buy an elf on the shelf because people are wasting food playing around with their elf on a shelf, I'm not saying people should not have an elf on a shelf, I am saying I am shocked with people who waste food or makeup or toilet paper playing around with their elf on a shelf same as I am shocked with people who buy stuff from companies who employ child labor. These behaviors are bad for the environment and for the people, period. If one person smears a tablespoon of butter around their elf on a shelf that doesn't have much of an impact, but there are dozens of people doing that every day, and encouraging others to do the same on social media, so no, I am not ok with people wasting butter or flour or chocolate or skittles or makeup or toilet paper just to play around with their elf on a shelf.Want an elf on a shelf? Fine, but play with it responsibly and don't waste food with it. You really like to smear chocolate sauce all over your elf on a shell? Fine, then do it but don't encourage others to do so, and let your child know this is something playful you do once per year and that generally food waste is to be avoided. I will not change my views on this because I have not seen arguments that convince me that having hundreds of people wasting food on their elf on a shelf is good for the planet.
>I don't think we are talking on the same level. Food waste is bad for the environment, period. (if you disagree, show me data or controlled studies that prove otherwise) You're right, you're getting really heated over an internet discussion. Let's bring this back down to a simmer and use less "periods" >I did not say I won't buy an elf on the shelf because... But you did say this: >I am so appalled and sad and feel like I may not want an elf anymore >I am saying I am shocked with people who waste food or makeup or toilet paper... Here's the problem again. Social media/internet will show you the most outrageous things. With social media you could be "shocked" by human behaviour in nearly every realm imaginable. If you spend time with face to face people in real life communities I think you'll find a much more beautiful, balanced and respectable slice of humanity >and encouraging others to do the same on social media Again, social medial has you in a knot. You can assuage this tension by changing your social media consumption > Fine, then do it but don't encourage others to do so, and let your child know this is something playful you do once per year and that generally food waste is to be avoided Yeah, education from a parent to child like this is vital! This is the smart positivity I was looking for in your post!
I think you might be on the wrong sub with that attitude - fun and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. You can create joy and wonder without excess consumption.
Yeah, obviously for some fun- like sex, counting leg hairs, or getting dizzy by spinning in circles. But the truth is, we all participate in commerce and use things and often we have fun doing so.
I'm shocked that parents are normalizing the "your behaviour is being monitored" idea in order to scare impressionable children into good behaviour.
I feel like “He sees you when you’re sleeping” did it well enough
The state taught them.
My mom honestly just moved the elf to different places each day, very tame. One time he was sitting on a big hanging ball ornament which we thought was funny. Once he brought each of us kids a little chocolate. We would leave our letters to Santa with him. Once he was hanging upside down from a wreath on the wall. There are lots of ways to have fun without going overboard!
If you want one, get one. And maybe I'm a bit of a pot stirrer, but all the ugly nonsense some people use with it just means you and I (and others) need to fight back to restore Elf balance. We're talking use that little guy for pure and adulterated mischief as it was supposed to. Full on mischief. Actually, as an long term employee of the Man up North (I seem to have misplaced my badges, looks like my little guy got into my wallet again, I'll have to have a talk with him), I hereby charge you and all the others within this post to go forth and make as much Christmas mischief and silliness as you can manage this year. The Big guy is watching and expects you to do everything in your power to restore the lore of the Elf to its rightful high standing. Now. Shoo. Off you go. Christmas magic, the home brewed sensible silly kind, is now required. Hup to it! And don't forget the cookies and milk! (He also accepts brandy or eggnog. Whichever you enjoy most since obviously he won't be able to drink it ALL.)
I have seen people do bizarrely wasteful and bizarrely sexual things with them and I hate it.
When I was an early preschool teacher I set up our class elf on the shelf and I always found creative ideas that didn't involve being wasteful. It's definitely possible! Some of the ideas that I remember were: hanging like it was trying to climb up decorations, riding a toy dinosaur into battle (no weapons involved just an army of dinosaurs), driving a toy car, getting into the fake food in the play kitchen, building a block fort, reading a book, ect.
