Elf on the Shelf is a Christmas tradition where a special elf scout is sent to your home from the North Pole to encourage kids to behave. The idea is that Santa’s little helper watches the children by day, and each night, it returns to the North Pole to report on whether they were naughty or nice. The Christmas tradition has just two rules. First, children are not allowed to touch the elf or it will lose its magic. If an elf is touched by mistake, the official Elf on the Shelf website advises children write a letter to Santa to apologize and sprinkle a little cinnamon beside the elf before bed. Cinnamon is like vitamins for scout elves, and it helps them get back to the North Pole. The second rule of Elf on the Shelf is that the elf will not speak or move while the kids are awake. The elf only moves at night when you’re a sleep. In the morning it may assume a new position in the house.
The world was first introduced to the Elf on the Shelf in 2005. That year, Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda who published a children’s book called The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition. They teamed up with another daughter, Christa to market the book to kids. The story was based on the family’s own holiday tradition that started in the 1970s in their household. In 2008, the book won a number of awards, including the Best Toy Award by Learning Express and Book of the Year Award from Creative Child Awards.
Today, the book has become a bestseller and inspired an animated TV movie called “An Elf’s Story: The Elf on the Shelf.” Elf on the Shelf is also now a regular at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade….Ed
Comments