Every family has their own unique Christmas traditions, however, over the years the Elf on the Shelf has become a very popular tradition in American households. It has been seen on many social media platforms from Facebook to TikTok. According to KEYW, Elf on the Shelf has sold around 6 million elves. The Elf on the Shelf started in 2006 and grew on social media.
The Elf on the Shelf is like a small stuffed animal that is sent by “Santa” as a helper to keep an eye on you. The Elf usually comes around late November or early December; the family is to name it when received. The Elf on the Shelf makes sure that the kids are not bad and flies back home every night while the kids are asleep to report on their daily behavior. The Elf will be in a different spot of the house every day, doing something entertaining, but there is one big rule that comes along with the Elf on the Shelf, “DO NOT TOUCH IT.” If a kid touches the Elf on the Shelf, it will lose its magic and not come back for a while or possibly forever.
“I believed if you touched the Elf on the Shelf it would lose its magic and not return,” Senior Mckinley Mueller said.
Sophomore Hannah Johnston is one of the NHS students who has an Elf on the Shelf. She is in control of moving around the Elf on the Shelf, which she enjoys doing because when she was younger her mom and dad would always forget to move it around.
“I never forget [to move it]. I set an alarm every morning to remember to do it, and I put it in good places,” Johnston said.
Johnston has had her Elf on the Shelf for about eight years now, but she has only been in control of the Elf for half of the time. She currently has two Elves, Bell and Prince. Bell has been at her house for eight years, but Prince was sent as an extra helper last year. Johnston wishes she could be little again, looking forward to seeing the Elf every morning in a new spot. The Elf on the Shelf was always a thing Johnston looked forward to seeing in early mornings. It was fun to watch the Elf move around for her when she was younger, except her parents would often forget to move it around.
“I would rather watch it move around if I still believed in Santa and was younger,” Johnston said.
Johnston believes that she hides the Elf in good spots. Over the years she has come up with many good ideas. Some things she has done with the Elf include fishing out of her fish bowl with a candy cane, hanging on to the clock and attaching it to the milk carton.
“I wish my parents moved the Elf around as I move it around,” Johnston said.
Freshman Alexyss Good wishes that she had an Elf on the Shelf. She heard about the Elf on the Shelf from many friends and family members. However, she only wants one Elf because if there were more, it would be crazy. After all, she already has a house full of girls.
“Two Elf on the Shelves would be chaotic,” Good said.
Good would have a girl Elf named Jingle. Good believes that the Elf on the Shelf goes to Santa to report on your behavior every night and comes back in a different spot of the house.
“I want an Elf on the Shelf because it is a cool holiday tradition,” Good said.
Senior McKinley Mueller currently has an Elf on the Shelf named Sally. Her Elf isn’t very active around the house since she is older, but it still moves around once in a while. She has had her Elf for about 10 years.
“I have had the Elf on the Shelf since I was in second grade, so about 10 years,” Mueller said.
She likes the Elf on the Shelf because it is a nice Christmas decoration for the house. She doesn’t quite remember how she received the Elf on the Shelf but she thinks that it showed up one day and she thought it was cool.
“When I was little, I believed that the Elf would fly to the North Pole every night,” Mueller said.
