Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Santa’s Scout Elves are reporting back to the North Pole tonight, but they’ll be celebrating a major milestone before they go. Twenty years ago, the Elf on the Shelf was introduced to the world, becoming a cherished tradition for kids and a creative headache for parents.
It’s now a multimillion-dollar brand, boasting a line of elf dolls, their pets and their props, as well as several books, animated specials, a Netflix partnership and a Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade float. But it actually began a tradition started by an Atlanta mom in the 1970s.
Here’s a look at how it became such a cultural mainstay.
From one family’s house to SNL
Carol Aebersold introduced her children to an elf doll named Fisbee, who would appear in different spots around the house after a nightly “visit” to the North Pole. In 2005, Aebersold and one of her daughters, Chanda Bell, self-published the book The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, which became a bestseller and propelled their family tradition into households around the world.
Bell and her twin sister Christa Pitts are now co-founders of the Lumistella Company, the parent company behind the Elf on the Shelf.
Since then, it’s turned into a cultural phenomenon, even inspiring multiple Saturday Night Live sketches. The most recent featured pop star and actress Ariana Grande attending a support group for elves enduring their families’ at-times-destructive antics.
The Elf on the Shelf and the wider Lumistella Christmas universe to which it belongs is worth at least $100 million US, according to Bloomberg. Since 2005, around 28 million elves and their pets have been sold around the world.
Ever-more elaborate elf setups
The gist of the tradition is pretty simple. Parents hide an elf doll around the house throughout December, telling their children it’s reporting to Santa Clause on their behaviour. However, over the years, it’s turned into an elaborate frenzy, as parents try to outdo their previous elaborate elf setups to keep the tradition fresh for their kids, while having fun themselves.
In one example on Reddit, one user posted a photo of their elf sitting atop a pile of cereal inside a toilet bowl, holding onto a spoon. A note stuck to the lid reads, “I made you breakfast.”
“My wife keeps upping her elf game to entertain our four-year-old. Last night she merged his two passions of toilet humor and Santa’s elves,” wrote the user.
These complex displays aren’t easy for all parents, however.
“I feel like Elf on the Shelf has strayed so far from what it was. I can’t keep up,” Reddit user u/bbenndd wrote. “Our elf that we’ve had for nine years, just … hides in a different spot around the house every day. There’s no grand display, gifts, notes. Our faithful elf just hides and watches.”
On TikTok, Elf on the Shelf videos have garnered thousands of views over the last few weeks. User @homeandhabit published a video showing two elves ziplining across a room on a string tied from the Christmas tree to a dining chair. The video has amassed more than 32,000 likes. One user commented, “These elf projects are taking me an hour each night.”
Another commenter wrote, “I wish it wasn’t over yet, there are still so many fun activities to try!”
The Elf on the Shelf has faced criticism from some academics and psychologists, who suggested the concept normalized constant surveillance for children.
Nonetheless, in spite of that and the added task to the holiday to-do list, most parents seem to enjoy the 20-year-old tradition.