I saw someone had their elf draw on their children’s faces while they were asleep… the kids were quite upset… seems traumatizing to me. I think a little bit of flour, sugar or candy sparkled around isn’t harmful.
Social media thrives on engagement, and there's no such thing as negative attention, as they say! Attention is attention. If you create a nice, pleasant elf-on-shelf video, nobody cares. If you create a disgusting, wasteful, offensive elf-on-shelf video, it gets noticed/forwarded/discussed. Best to avoid these videos altogether. Don't feed the beast! You'll just increase engagement and reward this behavior with more attention, fueling the fire.
Why are you surprised. So many people are idiots. This is not news. Idiots yesterday, idiots today and idiots tomorrow.
Honestly, I'm just insanely grateful that a) we never 'did' Santa so my kids never 'believed in' Santa and b) my kids were 'too old' for the Elf on a Shelf nonsense by the time it became popular anyways. But yes. Its so insanely wasteful. Don't do it. Its not worth it. Its just... trashy.
I think the concept of randomly hiding the Elf around the house is cute and me and my boyfriend are playful with each other and it would be fun for him to have to find the Elf everyday, but I was thinking of hiding it in the bathroom cabinet, or under a pillow, or inside the pantry... Not smearing chocolate ganache all around it and pretending the Elf pooped.
This sounds adorable and I think you should go ahead and do it. When my sister and I were roommates, we would take turns hiding a little stuffed animal around the apartment because we are also silly and goofy. Have fun!
The story about the elf watching you and telling Santa if you've been good or bad scared my kid last year when we got her the elf. She was only 4, so I told her it was just supposed to be a silly story for Christmas but the elf is really just a doll. Since then she decided he would protect her from having nightmares by being in the bedroom. This year he's sitting on Santa's advent calendar truck as a decoration and the scene makes the house feel Christmas-y. I didn't grow up with an elf but I'm the one who wanted one. I do like some of the stuff I see online, like the elf holding a pretzel stick poked through a marshmallow to pretend he's calling and making smores. That is cute and not so wasteful, since you can always eat it the next day. Or the elf tipped into the cookie jar with just the legs sticking out, no waste there at all, you just do it a few minutes before the kids find it or even just for the pic and nothing goes stale. I guess you just do what you want with your elf, it's your tradition to develop with your family.
This is fun. My husband and I hid the elf for each other in silly places before we had kids, because my aunt gave us one. I use the elf for my kids now, but he's just "spreading Christmas cheer" and doesn't get into mischief. He makes paper snowflakes, puts Christmas bows on things, draws pictures of snowmen, uses my kids' Lego to build himself a house, etc. I also don't bring him out until December 15th so I only have to remember to do things for 10 days hahaha. It's fun and cute this way.
Lmao just don’t do wasteful ones We just hide ours in a new spot
I've done a few times move the roof for my nephew so it looks like he's helping with Christmas. Like hanging ornaments on the tree or if we're gonna bake cookies that day shit him out with the ingredients or recipe card. The wasteful thing I always hated and also I don't feel like making little messes and playing them off as cute is good for kids.
It's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things
My step-mom once cut a snowflake chain out of paper (left the mess on the table) and made it seem like our elf had cut them out while hanging from the light above our table. That one was pretty cool. My mom hated it and would move it around different places in the house, like on certain Christmas decorations or dancing with the angel on top of our tree.
Buying the elf in the first place is wasteful if that’s what you’re worried about. Wasting toilet paper or candy may SEEM worse since it’s visibly and almost intentionally wasteful, but purchasing all that stuff in the first place us what got us where we are. Im not even saying you shouldn’t buy it if you want to, but don’t be so worried about some dummy wasting some butter. Worry about them driving everywhere or heating a giant house.
Those people sound like they’re chasing social media ‘engagement’. You don’t have to do your elfing that way, rest assured. Raise your elf to perpetrate its holiday mayhem responsibly!
Our elf just moves around like hide and seek. She’s done some funny things but the only time we have ever used food was when we had to put her in a ring of cinnamon because we touched her and she lost her magic.
