A Christmas Tradition Gets the Boot

Parents try to ban the surveilling elf, but kids smell a rat

- JENNIFER CALFAS

When Hope Haley's 7-yearold daughter asked why the "The Elf on the Shelf" didn't visit their Las Vegas home, she was ready.

Haley told her that families have to apply to get an elf from Santa-and he's pretty busy right now.

"They can smell a lie really quick if I hesitate," Haley, 37, said about her children. "Telling my daughter I find them to be creepy-not cute-would not work with her." The stuffed elves have become a holiday fixture for many households since 2005 when the picture book "The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition" came out. Meant to keep an eye on a child's behavior before Santa comes to town, the smiling snitches move to new locations after returning from trips to the North Pole each night before Christmas thanks to either magic or a parent's careful planning.

The tradition also has been an unwelcome addition to families' lengthy holiday to-do lists. Parents create increasingly elaborate and mischievous scenarios for the elves and share their masterpieces on social media. Some bemoan the Sisyphean task of moving the elf each night.

A new crop of parents are heeding the warnings of others who find themselves trapped in this interminable holiday routine. "A lot of parents find joy in doing it for their kids," said Rachelle Warwick, a 31year-old in Springfield, Mass., with three children. "But that's just not something I was going to find joy in." Warwick told her children Santa decides where the elves go "so mommy has nothing to do with it." The explanation seemed to satisfy her 7-yearold son. "I was ready for him to try to debate me," she said.