Elf on the Shelf

Photo by Misty Ladd on Unsplash

I work in a school. One of the students was telling me all about her family’s Elf on the Shelf. He’s apparently very silly. He hides in the dog’s bed, hangs from the light fixtures, and even hung out in the microwave one morning. That sounds dangerous to me, but who am I to tell an elf how to do his job? And the student seems to really enjoy the elf’s antics.

There were no shelf elves when I was a kid. I can’t quite figure out where they came from and how they fit into Christmas. What happened since my childhood that would make Santa need the help? Can he still see when we’re sleeping? Does he still know if we’ve been bad or good? If so, the elves are superfluous. If not, what happened? With the technological advances of recent decades, the elves seem even less necessary. Our phones are already tracking everything we do. Can’t Santa have access to that data?

I should probably know better than to question Santa. I’m sure he has his reasons. Maybe he’s doing his part to fix the unemployment problem. Maybe it’s part of the training for jobs in the workshop. Maybe the elves just have a lot of fun doing it. I like that one best. The elves are having some fun. They work hard all year. They deserve it. Santa must be the world’s best boss.

8 thoughts on “Elf on the Shelf

    1. I didn’t do it for my kid because I didn’t want the extra work. I admire the parents who can pull it off, though.

  1. I love looking at the photos my friends share of their Elf on a Shelf shenanigans! They get so creative and their children seem to really love it. I never had anything like that growing up either so it seems like a fun way to bring in the festivities!

  2. I’m also a teacher. My kids love Elfie and are always highly amused by his antics. When they arrive in school tomorrow they will find he has eaten rather lots of chocolates.

    1. I’m in a middle school, so most of the kids have grown out of it. We do keep an elf in the special ed classroom though. He’s popular there.

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