If your elf didn't move, they may be trying to communicate an important message to you! If your elf is accidentally touched, they may have just enough energy to get to the North Pole, but not enough magic to create a whole new scene in your home.
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!
Your elf ate too many treats from Mrs. Claus' Sweet Shop™. It can happen to the best elf (or human) when so many tantalizing treats are floating around during the holidays! 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.
Bad weather, not safe for Elves to fly in. Elf is tired. He's frozen and can't move. Elves are afraid of heights and he is too scared to move.
If little ones find their Scout Elf sitting on something they need to use, like relaxing in their sink, lying on their bookbag or hanging on their clothes, then it is okay for parents to move the elf, so kids can complete their morning routine and elves can get back to their important job!
Elf on the Shelf is a Christmas tradition that sees parents moving an Elf on the Shelf (also known as a "Scout Elf") around the house every day to keep an eye on children ahead of Santa's visit.
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! The spot has a great vantage point.
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.
They need extra time to complete their important Christmas duty. If your family was away during the holidays, your elf might stay a while longer to continue scouting good behavior to report to Santa. They wanted to celebrate one more holiday together—Christmas day.
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.
Are you supposed to cut the tie between their hands? This is again a personal decision. Some people don't and some people do. The reason you would cut them would be to make your elf easier to position when placing him each night.
Notes from your favorite elf are a great way to say goodbye. This holiday buddy hangs from a bathroom mirror with a special message: “Time for me to go!” This note reads, “I'm sad to go!! But of course I'll be back next year...”
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.
Don't touch your elf or their magic will disappear. Talk to your elf, but know that they can't talk back. Your elf reports to Santa nightly and can deliver letters to him. On Christmas Eve, your elf will return to the North Pole and stay there until next season.
Sprinkle some cinnamon near the Elf. Cinnamon is like Elf vitamins and will help your elf get back to the North Pole and make a full recovery! The Elf will return tomorrow all recovered. Sing your Elf a Christmas carol with all of the family.
"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.
The Age Most Kids Figure It Out
In most cases, eight or nine is the age that children stop believing in Santa, but not for the reasons you'd think. While most parents would probably blame their child's peers for blowing the whistle, it actually has more to do with the normal development of a child's brain.
"It's not an overnight shift in thinking," says Laura Lamminen, Ph. D., a pediatric psychologist at Children's Health℠, "and there's no set age where children should know the truth about Santa Claus." Dr. Lamminen says each family and each child within that family will be ready to talk about Santa at different ages.
Elves are immortal, and remain unwearied with age. They can recover from wounds which would be fatal to a Man, but can be killed in battle. Spirits of dead Elves go to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor.
When does your Elf on the Shelf® come back? Most Scout Elves return to their families every year during Scout Elf Return Week – a week-long window at the end of November, leading into December.
Santa is real in the sense that he was an actual person. Otherwise known as Saint Nicholas, his story goes all the way back to the 3rd century. He was a monk who was born in 280 A.D. in modern-day Turkey. As an only child, he was given great affection by his parents.
Can I touch my Elf Pets®? Yes! Elf Pets® love to be cuddled and hugged! They also love when their families play with them and include them in fun activities.
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.
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!