Your elf may be a part of a special North Pole project. The North Pole is always undergoing upgrades, and Santa needs all hands on deck to bring things like his marshmallow igloos for elves up to par. Elves must undergo the latest and greatest training.
On December 24, most Scout Elves say farewell to their families and fly back to the North Pole following Santa's sleigh. This way, they can help him begin preparing for the year ahead.
All Scout Elves are different, so the date they come back can vary -some return at the end of November and others may wait until the second week of December. So don't worry if they haven't arrived exactly when you expected them to!
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.
"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.
Santa advises that no family member touch their Elf on the Shelf, but he does describe a few rare instances when an adult may use tongs or potholders to help an elf in an urgent situation. Parents: read on to learn about special, few and far between cases where emergency help will be required.
The Elf's job is to report back on the kids' behavior every day leading up to December 25, so he should hitch a ride back to the North Pole with Santa after he's done setting out Christmas presents under the tree on Christmas Eve night. But don't be sad! He'll definitely be back next holiday season.
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.
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.
Be honest with your child.
Tell him/her that the Elf on the Shelf is something parents do to make the Christmas season a little more fun for kids, and you are sorry he/she is so smart to have figured it out too soon but Santa (or you) will be proud of him/her for letting siblings/friends continue believing in the elf.
According to elf legend, the elf moves each night. Some mornings, though, kids might find themselves asking why the elf is still in its same place. Here are a few possible reasons that Santa's helper may not have found a new position in your home.
The elf usually leaves just before or shortly after Christmas Day, but the timing isn't the same in every home. Christmas Eve: In some homes, the elf makes its final appearance on Christmas Eve. After all, once Santa packs the sleigh and heads out, the elf's work is done.
One popular way to bid farewell is to have your elf leave a special, personal message for your kid, whether it's a typewritten note or a message spelled out in candy or plastic letters on the fridge or on snow-painted window or mirror.
Should an Elf die, its spirit would be summoned to the Halls of Mandos in Aman. Elves could refuse the summons, but this would suggest that they were tainted. Elves who went to the Halls were, after a period of time, typically given the opportunity to be reincarnated into a body identical to the one that died.
When does Elf on the Shelf come? The Elf on the Shelf website recommends your Elf arrive between November 24 through December 1. This is also known as Scout Elf Return week, a.k.a. the time when Santa's little helpers flee the North Pole and head out to the houses they'll be staying at until Christmas.
According to the official "Elf on the Shelf" website, "Christmas magic is very fragile, and if scout elves are touched they may lose their magic." It doesn't specify that this only applies to kids, so we're guessing this applies to any humans.
After you pick a boy or girl elf, Santa will send your new helper straight to your home. Put it in a wish list.
Inside the box we have stamped the Welcome letter with the 'North Pole Elf Mail' postmark, so when you decide Elf arrives, your children will see it's authentic. Do I need one Elf per child or one per household? The choice is yours.
Elves have the ability to live forever thanks to their immortality. Elves like Elrond, who was over 6000 years old in The Lord of the Rings, are not hard to come by.
“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.
Parents Guide: Is Elf Appropriate For Kids Under 8? We think Elf is one of the more family-friendly Christmas movies out there. It should be something kids ages 6 and up can handle in most cases. There are a few issues as noted above, but if these do not concern your family: enjoy Elf together this holiday season!
About three in 10 say that an Elf on the Shelf is a family tradition (30%) or their children heard about the idea from someone else, and so their family decided to do it (29%). Another 22% say that it makes the children behave better. But a majority (61%) of parents say their household doesn't have an Elf on the Shelf.