{"id":13930,"date":"2016-12-01T17:14:16","date_gmt":"2016-12-01T17:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/?p=13930"},"modified":"2016-12-21T16:13:39","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T16:13:39","slug":"play-elf-on-the-shelf-with-families-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/play-elf-on-the-shelf-with-families-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Play Elf on the Shelf with Families Online"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Building Lego towers, sliding down the banister and drawing all over the family photos. All in a night\u2019s work for the Elf on the Shelf.<\/h2>\r\n<strong>The latest American tradition to land on our shores.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe story of the mischievous Christmas \u2018scout elf\u2019 is increasingly popular in the UK. Driving some parents crazy having to come up with daily displays of the elf\u2019s nocturnal activities.\r\n<h3>The idea<\/h3>\r\nComes from Children\u2019s picture book The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition (2005) by American author, Carol Aebersold. The book tells the tale of Santa\u2019s elves who visit the homes of boys and girls in the run-up to Christmas. Once everyone is asleep, the elves fly back to Santa to let him in on all the goings on. And of course, who has been naughty and nice. Before the morning breaks, he returns to his family\u2019s home and will hide in a new place, waiting to be found.\r\n<h3>The Elf<\/h3>\r\nGets his Christmas. This is why gives him the powers to fly back to the North Pole each night. Families can talk to the Elf, but they must never touch him \u2014 or the magic will disappear!\r\n\r\nParents play a big part in the story of course. It\u2019s your job to come up with clever ideas of where to hide him each evening or set up clever scenes of him having fun around your home. \r\n\r\n<h3>Get involved!<\/h3>\r\nShare pictures of your Elf getting up to mischief! Simply <strong><a href=\"mailto:social@familiesonline.co.uk?subject=Elf%20on%20the%20Shelf%20KidStart\">email FamiliesOnline<\/a><\/strong> or send them via Facebook or Twitter using #FamiliesElf\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.familiesonline.co.uk\/seasonal\/christmas\/elf-on-the-shelf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/elf.jpg\" alt=\"elf on the shelf\" width=\"641\" height=\"512\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-14022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/elf.jpg 641w, https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/elf-250x200.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/elf-120x96.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\n<h3>Related article<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/our-favourite-christmas-songs\/\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">KidStart<\/a><\/strong> a little help along the way<\/h4>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Building Lego towers, sliding down the banister and drawing all over the family photos. All in a night\u2019s work for the Elf on the Shelf. The latest American tradition to land on our shores. The story of the mischievous Christmas \u2018scout elf\u2019 is increasingly popular in the UK. Driving some parents crazy having to come","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3503],"tags":[3490],"class_list":["post-13930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-great-family-life-tips","category-parenting-advice-from-parents","tag-elf"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Play Elf on the Shelf with Families Online - KidStart Magazine<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Building Lego towers, sliding down the banister and drawing all over the family photos \u2013 all in a night\u2019s work for the Elf on the Shelf.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.familiesonline.co.uk\/seasonal\/christmas\/elf-on-the-shelf\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Play Elf on the Shelf with Families Online - 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