Are grown-ups allowed to intervene? Santa advises that no family member touch their
In the event that a human hand accidentally grazes your family's beloved scout elf, you'll need to know what to do if your Elf on the Shelf is touched. Per official Elf on the Shelf lore, a touched Scout Elf loses their magic.
In some cases, they could also disappear when touched, such as when a dog might get a hold of them. In such cases, where an elf may be in an urgent situation or other sticky place (such as falling off a shelf after losing their balance), parents can touch them (using tongs or kitchen gloves) to come to the elf's aid.
The night before Christmas, the elf flies off one last time to spend the year with Santa until reappearing next season. Every night, a parent hides the elf in a new place.
Children are not allowed to touch them.
Elves are very fragile, and if they are touched by human children they lose their magic and ability to communicate with Santa.
By age eight, kids begin to acknowledge the unlikeliness of one man travelling the world in a single night. The good news? If you started the tradition of Elf on the Shelf in your household, you can likely send the elf into early retirement around your child's eighth Christmas.
Because the Elf on the Shelf “moves” each night, belief can sometimes be suspended into thinking that it is real. And for all intents and purposes, the Elf on the Shelf is real. It's a real doll, after all.
Elves need to wait until everyone is asleep before they can move around. If there was too much activity around the house last night, perhaps your elf only had time to get to the North Pole and back, but not enough time to find a new position. Make sure you get to bed early tonight to help them out!
“Are Mom and Dad really Santa?” We know that you want to know the answer and we had to give it careful thought to know just what to say. The answer is no. We are not Santa. There is no one, single Santa.
Mom Just Doesn't Like It. The elf gets sent here by Santa to spy on kids' behavior and report back nightly to the chief elf. If you are bad or naughty or have bad behavior, the elf won't move to a new spot, and his magic is ruined. So basically, the elf is Big Brother and a behavior modification tool all in one.
Tempting as it is, kids should try to avoid touching their Elf on the Shelf at all times! If elves are touched they can lose their magic and won't be able to fly back to the North Pole.
But with elf babies, you can mix up and create more scenarios. They can hide with their parent (or parents) or find their own spots throughout your home. You can even change the rules for elf babies and allow your children to touch them, which they'll likely want to do. Did I mention that they're cute?
An elf does not want to report a child's bad behavior to Santa. Instead of reporting naughty behavior, they will stay in their spot for a few days until there is something nice to report to Santa. If you want your elf to move, you better be good!
The first and most important rule is that you must NOT touch your Elf. If you do, they will lose all their magic - and nobody wants that to happen. When scout elves lose their magic, they can't go about their Christmas duties. This means no presents for anyone in your family!
We explain he'll report back to Santa every night regarding their behavior. Sure, the Elf returns to a new spot each morning, often doing funny, silly things. But for many families, he's partially there to warn children that a lack of good behavior leads to a lack of presents.
"There is no such thing as being too old to believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy," Kelman tells Yahoo Life. "Letting kids figure it out on their own is preferable to parents breaking the news to them.
Many parents dread the day their child begins questioning if Santa is real. While there is no perfect age to have this conversation, parents often start noticing their children becoming skeptical around eight, but this can vary. However, it may be beneficial to initiate the conversation before middle school.
Research suggests it's bad practice to lie to children. Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia's leading parenting experts, – "If you want to do Santa that's fine, but let the kids know Santa was based on a historical figure who may or may not have done the things that we think he did".
Your Scout Elf may need an extra day or two to digest his or her holiday treats and get back into tip-top flying shape before returning. A snowstorm held them up. It's not easy to drive in the snow—much less fly!
Top Reasons Your Elf is in the Same Spot. They have a favorite spot in your home. When your Scout Elf flies back from the North Pole and lands in the same spot, chances are it's their favorite place to sit in your home. Just like you have a favorite spot on the couch, your elf has favorite spots, too!
One MassLive staffer parent suggested picking up a fallen elf with oven mitts, to help minimize bumps and bruises. There's a YouTube video that shows an elf resting comfortably with its head on a soft pillow of Kleenex and staying warm inside a potholder.
Do I need one Elf per child or one per household? The choice is yours.
Given that elves can live for centuries, their idea of "adult" is much older than that of humans. But comparing psychological maturity is a whole different ballpark: though a 15-year-old elf would be seen as a little more than an infant to "adult" Elves, so would a 15-year-old human.
Even though your family can't talk to your elf directly while they are at the North Pole, you can keep in touch and let them know you're thinking of them!