Elf On A Shelf: A New Holiday Tradition To Creep You Out

So apparently I'm the last person to find out about a new Christmas tradition called "Elf On The Shelf". Because apparently there weren't ENOUGH mascots for the holiday. 

Apparently the goal is to creep out your children enough that they behave for Santa. The Elf is a minion of the devil supposedly sent by Santa to keep an eye on your kids (also known as a snitch). The idea is that you move the Elf around your house each night, or you have it get in to some form of mischief.

Now you can go the easy route such as knocking over a trashcan or messing up presents under the tree, and blame it on the Elf. However some over-achieving parents go as far as totally destroying their kitchen for a chance to freak their kids out.

Considering all that goes on around the holiday, do we REALLY need another tradition to keep up on? Isn't enough to give some fat guy credit for all the gifts you spent your hard earned money on? Now we have to throw even more stuff on top of that?

Not to mention the fact that the Elf looks like something from a holiday horror movie (a genre that is vastly under-utilized). If I have kids and that thing is in my house, bedroom doors are getting locked at night. I don't want to be the first one taken out by a murderous stuffed elf. We might have to celebrate Hanukkah.

Unfortunately while some parents don't want another holiday tradition to keep up with, pressure to do it is coming from others. One of my friends on Facebook said they had to get the Elf after their kids complained because their friends had one. Hooray peer pressure!

The Elf has only been around for the past 5 years. But if its that easy to make money off a holiday, I really need to get in to this. What about Fourth of July Freddie? Or Turkey Tom? Just write a children's book, create a weird tradition, then sit back and wait for the cash to roll in.

Aren't the holidays fun?

(Huffington Post)