The Christmas season is quickly approaching. Christmas trees will be going up soon and elves will begin arriving from the North Pole.
Wait?!? What?!? You haven’t heard of Elf on the Shelf?
Elf on the Shelf is an elf and book set by Carol Aebersold. On Thanksgiving night, your elf arrives in your home directly from the North Pole. The elf bring with them the book Elf on the Shelf which tells their story and their purpose of being in your home. Each night while your children sleep, your elf visits the North Pole to report your child’s behavior directly to Santa himself. He then returns to your home and picks a new, unique hiding place.
My children have so much fun waking up each morning and hunting for their elf.
You can go here and order your own Elf on the Shelf set for $29.95 shipped. Or you could get creative and find your own elf and make up your own story!
I’ll be sure to post some pictures of our elves’ unique hiding places! One of our favorite places is when one of the elves get stuck inside the fridge.
Jill says
I bought one last year at Target at 70% off. They did have a few of them so be on the look out!!!
Diana says
I wonder if these will go on sale after Christmas? If I can find one then, I’ll put it away for next year when my little one is three and can appreciate it more anyway. What a great idea!
Nicole says
I have not heard of this. BUT….it made me think of an elf my dad has that looks similar to these that my grandma made out of a toilet paper tube and felt. If you are crafty (which I am not!) Could be a cheap alternative.
Kacie says
We’ve never done it before but over the summer I found a tutorial on-line on making a girly Elf out of a Rosetta (Disney Fairy) Barbie sized doll. Having 2 girls I was all about that! Then I found a blog that does a “North Pole Breakfast” to welcome the Elf and we will def. be doing that. With all the ideas on-line I’m super excited!
Sheryl says
We’ve had Elf on the shelf for about three years now for my two grandchildren who lives with us. Her name is Holly and even though she’s not that pretty for a girl she does the trick. The hardest part is remembering to put her in a different place each night. Holly returns on Thanksgiving and my two grandchildren are already looking for her return this year. Worth every penny we spent!
Erin says
Hi Kristin, I would love to have an Elf for my 2 and 4 year old. Last year and this year it has just not been finacially feasible. Could you please keep me and your other followers up to date on current deals, sales, and coupons related to Elf on the Shelf. Thank you, the Russells.
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
I will definitely post if I see a deal on it!
Erin says
Thanks Kristin, you are the best.
Robin says
We do Randall the Reindeer. The story and the reindeer was only $12. I’m a sucker for a deal and my maiden name is Randall. Win, win!
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
Aw, cute! :)
Leah says
Just got it today, and to everyone saying its “creepy” Its really not. Its super cute! I have it on the shelf. So cute !
elisha says
Pottery Barn Kids catalog has this for $26, the website says $29, but customer service said when I called to input the catalog item number on the website. There is also free shipping on this item. I bought mine at Barnes & Noble with my membership (10% off) and I had a 20% off coupon (received via email). Can’t wait to have my elf appear on Thursday!
Suzanne says
We do something similar, though not with an elf doll. We have a decorative wooden advent box with little doors for each day in December, and if the kids are good the “Elves” bring little treat to the kids to find in the door each day of December ( usually trinket, coins, candy) if the item is too big for the box ( like a Pez candy dispenser) the elf will draw a picture of something in the house where to look. the kids get a kick out of the “Elf Treasure Maps’ as they call them. We also have a North Pole Mail ox where the elves deliver letters to Santa that the klids write, and sometimes the elves leave their own letters to the kids. This also makes the kids ahre, as only 1 item is left per day, so they have to negotiate with each other who gets what treat, and why.
Crystal E says
We do Christopher Pop In Kins…he is so cute and not creepy looking like the other one…my boys love him. He is also cheaper on Amazon.
Jen says
I had never heard of Elf on the shelf until this year. Ours should be arriving any day. I took advantage of the 50% off one item that B&N had the other day and scored it for $14.95. Can’t wait..My kids have no idea that he is coming but write notes to the elf every night before they go to bed.
Renee says
I just bought Christopher Pop-kins elf from Amazon. He is way more bendable than the Elf on the Shelf
Andrea says
So do you get one for each child? I have never heard of this but I want 1 or maybe 4?!?!?! My kids are 9, 7, 5, and 9 mos. Just wondering what you all do.
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
I would say you could do it either way… you probably don’t need more than 1 though. :)
Christy G. says
I would say make it easy on yourself and just get one. I think one will be enough work. :)
hallie says
I am 25 and my mom purchased mine and my sister’s elves when we were born. It was just the elf, no book. My aunt’s also had elves at their houses to “watch us” when we were over there. But you better believe that elf made us do stuff we would normally say no or flat out no to. (like help do dishes or whatnot) We wrote notes to our elves and they wrote little notes back too. Our elves are about 1 inch tall so they had lots of hiding spaces. It is deffinitely worth doing, for all you parents out there!. My sister and I still have our elves and a few of the notes too!
