Our elves returned to our house the day after Thanksgiving - yep, I said ELVES. We have 2. We had the one elf, Gabby that we got when our 2nd child was 1. Somewhere along the line my mother-in-law gave us a 2nd elf... so Gabby introduced Hokie and then there were two. I have a timer on my phone that goes off each night to remind me that they need to move so there aren't any disappointed faces in the morning. It's always fun to see how long it takes the kids to find them - they don't usually hide together - and hear the laughter of the kids when one of the elves is misbehaving. At our house, it's usually Hokie.
We are on year 7 of The Elf On The Shelf - we have set the precedent and now we must to continue to up our game. I admit, some nights I wish they would just sit on a shelf - but seriously how disappointing would that be after years of daily elf antics?!
If you're just starting out, start out small, perhaps on a shelf or the mantle. Don't get too crazy the first year, you have plenty of years ahead of you to get elaborate! Trust me, you'll thank me later!
Just in case your elf forgets to move, here are some printable Elf Excuse Notes. I suggest printing them and keeping them on hand ;) You can also get a personalized doctor's excuse HERE.
In the meantime, you can check out some of our elf escapades in case you need ideas:
Start Simple - with the elf on a shelf, in a stocking, the tree, a crib ...
Then maybe step up your game a little... the elf made a chair out of the kids' blocks, baked cookies, made a (small) mess with cereal, hung out and did a little zip-lining
Then you have some ornery elves, like these:
 Snowflake, who added some decorations to the school picture. (submitted by Kristin O.) |  Coco and his reindeer Sprinkles doing some laundry. (submitted by Stephanie R.) |
 Coco and his reindeer Sprinkles playing corn hole. (submitted by Stephanie R.) |  Hanging out on the fan (this elf was touched and couldn't fly home the previous night, so this time when she came back she made sure to stay out of reach!) |
Then sometimes the elves get a little crazy...
 Making a mess! (Submitted by Stephanie R.) |  Creating a pond. (Submitted by Stephanie R.) |
 Taking over the freezer. (Submitted by Stephanie R.) |  Messing up the Santa count down sign |
and sometimes every kid has an elf - in underpants!
(and rumor has it this family is getting a 5th elf this year!)
