Woman shares 'lazy' elf on shelf hack for all moms trying to follow traditions this holiday season

Christmas, kids are excited about everything they can think of. Right from decorations to cookies to Santa and the Christmas magic, they can’t wait to get hands-on in the festive mood. However, for parents and adults, this may not be the case given the busy schedules and lifestyles they may have. In such scenarios, keeping up with traditions, especially the Elf on the Shelf one, can be quite a hassle. Fortunately, a TikTok mom shared the simplest yet innovative method to get the 'Elf on shelf' magic without getting exhausted and worked up. The mom came up with the lazy elf on a shelf idea for moms who are a hot mess and just cannot indulge in the tradition.

“Do you want to be a magical mom this Christmas but you’re a mess and cannot keep up with the elf on a shelf, plus it’s creepy. Let me put you onto something,” the mom suggested. She then revealed a Christmas village house, which she said was “cheap” and can be purchased from Target or similar stores. “When your kids are asleep, you’re gonna want to put this somewhere with a little note. When they wake up, surprise, an elf has moved into your house,” she added ingeniously. She then mentioned that the kids can be told that the elf is at Sant’s workshop all day, which explains their absence and then come back at night.

“Your responsibility is to feed him a piece of sugary cereal every day,” the mom said, to add a fun element to the entire tradition and make it more realistic. The mom further suggested leaving things on behalf of the elf occasionally to make them seem more real. She recommended leaving anything—a note of encouragement, a treat and so on. The mom highlighted the simple and hassle-free nature of this hack for parents so that they wouldn’t have to worry about following up each day or trying to make conspiracies in case something goes wrong. “The second day after Thanksgiving, my son asked if Elfie was going to move back in and I said I didn't know but surprise, this morning Elfie moved back in,” the mother added.

Towards the end of the video, the mom shared where she had set up the house for her kids. It was on a table. “Today he brought him a little book about elves,” she added, turning the camera towards a book that she placed near the house. The mom also mentioned that the book was a gift she forgot to give her son last year and simply fixed the error by placing it on the table as a gift from the elf! Moms were content with the hilarious trick shared to make the elf on the shelf a better and more convenient tradition. Other moms pitched in on their methods to avoid the tradition. @sarahnosbest said, “We don’t do anything like this because I told the kids I used to work for Santa, so we don’t need a spy elf in the house.” @samantahsimpson85 said, “The number of times the tooth fairy forgot in here was the first sign I could never do elf on a shelf. I like this idea though.”