Tonya says
This will be our 3rd Christmas with our Elf Charlie. Last year he showed up in our hotel room at Disney. My Daughter who is now six loves her Charlie. She named him after the character Charlie on “The Santa Clause”. We have so much fun with Charlie. My husband is quite the prankster so he has a blast coming up with new ideas for Charlie. This year my friend who has twin boys has already ask my daughter to see if Charlie will ask Santa to send a elf friend to her house for her boys. She has already purchased her elf and a few days after my daughter talks to Charlie…she is going to bring out her elf.
Cassie says
We use one of these too! Ours is a little different from the one in the picture, he’s all cloth. :)
Megan says
I’d love to put a more spiritual twist on this to keep the meaning of Christmas in focus for the kids. We do Santa and all, but try to make sure that’s not the main focus. Any suggestions?
Gia says
We just ordered ours through Barnes & Noble the other day and I had a 50% off coupon online. I paid $15 for it PLUS got FREE shipping! Wohooo!!
Leah D says
I did that deal too! I was not going to pay $30 for it so I am glad I got it so cheap! CAn’t wait to start the tradition
Erin says
We started this tradition last year with our 3 year old son. He has been talking for a month already about having “Buddy the elf” come back for Christmas. He loves finding him in a new hiding place everyday!
Cindy says
I bought this and tried it last Christmas, with my then 4 year old son. He liked the book, but when the elf appeared, he was scared of him. Wouldn’t even go in the room with him. So I had to contact Santa that night and ask him to have the elf go back home. And it wasn’t because he was scared that the elf would see him doing something, he is rarely in trouble or does anything bad. He was just really scared that it just showed up in our house.
Dawn says
We all do Elf on a Shelf!! We all LOVE him!! I got each one of my sister’s one to do with their children as well. So now my WHOLE family does it! They make the best gifts too!!
Amie says
We have done it for the past 2 years in our house, and even though my 9 year old doesn’t believe in Santa every day she has been saying that it’s one day closer until the Elf on the Shelf comes on Thanksgiving…great tradition!
Kimberly says
Don’t know if it is still going on, but late last week if you “liked” Barnes and Noble on facebook, they gave a 50% off the list price of any book online. I used mine to buy the Elf on the Shelf set and signed up for the free two month membership trial to get free shipping on it. Total cost was $15!!!!
Shelley says
Not anymore :( I just liked them and I got nothing :( I just can’t stomach the $30! Not to mention the fact my 7 yr old has made it SUPER Clear there is no santa :( I’m afraid he will tell his siblings and it would be pointless and a waste of money :( He will look you in the face (regarding santa) and says that’s not telling the truth. Eek. I SO want to do it though…its so cute!!
Denise says
I actually have a question, if anybody can tell me where I can find pictures of the elf on the shelf in different activities at the North Pole. I print some out last year and my computer broke and I don’t remember the website.
Help!!!
CC says
my daughter got it from my sister and she talks to “Twinkle” our elf by herself its sooooo cute and creepy at the same time!
Careen says
Okay Kristin, I have now read about and blogged about this post. You can check it out here: “Oh What Fun….”.
Thank you for sharing this really cute Family Tradition. We can’t wait for our elf to arrive and begin sharing in the Christmas Spirit with us. :-)
Stacy says
We are doing this for the first year this year. I’m trying to think of how the elf will arrive. We go to my parents for Thanksgiving, I may give it to them there, have my parents involved in it someway saying they got this in the mail for them or something. I think my oldest is onto the santa bit, but I have 2 younger ones, so I really want my oldest to fess up so he can help me w/the elf fun! He’d have a ball setting it all up :)
tricia says
LOVE LOVE LOVE having the “elf on a shelf” come for the holiday. I bought a cuter elf and borrowed the book to copy the story from. We have a new little helper to hide the elf this year… still have 2 believers though! A lot of boys in our house and we have the toilet issue- you know what I mean! SO the elf was perched on the back of the toilet watching that the boys got it in the toilet one morning- my other favorite was when the elf was on top of the ceiling fan in the kitchen watching to make sure they ate well and didnt fight at the dinner table. happy hiding to all!
Julie says
We also do Elf on the Shelf, but in a different sort of way.
Check out my website to see our Elf recap and pictures!!
http://merrylittlechristmas.blogspot.com/
Renee McD says
Don’t see anything related to pics here but just a handprint tree – what am I missing?
