‘It makes the kids happy which is what it is all about’
Emma Gardiner (34), a hairdresser from Lurgan, is married to Scott (31), a classroom assistant, and has three children, Olly (7), Jack (5) and Georgie (1).
She introduced the Elf to her family last year after her boys asked why they didn’t have one. Because of their popularity she struggled to get an Elf in time for December 1 as they were sold out. “The boys were coming home from school asking why an Elf hadn’t come to our house as everyone else in school seemed to have one,” she says.
“I had seen them on social media the previous year and wondered how people could be bothered but when the boys mentioned them I thought, why not? It should be a bit of fun.
“We wanted to get the original Elf on the Shelf with the book but they were sold out everywhere. We finally managed to get one a couple of days into December so our Elf arrived late with a letter apologising and explaining that he had got delayed in the North Pole.
“The book explains all about the Elf and that Santa has sent him to see if the children are being naughty or nice.
“Ours was a girl Elf (it says on the box if it is a boy or girl) and we called her Sprinkles.
“I know this is going to make me sound like a terrible mum but I would use it to remind the boys that the Elf was watching when they weren’t being well behaved.”
For Emma and her husband, the nightly ritual of thinking up the pranks for the Elf did prove a bit of a challenge as the month wore on.
She even admits to “Elf envy” as she found herself checking what other elves were up to on social media. “It does get hard and I can recall one night when it was about midnight and we were in bed and suddenly realised we had forgot about Elf and had to get up and go downstairs and come up with an idea for a prank.
“Of course, some people go all out and would put you to shame. I remember one had stuck the Elf to the wall with duct tape and then a load of other toys around it as if they were holding the Elf hostage.
“There was a bit of Elf envy when you see things like that but for us it was mostly things that were easy.”
Emma’s Elf did get up to its fair share of mischief. Her boys came down the stairs to find the Elf had emptied the laundry basket and thrown the dirty clothes all over the house, with some hanging from the lights and curtains. They also found the Elf had drawn on family pictures, and one night their festive visitor ate a whole box of Celebrations sweets, putting all the empty wrappers back into the tub.
Emma says: “It makes the kids happy which is what it is all about for us and it definitely adds some extra magic to Christmas. If the kids didn’t like it I wouldn’t do it. “It is a harmless piece of fun and it is only for a few years and then the magic is gone so I want to keep it alive for as long as I can for the kids.
“It helps them to really get involved in the countdown to Christmas.”