Elves on the Shelves By: Aleyah Hooks

With Christmas coming around the corner, Santa’s elves will be as well. Have you ever had or heard of an “Elf on the Shelf”? If you haven’t, listen to this super neat Christmas tradition. The scout elf dolls typically arrive to homes that have little boys and girls in them inside of a box containing a story book explaining why they’re there. The book explains that Santa Claus sends the elves to watch over kids to make sure they aren’t being naughty. They play hide and seek every morning while the kids are asleep, and the goal is for the kids to find them when they wake up in the morning. There’s also a magic rule that states that the children are not to touch their elf or their elf will get hurt and not be able to hide and surprise them. The daily change in the elf’s location provides a fun, interactive scavenger hunt for children to create happy Christmas time memories.  

The tradition began when author Carol Aebershold and her twin daughters created the story and self-published it in 2005. Since then, the concept gained worldwide recognition and is now a widely celebrated tradition in many homes.  

Lenape students Addison Mills and Alyssa Smith were asked if they had elves on the shelves when they were younger, they both answered yes. Addison says, “my favorite memory with my elf is the times she’d give me hands-on challenges.” and Alyssa states that “My elf was bad; my mom was always yelling at it for being inside the fridge and the bathroom”.