Meet Crackers – Our ‘Elf on The Shelf’

Our Elf on The Shelf adopted our home just in time for Christmas 2012. I can’t quite remember how he introduced himself, but I think we received a letter prior which kept us excitedly checking the letterbox for several days until he finally arrived.

Our elf came from Booktopia (but I’m quite certain he didn’t cost as much as they are charging at the moment) and he comes with a book explaining his ‘role’. The book encourages you to choose a name for your elf, and that is a fun family activity. Together we brainstormed some ideas, before settling on ‘Crackers’.

There are people who find Elf on The Shelf a creepy kinda guy. There’s no denying it – he is. But we can get past that and enjoy him for the cheeky little monkey that he is! Mind you, we have asked him very politely to not go into our bedrooms. My son found it very disconcerting having Crackers watching him as he tried to sleep, the one time Crackers did go into a bedroom.

I did contemplate kitting out a doll into an elf character, but couldn’t find an appropriate candidate. So we went with the commercially available Elf. If you are looking for one, just Google. There are several website from where you can buy them. Even try eBay. And there are a range of Elf on The Shelf, so you can choose one to suit your family.

So, Crackers arrives ready for us to find him on the morning of 1st December. Each night when everyone is asleep he pops back to visit Santa, passing on any news or present requests. In the morning he will be back, but in a new spot. Sometimes he gets up to mischief whilst we are asleep. It is the highlight of our morning working out where he is and what he may have been up to!

Crackers was a bit slack this year. He arrived on 1st December (only just…if you know what I mean!), but the next morning he hadn’t moved. We forgave him, assuming that as he’d arrived on a particularly hot day – it reached 40 degrees C – he probably didn’t have the energy to flit back to the North Pole straight away. Funnily enough, while we were all out on 2nd December, he must have got his energy back as we found him in a new position 😉

It’s lovely that so many people have shared on Pinterest what their Elf gets up to. I have a special board Christmas Elf where I have saved some interesting ideas…if your Elf was after some inspiration…

Anyway, here is how Crackers arrived in our house this year:

And even though he was still there the next morning, sometime during the day he ended up like this:

Here are some examples of what Crackers has got up to in our house in previous years. These photos were not taken expecting that they would be shared with the world, so please forgive the poor quality of some of them!

Reading ‘his’ book to the toys to explain why he is here

Joining in with the nativity set, and giving baby Jesus a cuddle

Borrowing my glasses

Having a nap in the tissue box

Being a rocket mechanic

Riding a reindeer

Reading a story

Just out of the shower

Hiding in a wreath

Elf in a jar

Elf in the cabinet

A graffiti artist has been at work

Is there an Elf on The Shelf in your house?

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