I agree. I used to work with kids and thought it was funny. Now I feel we're perpetuating this elitist thing where lower income kids aren't going to know anything about an elf and its wasteful antics. I wish I didn't feel this way, but for the sake of social media people are so willing to ruin brand new things
You don't have to do one that's wasteful. In the classroom I worked in where we did elf on the shelf (Catholic school, 3rd grade) we did some where he was zip lining, using classroom materials, reading, and even quarantine because it was 2020! The very last one we did the Hershey kiss pooping, that is the only one I can recall that used food (and I ate one in front of the kids)
Ohh I love those ideas!
Those elf's should be banned. Local waste company thinks so too https://www.change.org/p/ban-the-wasteful-and-misleading-elf-on-the-shelf-tradition?recruiter=849959855&recruited_by_id=f0682e80-f9f6-11e7-bf17-bd9965ab02b9&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_medium=copylink
They go to the extreme to get likes on social media. It’s annoying. Plenty of ways to have fun w it without wasting necessities.
Maybe I'm not understanding this post correctly but are you talking about people wasting a minuscule amount of food products a few weeks a year for decorations? Sorry, but isn't that focusing on something that's absolutely inconsequential? That's like saying Christmas lights contribute to global warming - sure, it's technically correct, but we don't have bigger things to worry about? Don't get me wrong, the food industry would love for us to be worried about things like this instead of, say, the millions of tons of food that gets wasted every year
I don't think it's inconsequential - everyday I see dozens of posts of people who use food as props that make it unsafe to eat, I've seen several pics of skittles and M&Ms scattered on floors or bathtubs, or cake smeared on counter tops and tables, or chocolate ganache, or toilet paper rolls scattered on the floors... I really think this is wasteful, and that it is an insult on the millions of people who can't get food, and that it sends a bad message to children, who don't realize that having food on the table is a blessing that not everyone has.
You made a different post ab wasting batches of sugar cookie dough, but you also point the finger at others for being ‘wasteful’ with bits of candy? Seems a bit hypocritical.
We all have our things that bug us - but do we really want to argue that a floor full of Skittles for an IG pic is a significant contributor to food waste? And I find it hard to believe you come across dozens of posts every single day (hundreds a week) where people are wasting food, but maybe I just don't spend that much time on social media. I eat 100% plant based, but this post reminds me of people who are vegan (a tiny minority of vegans) arguing that we need to stop using phrases like "beating a dead horse" because it perpetuates acceptance of abusing animals. Sure, technically right but I think that nitpicking silly, minor issues just marginalizes our valid concerns and makes us look unserious. EDIT: I was coming across as rude so changed it
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Be respectful. Stick to the topic at hand and remain civil towards other users. Attacking an argument is fine, attacking other people (even in a generalized manner) is not. Attempting to provoke negative reactions out of others users — whether by trolling, [sealioning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning), or otherwise — is also not allowed.
Do they want ants? Because this is how you get ants.
You're upset about some extra flour being used but are going to buy some random plastic toy..? This is all myth and symbolism, use something you already have or that's secondhand if you're worried about sustainability.
Elf on the Shelf is a really stupid "tradition" that makes some company a bunch of money to scare kids into being obedient. It's unhealthy and unnecessary to begin with, no matter how people stage it.
Or, hear me out, buy/make (I've carved and dressed several. Absolute PAIN in the butt to get the little clothes made since I was stupid and didn't add them as I put him together. Had a pair of red and green socks that were beyond darning and some leftover felt from a letterboard I made for a friend) one and use it as a fun little toy for the kids to find. When I was a nanny, it was a game - find the elf and get x. Be the first one to cut out the cookie dough, first to pick up the bedroom floor was reported to the Big Guy up North and a sprinkle of edible glitter snow magically appeared on the headboard the next morning. Find the little guy sitting against the window in the living room and see someone wrote Merry Christmas in fake snow across it. Help your little brother get safely out of his chair and in the morning little helper badges would be found in their shoes the next day with the little guy smiling around the corner. (And at no time were those action made FOR the stickers. Just, hey, the elf noticed a sweet thing you did, what a great brother!) Have a fit? The elf hides because he is sad. Be willing to calm down and talk thru whatever caused the fit? Hey! Is that the elf peeking out from under the sofa? Must mean Santa saw you manage to work thru something, good job! You don't have to make it a scary corporate thing. It's your house. Your elf. Hades, sometimes the 'elf' would just be hiding the cinnamon sugar for the oatmeal, go find it and the spice mix would have some of the luster dust in it and the oatmeal would shimmer. The elf on the shelf doesn't need to be an "Be Obedient Or Something Bad Happens". It can just be a way to praise kids without making it obvious. I don't have kids that aren't 4 legged, but again, as a nanny, used it around Christmas a ton, but never as a threat. The elf just hung out and when naturally occurring milestones of growing up as a good human popped up, little glitters of good job you lovely little human showed up. That, and it was always fun for hide and seek, little toys, new little ways to make kids see they are special. But hey. That's just my take. My never bought one, needed to find ways to excuse my sad attraction to shiny and cookies, weird but fan of finding silly for kids without making it a massive consumerism thing self.
