You may have heard of the Elf on a Shelf Phenomenon, if not then you should check it out because it is awesome.

And yes, I know awesome is a pretty strong word but I can tell you right here and right now that since our little elf Jethro has come to stay bedtime has been a dream! So yes, awesome it is! I sincerely hope I did not jinx myself by writing that and sharing it publicly.

The Elf on a Shelf, for those uninitiated (aka non-parents) amongst us, is a ploy to keep children on their best behaviour until Christmas.  I get that this sounds like lazy parenting but if it works, why knock it I say.  And quite frankly, I think it’s a lot of fun.

It works like this:

At some point in the lead up to Christmas (either the 1 December like us, or maybe just a couple of weeks beforehand), a special visitor all the way from the North Pole, comes to stay until Christmas Eve.  This magical elf is a messenger from Santa, sent to monitor whether the little boys and girls of the world are being naughty or nice.

Each evening, the elf flies back to the North Pole (because, you know… magic!) and reports back to Santa.  Children aren’t allowed to touch the elf or he’ll lose his magic and have to go home (very clever thinking!).

But the elf is a little cheeky and he can get up to all kinds of mischief whilst said children are asleep and there are pinterest boards and blogs dedicated to coming up with new ideas to inspire creative parents.

This is our first year but already Miss B is a fan.  She has been keen to ensure that Jethro provides a good report to Santa and the seed has well and truly been planted in her mind that good behaviour is required to reap the rewards.

Jethro surprised the girls in the car yesterday and then was hiding, waiting for Miss B to figure out where he was this morning.  She was so excited!

I can see this becoming a solid tradition in our household and if it some how subconsciously plants the seed of good behaviour, well you’ve got me sold!

Do you ‘Elf on a Shelf’? Does it work in your house?