I've always thought elf/shelf looked like those hideous sixties elves you see on old peoples trees.

My ex boyfriend's mum had a few tatty old elf ornaments (and most creepily a toddler child sized one she'd put in a rocking chair by the fire) and I can't say it wasn't one of the reasons we broke up. These things should have been tossed. I guess they were sentimental to her but they were hideous.

Some were super bald, with only one puncture point of hair in the top of their head and white hair that was now standing straight up and the felt on their suits was worn and thin in places.

The large toddler elf (like 75 cm tall or so- bigger than 2 feet) had a dirty face always because she kept him wrapped in newspaper for the year when he was in storage. I would spend Christmas hating his dirty schadenfreude looking face but also not being able to bring myself to come near him to clean it.

TMI but as teenagers going at it under the tree when the adults were away, this boyfriend would always find a way to work the toddler elf into it... He'd position it so it was watching, or he'd have it under a pillow next to me, or he'd take it's elf hand and sneakily have it cup my boob when I was looking the other way. He only stopped when I made it's hand appear on him during an otherwise awesome blowjob.

To this day, DH threatens me with elf/shelf, knowing this story.

I really have no clue what Elf on shelf is. I'm serious.

I admit I don't pay attention to Christmas marketing, but I still don't get this elf on shelf thing people have been fussing about the past few years. So they're just the elves we had back in the sixties made into some "new" fad? My grandparents had a bunch and I used to play with them at Christmas. They were cute to me, as a kid. Hey, it was the sixties, and we also had troll dolls.

The late 50s/early 60s elf came with their arms wrapped around a sample-sized Whitman's Sampler. I still have my original elf!

We had the original elf in the mid to late '60s. I'm not sure where it came from. I was surprised when the elf on the shelf fad started as the elf was exactly the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The book was self-published in 2005, so the "phenomenon" has only been a thing relatively recently.

But yes, similar Christmas elves for decoration have been around forever.

Interesting. Because this elf is the exact same thing that's sold in these books. Not close. Exact.

It did start a long time ago. Only the book is new.

We had similar elves when I was a kid. They were decorations . That's it.

EOTS is relatively new.

I won't let that thing in my home. Hasn't anyone seen Trilogy of Terror?

I too have an original elf from about 1959 or 60... I remember VERY clearly that they came free attached to something.... maybe mouthwash or toothpaste. I believe they were available as free premiums for 2 Christmases in a row, then they were no longer available until they were revived a few years ago with the new story.
Another person thought that hers also was free, but attached to a bottle of detergent or dish soap.
Does anyone else remember getting these elves as a premium attached to another product like mouthwash or detergent?

http://www.peopleiwanttopunchinthethroat.com/2011/12/over-achieving-elf-on-shelf-mommies.html

We don't Elf - did not grow up with ergo it is not a "tradition".

I agree that this elf is a creepy mother f*****. I am so glad to know I am not alone.

The original story was actually created in the early 1960’s, by Flora Johnson, though Christmas shelf elves were made in occupied Japan since at least the late 1950s. Many of these elves are referred to today as "knee-huggers" and are clearly marked with a 'Made in Japan' sticker.[2] Johnson most likely was familiar with these dolls. The original story involved a little elf called Christopher Pop-In-Kins who visited her children during the holiday season. Year after year, the elf returned. Then, in November 1983, Flora received a call from her very excited grandson: the elf had just “popped in” to his home! At that moment, Flora knew she had to share her own elf tradition with the rest of the world. In 1984, Flora Johnson, 59, began writing a story about a little elf who visits children during the holidays.

Over the next fifteen years, Flora made over 10,000 Christopher Pop-In-Kins elves at her kitchen table. “Book One: Christopher Pop-In-Kins Pops In” was hand-published by Flora’s husband Al and included with every doll. Flora traveled around the country, appearing on television and radio, and giving interviews to reporters. Christopher Pop-In-Kins grew in popularity and was available in specialty stores across the United States.

In 2004, years before The Elf on the Shelf, Christopher Pop-In-Kins earned the Choice Award at the Chicago Trade Show and received favorable notice at Toy Fair in New York City. Now in his 27th year, Christopher Pop-In-Kins is one of the oldest, most loved elves on the market. In recognition of his longevity, Christopher Pop-In-Kins was named Dr. Toy’s Best Classic Toy Award for 2011.


- from Wikipedia

My dad still has some elves just like that from his childood (he was born in the 1940s). My parents decorate with them every Christmas.

I am frightened of any elfin or small statured person, except maybe Peter Dinklage, as I would definitely hit that.