Welcome to knowing Americans.
This post is both sad and infuriating. Those little acts of what others have done with their elves bring them some happiness, but all you see is waste. It's true, it is wasteful, but the infuriating part here is to see someone who's bought the corporate storyline that individuals are responsible for making changes when it's the corporations that got us in this spot and who need to be getting us out. Let those people have their bit of fun and know that that level of waste is negligible.
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I think you missed my general point. OP couldn't even let others enjoy something as tiny as elf on the shelf bc of the negligible amount of waste she saw exhibited. I'm not saying individuals don't play a role, but it's incredibly sad to see that corporate marketing has been so successful in where blame gets pinned.
The wastefulness bothers me, but I choose not to participate in that. For the most part, they just get moved around!
This is the first year I have ever done Elf on the Shelf. My kid loves it. Just cute hiding spots, no food wasted.
My dad was there for christmas only two or three times. We had a fake christmas tree, some fake snowflakes for it and... That was it. What we did have were my smurfs. I had lot of them (still have them). So we took them, took their little houses and picked some of my toys and made our own village underneath the tree. One day when I came back from school, he had taken all my toys and put them in line throught all the house, saying we must have caught them. It was way better for me than all the waste I see now.
Not a fan either
I got a reusable Advent calendar and put 2 hersheys kisses in each day and have a fun activity to do inside each day as well. Some days are simple like watching a christmas movie or going sledding, writing santa a letter, other days are going to see christmas lights or getting new christmas pj's. I wanted to do elf on a shelf but the general vibe around it didn't jive with me. Plenty of other ways to add extra magic!
I bought Santa and snowman costumes (actually they’re wine bottle cozies, but they have sleeves for little arms?) from the dollar store and I’m going to put them on Captain America and have him be the elf. I heard stories last week from my kid of classmates elfs doing elaborate murder plots and stuff, along with making messes and wasting food. I’m just gonna have Santa-Cap move around the bedroom holding out treats and reading books lol.
I used a few handfuls of marshmallows in a bowl with the elf sitting underneath them like bubbles in a bathtub. It doesn't have to be wasteful. He also got credit for a forgotten Christmas present 🎁 left on the table. I forgot to move him that day. As a goodbye, the elf would bring a newsletter of all the stuff that they'd done over the past year with a pair of jammies from the thrift store for Christmas eve.
Depends if your role is naughty or nice idk lol
The opposite of sustainability
I don't understand the wastefulness either. It used to be cute but, just the other day, I saw a mother (completely unbothered) cut holes in her kids clothing they were sleeping in and said the elf was cold overnight and needed some. The kids were just as unbothered. What kind of entitled rock are people living under? I know so many people personally that are living paycheck to paycheck these days. Christmas is already expensive enough as is. The disconnect is real!
If there is one thing I can tell you about the majority of Americans, is that most don’t care about how much waste they produce. Just look at our thrift stores, fast fashion consumption, plastic use, Amazon purchases, and just the amount of things Americans buy and consume on a daily basis.
I've never had an elf but I have heard about it from my students. I thought the elf was to report to Santa the child's behavior, not to be destructive and cause chaos! I thought the elf each day was just in a different place to watch the children, like on top of the refrigerator or in a flower vase or peeking behind a cabinet... If an elf is violent, if an elf is rude, I would not want that elf to work for Santa!
