From Christmas trees to Christmas carols, there are many traditions families have. But there’s one that has found its way onto the mantles of many Canadian homes.
Parents trying to build up Christmas excitement for their children (or at least keep them in check) during the holiday season have turned to the increasingly popular Elf on the Shelf.
The elves are “adopted” by families — as many as six million have brought Santa’s “scout” into their homes — to watch over children and report back to St. Nick whether youngsters are being naughty or nice.
The elf finds its way into all sorts of creative places, with a little help from parents, to watch over children each night, leading up to Christmas.
Kids wake up in the morning to find the elf before he or she darts back to the North Pole, so the story goes, to report on the night’s activities.
The elf arrives with some special rules, such as the children not being allowed to touch or move it.
The Elf on the Shelf, which began appearing in 2005, has become such a trend that it has spawned YouTube videos and Internet parodies, showing how much trouble they can get into after kids are tucked in to sleep.
The popularity of the elves hasn’t been enjoyed by everyone. Parental elf helpers, trying to keep up with their more creative counterparts, don’t see as much joy in the experience as some of the youngsters.
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But for the kids and parents that enjoy having the tiny visitor around in the weeks before Christmas, the experience can be full of laughs and fun.
At the end of a long day, the elf keeps warm by the fire:
Global’s Jennifer Tryon, on a special Christmas assignment, took a poetic look at the Elf on the Shelf:
‘Twas the month before Christmas and all through the house,
There was a new friend, called Elf on the Shelf.
Elf on the Shelf comes in the weeks before Christmas,
To keep watch on young kids and report to St. Nicholas.
And every morning he flies back just as they thought,
But lands himself home in a different spot.
It’s up to the kids to find him each morning,
Sometimes he’s hidden and sometimes he’s soaring.
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There’s a book of rules for the elf, you can’t touch him… It’s tragic.
If you do, you risk the elf losing its magic.
There are homemade elves, replicas and such.
Any elf that keeps watch, Santa loves just as much.
Kids are crazy for elf. The trend has caught fire.
Pictures online of elves in every attire.
On YouTube you’ll find the elf is no saint.
In fact, the way he’s been spotted could make Santa faint.
Parodies and mock-ups have become all the rage,
But it’s the kids at Christmas elf’s meant to engage.
It’s all in good fun, all in good cheer.
When Christmas is done, the elf leaves till next year.
What’s left are believers, so innocent and felt.
Their connection to Santa making every heart melt.
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