Mom hilariously captures how exhausting it is to keep up with ‘Elf on the Shelf’ for 25 days

A mom captured just how maddening keeping up the Elf on the Shelf tradition can be. 

The world was first introduced to the Elf on the Shelf in 2005 through Carol Aebersold’s children’s book The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition. Every holiday season, elves come from the North Pole to homes around the world. The goal is to observe children and determine if they’ve been naughty or nice. The elves appear around the house but never move in the presence of children. And they can’t be touched, or else they lose their magic. 

At least that’s how the storybook version goes. Parents around the world know that they are the real force behind the Elf on the Shelf. Every year, they secretly shuffle the small plastic elf doll around the house, keeping the magic alive for their children. TikTok mom Jaime showed what staying on top of the Christmas game is really like for grown-ups

https://www.tiktok.com/@iamtherealjaimed/video/6901690382065732870

“Moms on day one,” Jamie said as she placed a couple of elves and marshmallows on the kitchen counter. 

But by day two, she was already over having to wake up at 3:27 a.m. to move the elf. On days three to 24, she basically shot out of bed in a cold sweat, just before 5 a.m., to get the job done. 

TikTokers joked that Jamie was revealing too many grown-up secrets with her video. 

“You just broke all the little kids’ hearts,” a user wrote. 

“Wait, so, parents move the elves?” another asked

“I know my mom moves them. I just want to see where she puts them the next day,” someone commented

In The Know is now available on Apple News — follow us here!

If you enjoyed this story, check out this mom who put her 6-month-old in a pot full of “hot chocolate” and immediately went viral!

More from In The Know:

Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: