# Elf on the Shelf during Quarantine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808 "2020-11-30T13:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808/1 "2020-11-30T13:34:57Z")
I really don’t understand the appeal of these little demons. To me they seem like miniature versions of the Weeping Angels, only slightly cuter. > [@](#): > > I know there are a lot of parents out there who swear by the elf. Sure, it’s cute to look at and funny for the two minutes it takes the kids to find it in the morning, granting you a hot second to get a cup of coffee. But let me be the first person to give you a gift this season: **Put. Down. The. Elf.** 2020 is not the year to worry about the damn elf. No parent, I repeat, no parent, needs to spend any excess energy this year to ensure holiday magic, or anything else. > > Even the [Elf on the Shelf website](https://elfontheshelf.com/blog/scout-elves-quarantine/) is aware it’s reaching, issuing this statement: > > > We checked with the Big Man in Red himself for the definitive answer to all your Scout Elf quarantine questions. Great news! Santa says, “ _All Scout Elves are 100% healthy and remain well at the North Pole. They are excited to return to the human world for a season of excitement and giggles. Since Scout Elves are magical beings from the North Pole, **they do not get human sicknesses and do not need to quarantine**!_ ” The second picture on the webpage is priceless, and I’m sure it sums up a lot of peoples’ feelings about Satan’s Helper (sic) > **[Parents, Put The Elf On The Shelf Down](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/parents-put-the-elf-on-the-shelf-down_l_5faead4dc5b6c582dacc9ad1)** > > This is not the year we need to stress about remembering to move a "magic" stuffed doll every night. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808/2 "2020-12-02T18:21:56Z")
We use a Belsnickel doll. I thought that was just some bullshit made up for Dwight Schrute’s oddball character on The Office. My wife’s family is from that area of Eastern PA / Northern NJ and apparently a lot of his nonsense is actual stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808/3 "2020-12-02T20:27:46Z")
Besides, aren’t they spies looking for a reason to get the kids in trouble? They always make me think of a Troll in the Bowl, who criticizes our bathroom habits. And the Elf really isn’t much creepier than the Troll. I think the time to Put the Elf Down is in the store. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808/4 "2020-12-03T00:11:09Z")
I saw a Facebook post that said, “First, we had the Elf On The Shelf. And now, this.” The picture showed the Mandalorian atop a certain stainless steel car. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808/5 "2020-12-03T00:29:22Z")
My mother would move around a Pokey (Gumby’s horse) every time we brought our kids over, all year long. The kids loved it and eventually asked to take it home with them where they moved it around themselves. It became more of a hide & seek game at that point. Sometimes Pokey would go missing for weeks then be found on the top of a ceiling fan or some other crazy place. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elf-on-the-shelf-during-quarantine/926808/6 "2020-12-03T01:18:31Z")
At my Moms independent living place they are doing the Elf on the shelf for the residents. No one is in allowed in the facility that doesn’t work or live there. Probably something for the residents to do. She asked us about it. I am clueless.