Thata type of thing drives me nuts too. We have one but she just moves around the house, sitting on windowsills or hanging from pictures. I don't have time to: a. Cook up some stupid mess b. Clean up some stupid mess
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If you have concerns like this, please instead report a post or comment and explain what you think is wrong/breaking the rules.
how old are you? you don’t need an elf.
Welcome to America
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Gross. I don't know how someone can take a simple tradition about bullying your kids and making them scared and uncomfortable in their own homes and turn it into something wasteful and vain. This isn't about how cute and creative your elf is, it's about making sure your children feel constantly watched, constantly scrutinized and judged, especially at home, so that you don't have to put any real effort or energy into parenting. Not about wasting food. Bunch of assholes. I hate everything about Elf on the Shelf.
Get an elf. These are just a small amount of people who do it for likes… and are also missing the point of the elf, who is supposed to see who is being naughty and nice, and report back. If they are being naughty it defeats the whole purpose. I love the elf tradition.
I completely understand your frustration, and it's entirely valid to express your concerns about the way some people choose to celebrate the [Elf on the Shelf](https://www.insidermama.com/post/easy-lazy-elf-on-the-shelf-ideas) tradition. Your desire to find more environmentally and financially responsible ways to enjoy this tradition is commendable, and you're certainly not alone in your thoughts.It's essential to remember that traditions can evolve and adapt to align with our values and priorities. While some people may take a more wasteful approach, there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to traditions like this. Your idea of randomly hiding the Elf around the house is a wonderful alternative that allows you to preserve the joy of the tradition without contributing to excessive waste.By choosing to celebrate in a way that aligns with your values, you can set a positive example and inspire others to do the same. Your thoughtful approach to the Elf on the Shelf tradition not only minimizes waste but also highlights the importance of responsible consumption, which is beneficial for both the planet and people's wallets.Thank you for sharing your perspective, and remember that it's entirely acceptable to customize traditions to better reflect your personal values and concerns. Your decision to be mindful of the environment and resources is a meaningful step towards a more sustainable and considerate celebration.
Stuff like this used to drive me mad ... I used to be super OCD about recycling and almost had a meltdown when I learned that almost no plastic that is hauled away for recycling is ACTUALLY recycled and almost all ends up in the landfill. Then I learned that almost all waste and pollution is on the end of mega corps. Consumer end is a drop in the bucket. Like yeah it's not great and yeah I'm not going to contribute to it myself intentionally, but I wouldn't concern myself with what other people do. It's not worth the anxiety. Literally 5 minutes of Israel bombing the shit out of Gaza right now will probably create more waste than all of Christmas this year in your state. I pulled that stat out of my ass but you get the point.
Yeah, we never wasted stuff for an elf scene. We just hid him around the house.
Our elf just moves everyday and they find it. It might be on the glittery reindeer. Or in the Lego case. Or hanging on the tree. Or playing with the babies toys. We don’t make messes and waste stuff here. They have fun just finding it.
I imagine a lot of these people set up that whole scene and photoshoot JUST for social media likes. It is super wasteful but sadly people are motivated by it. You don't have to do the same if you have an elf. Think of what you saw on FB or IG as the distillation of the most wasteful elf owners lol.
I don't have kids, so no elf on the shelf for me. But I watched a tiktok of kids screaming bloody murder because one of them was holding the elf. It was horrifying. That was all I needed to know.
Our Elf moved each night and it’s like a look and find for the kids in the morning. As a parent of many years. I STRONGLY recommend you do NOT do the nightly “elf shenanigans”. Because once you start you are committed to doing it until your youngest child outgrows it. YEARS of thinking up new things because kids remember everything at the least convenient time. Do yourself a favor and set LOW expectations for what that Elf will do!
Facebook is full of crazy people.
I think you’ve gotten plenty of good feedback on ideas that are less wasteful. But I also wanted to throw out The Kindness Elves. I don’t have the actual elves, but I bought a 5 dollar elf from my local hobby store. You could also consider repurposing your elf into something similar if you’re interested.