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Do any of you do Elf on the shelf for your daycare. If so, how did you introduce it?
I just bought a boy and girl one.
I just bought a boy and girl one.
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One of my former dcms bought one for us. I set it out(gotta be up high so they're not all touching it but then if someone accidently does you sprinkle cinnamon on it and it's all good
) before they came back from Thanksgiving, along with the book. I usually have the elf bring them something special for daycare on his first visit with a note personally from him/her. The 1st time I just said 'oh look who has come to visit us!' We read the book, discussed names and chose one(must have read that silly book 10x that first day). Then, as the book says, move it every night, can be funny set-ups(pinterest has tons of ideas!). It's fun! I have forgotten to move it a few times and I have to fudge it.
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We have never done this, I never heard of it until my kids were to old. I am looking forward to doing this with my DCKs!Comment
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Our little guy is named Flick. The kids adore him and can't wait for him to arrive after Thanksgiving. We read the Elf On The Shelf book and that night Flick makes his journey to out house. He hides each night and the kids have to find him each morning. It;s such a fun treat for them!Comment
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I've never done it at my house because frankly I find the whole thing a bit creepy I did have DCF last year who did it and one day it was at my house "checking out what the kids do". DCD threw it in my mailbox (he goes to work way before I open) & I put it above the cubbies before they got here. DCM snuck it into her purse on the way out the door that afternoon.
I've always joked I wanted to do a completely inappropriate version- just not around the kids. Things like in the sink (hot tub) with Barbie, with a mini bottle of alcohol, etc.:
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Maybe I'm a party pooper, but....I find the whole thing really obnoxious. I had a family that was so over the top with it that I wanted to gouge my eyeballs out with a butter knife
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TOTALLY agree! It's "creepiness" factor is pretty high in my opinion.
:: This is pretty much what my DH said too when I once briefly considered doing Elf adventures when it very first came out. ::
THIS ^^^^^
While I can see how the whole thing could be fun for kids, I feel like it's been taken so overboard that it has gotten a bit ridiculous and silly......
I struggle with the commercialization and increasing greed-like expectations from people at Christmas already so I definitely don't need to add to that.
To those that do participate, there are LOADS of ideas on the internet that one could potentially never run out of ideas.Comment
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Yes, there are tons of ideas on the internet to do cute things with the elf.
But just the title of this post made me shudder. I really dislike the elf on a shelf. I told my kids it gets too cold where we live for him to come ::
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It creeps me out, too. The thought of someone watching all the time....no. Besides, we had some elf ornaments when I was little that looked similar to them, and I was terrified of them, so that's another reason I just can't do it.Comment
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Ahhhh you guys are no fun!!! :: I don't think they're creepy and the kids like playing the game. I haven't really seen that it keeps them acting any better for that month. But it's not much different than reminding the kids that Santa is watching.....To me it just adds to the magic and playfulness of the season.
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My MIL got us one and we call him Eddy (Christmas vacation movie is a favorite) I am not sure how other people do it, but we did it with books. I bought a series of books and every night, Eddy would bring the next book in the series and sit with us while we read it in the morning and at night before bed. The next day, the kids would wake up super excited to read the next book, so I thought it was fun and cute, but we didn't do the stuff where he is in a new spot each day or doing something different. He had a spot on our "mantle" and the new book would be beside him.
I agree, some people go overboard, but it can be a fun thing to do if your kids are in that golden age where they get excited about it. I don't use Eddy as a way to bribe them to be good, though. They need to be good because it is the right thing to do, not because a stuffed doll tells them to.Comment
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I can see how some may take it to far. We (as a family) toned down Christmas years ago when we found we were taking it to far. We were just giving our kids to much stuff and they were getting spoiled and entitled. We pared Christmas gifts in our family down to three gifts per person, the same number Jesus got for his birth. Now we find it more fun to find three really good, meaningful gifts for the person. Sometimes if all the gifts are little (say some books) you might get a package with three books as one of your gifts. Sometimes you get something you need (or will need in the future), and something you want. Such as DD this year is getting.
I am hoping to be creative enough to mix an elf in with this. I hope he will "catch" us doing some of the things we are working on in daycare anyway. Having good manners, not complaining about our food, etc. Ours will not be bringing gifts I don't think.Comment
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My MIL got us one and we call him Eddy (Christmas vacation movie is a favorite) I am not sure how other people do it, but we did it with books. I bought a series of books and every night, Eddy would bring the next book in the series and sit with us while we read it in the morning and at night before bed. The next day, the kids would wake up super excited to read the next book, so I thought it was fun and cute, but we didn't do the stuff where he is in a new spot each day or doing something different. He had a spot on our "mantle" and the new book would be beside him.
I agree, some people go overboard, but it can be a fun thing to do if your kids are in that golden age where they get excited about it. I don't use Eddy as a way to bribe them to be good, though. They need to be good because it is the right thing to do, not because a stuffed doll tells them to.
This is the most sensible use of the "elf" I have heard, good on ya!
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I don't do that either. Santa is something families can choose or not choose to include in their Christmas celebrations on their own as well.Ahhhh you guys are no fun!!! :: I don't think they're creepy and the kids like playing the game. I haven't really seen that it keeps them acting any better for that month. But it's not much different than reminding the kids that Santa is watching.....To me it just adds to the magic and playfulness of the season.
That's the key for me. YOUR kids. Mine are grown and gone from home so if families want to do something like Elf on the Shelf with THEIR kids, they are certainly free to do so. I'll even share funny ideas with them for their Elf...
I just don't do it as part of daycare.
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