Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition

I love that it came with a cover in a box so every year we can store it away no problem. Well made hasn't fallen apart at all.

Our three year old twins are getting old enough where they are starting to understand certain concepts so we thought this Christmas would be the perfect year to purchase an Elf on the Shelf. They loved it and had so much fun with it! I believe Elf on the Shelf is a relatively new tradition but I love the look of the scout elf because he has the look of a 1950s figurine. Included in the very sturdy and reusable box is the elf and a colorful, hardcover storybook which explains in a rhyming, storytelling manner how to use the Elf on the Shelf. The elf itself is approximately 13 inches tall, fully-extended, and his outfit feels like it is made of a felt-like material. His body is stuffed with plastic pellets and his head is made of hard plastic with nicely painted-on facial features. He doesn't sit very well by himself but there are plenty of ways to prop him up. His hands are also stitched together which makes it fun to dangle him from a doorknob, chandelier, or any other fun spot you can think of!The storybook is a beautiful hardcover with colorful pictures and the book reads like a rhyme. It is approximately 26 pages long and explains how the Elf on the Shelf works. The idea behind it is the scout elf is sent to your family each year and will keep an eye on the children on behalf of Santa. You get to name the elf and he will continue to be your family's scout elf. At night, the elf will fly to the North Pole to report good and/or naughty behavior, then fly back to the family where he will get into something during the night and the children will wake up the next morning, excited to find him! The elf is always watching and the only rule is that the elf can't be touched otherwise the magic will disappear. When the elf flies back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, he won't return to your family until the next Christmas season.I really love this activity for my kids and felt that, at almost three years old, it was the perfect age to introduce this to them! My kids always got so excited to look for our elf in the morning and kept asking throughout the day why he was trying to get out the door or why he was hanging from the Christmas tree. I was also very impressed with how well my kids listened to the rule and they never touched him. Whenever they started acting up, I would tell them our elf is watching and we don't want him to have to report any naughty behavior to Santa. It didn't always work but hey, I tried. Overall, I think this is a great activity for families and I felt it was very reasonably priced for the amount of fun we had. I highly recommend this to give your kids something to look forward to every morning during the Christmas season!

Super fun Christmas tradition. My kids look forward to their elf returning every year ok December 1st. Elf is sturdy and good quality.

I got this two Christmases ago for my son to start the elf on the shelf tradition. The book came in excellent condition. The elf did too. The elf is still holding up well. My son is obsessed with the elf on the shelf.

I love that this comes with a book that tells the story of what elf on the shelf is. It's easy for storage going into the next year. Ours is in place and ready for this holiday season. We started using this when my daughter was 2 and she had fun with it. I feel like she'll be even more excited this season at 3 where she can be more involved in understanding the story and what "elf" does.

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 didn't 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 didn't 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 Christmas's of pure magic/wonder- lets embrace it and kindle that spirit.