The History of the Elf on the Shelf

Image source: ElfontheShelf.com

If you're like me, it might take three exposures to something new, or it might take dozens before you actually stop and ask what it's all about. This has happened to me with everything from the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon to CBD oil. Now, before you go searching for the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (which we have all heard of, I assure you), let me just share with you what that is.

The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is the thing that happens when you hear about something and then suddenly its everywhere. Like the Elf on the Shelf.

So I finally started noticing these little guys a few years ago, and I thought: How long have these been around? I sort of assumed it has been since my childhood, but -- like so many things -- I just wasn't exposed to it because my family was poor and not all that worldly.

Nope. The Elf on the Shelf is from a book by the same name, written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell, and illustrated by Coë Steinwart, that was first published in 2005. Wow. Wouldn't it be nice to come up with an idea that became a worldwide phenomenon like that?

In the Elf on the Shelf (disclaimer - I have read a summary of the book, not the book itself), the elf is essentially a little tattle tail for Santa. According to the Elf on the Shelf Wikipedia page, "Santa's 'scout elves' hide in people's homes to watch over events. Once everyone goes to bed, the scout elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa the activities, good and bad, that have taken place throughout the day. Before the family wakes up each morning, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides."

Very clever. I suppose some part of me wishes I had this terrific tool to use against my children when they were small, so I could attempt to induce better behavior with the threat of withheld Christmas surprises.

But, in fact, my entire m.o. around Christmas, as a mother of young children, was to make it special - in a non-threatening way. We made cookies and I shopped like a fiend and spoiled them and watched Christmas movies with them and we went sledding and I took them to go see Santa, and I was just as giddy about the whole thing as they were. I don't think I ever once told them that there was a little rat-sized creature watching them from behind things to see if it could catch them doing bad stuff so Santa could skip our house.

Okay, I know I have probably gone a little overboard with the sarcasm here. I get it. We parents have to use all the tools at our disposal to get our kids to behave. Maybe it was that I grew up with only a smidgen of actual nurturing that this seems a little unjust to me. And in fact, I'm sure it's all in fun. So don't worry; if you absolutely adore Elf on the Shelf, I am not here to spoil it for you.

Instead I will talk about the fun we have been having at work with elves. They are pretty much the size of the Elf on the Shelf, but they lack its characteristically plasticine, mannequinesque face that is always looking at something unknown and possible hazardous, stage left, out of the corner of its eyes. No, these elves are cute!

We have two of them plus snowballs, so we have been having a blast, shaping them and making them do all kinds of silly stuff!

Okay, that's all I've got for today on elves. Thanks for reading!

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