Christy G. says
I couldn’t find anything about the Elf on your site.
Terra says
We have the same tradition with elves ~ just not Elf on the Shelf ~ we wrote letters to Santa and he sent us elves from Elf Magic. My 11 year old ask Santa for her 8 years ago and she still comes to visit every year. And when my youngest was born we wrote a letter to Santa to send baby sister her very own elf…and the day after Thanksgiving we had 2 elves that lived with us until Christmas night when Santa picked them up. These little elves are very busy when we go to bed…our elves have done some crazy things in the past ~ such as playing in the flour and making snow angels….rolling the Christmas tree with toilet paper….making popcorn and watching movies….painting dads toenails and putting makeup on dad because he fell asleep on the couch and they could not watch TV….the list goes on and on…its hard for those elves to come up with new and fun things to do each night since they have been visiting for so long…but they never disappoint…but they are part of our family now…and when my oldest had to change schools she sent a letter to santa and santa sent “Lucy” the elf for a special visit so she would have a special friend at her new school…
Check out http://www.elf-magic.com – we love our elves and they bring so much fun to our family…
Bethany says
We do elves here too (Melvin & Kelvin are their names). They are not the Elf on a SHelf but a couple of cute elves I got at Joann’s last year. They have ceramic faces, hands and feet with bendy arms and legs. The girls have already started to ask if they will be coming back this year!
Kelli Sanchez says
I bought the Elf on the Shelf a week ago at Borders with my 40% off coupon…took it from $29.99 to $17.99! Woo-hoo! My daughter is so excited to do this…we have already went online and “named” our Elf; she is known as Carly now :-)
Denise says
Is there any more coupons, I want to get one for my kiddies but $30 seems high
Melissa says
No offense to all you elf lovers, but I have to agree w/Amanda. I think the elf on a shelf elves are a little creepy looking. We got our elves from elf-magic.com. I think those are a little sweeter looking, and the website has lots of good ideas to get you started. My girls just love waiting for their elves to come, and it has been a much-loved tradition in our house for many years!
amanda b says
I don’t love the way he looks, kinda think he’s creepy. I saw a knock off but with the same idea-cannot remember its name for the life of me. But he was cuter, anyway!
Bree says
Perhaps the ones at elf-magic.com would work better? They look less real, but you won’t have that puppetmaster features that the real one seems to have.
Dawn says
I’ve always been tempted to buy this, but haven’t because of the cost. Inspired by your post, I just used my Borders coupon for 33% off any item to get it for $20. Can’t wait to start this tradition! :)
Denise says
What coupon was that and I would love to get one for that? HELP
Shelley says
I need that coupon too!! The cost has been my hesitation for several years too, but Id be willing to do $20!
April says
OH KRISTIN! We love Elf on The Shelf. Mistletoe is our elf. We started it two years ago and Mistletoe is sitting on my shelf currently in my closet. And I can not wait to bust him out this year, Grant loved it last year but Gabe is going to truly enjoy it this time. I can’t wait to check out the link to unique hiding places. Grant’s favorite is in the Christmas Tree – we had him hanging upside down one day last year and Grant just cracked up all day looking at him.
And if nothing else, it makes them behave because Mistletoe will report to Santa. Last year Mistletoe even brought a letter with him from Santa because of an incident we had. And don’t think this momma won’t bring Mistletoe all the way from the north pole in the middle of July if we have issues!
Kathie M says
I’ve never done this but he looks just like an elf we always had at home when I was little. My mom got it free on my grandma’s dish soap when she was a girl. Maybe I should get this for my DD this year!
Pamala says
I LOVE this!!! I am going to order it from Amazon right now. My 8 kids range from 16 down to 17 months but its never too late to start a new tradition right?
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Absolutely!!
Melissa says
Seriously, you have the cutest traditions with your kids! We just implemented the Great Pumpkin after I read about it here (it was a huge hit for us and the kids), and now I think we will have to try this.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Awwwww. I really appreciate that. I try so hard to find new fun things. I also buy a new ornament for each kid each year. When they have their own Christmas Tree, they will already have a tree full of ornaments.
Megan says
My mom did this too, I had a big box by the time I moved out and she found those 2 foot trees on sale, so in my college apartment I had a little tree with all my ornaments, it was a nice taste of home.
buffy blease says
I have done this as well and now my twenty year old has enough to do his own tree. So this year in his room will be all the ornaments that we have bought him through his life.
Amie says
We started this last year when I saw it at a Hallmark Store when I was shopping in Boston. My friend said it would be a cool tradition to start so I bought it and my girls love it! They always rushed down stairs to be the first one to notice it and it does seem to help them be better mannered since Santa’s Elf is watching!!