Make the season bright with Reindeer Knoll - a joyful guide to Christmas traditions, history, activities, and songs. Discover the origins of beloved Christmas customs like decorating trees, Santa Claus, and gift-giving. Learn fun holiday activities like baking cookies, building snowmen, and Christmas crafts. Sing along to classic Christmas carols and songs the whole family will love.
The Elf on the Shelf tradition started back in 2005 when Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell, self-published the book “The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition” along with a special box with a small Scout Elf inside. Bell and Pitts told HuffPost that The Elf on the Shelf idea dates back to a family tradition from their childhood in Georgia in the 1970s.
“We had an elf growing up for as long as we can remember. Our elf was named Fisbee, and Fisbee of course would report to Santa Claus at night and be back in a different position in our house the next day,” Pitts explained. “We loved it. It was a chance for us to tell Santa directly what maybe we might want for Christmas, or to do good deeds so that Santa would know about them.”
The 2005 "Elf on a Shelf" was strongly influenced by a Scandinavian elf/elves called "Nisse." These elves or spirits were responsible for the care and prosperity of the home year-round. Eventually, this trickled into the Christmas season, and the Nisse would be the bearers of presents. The household was responsible for keeping the Nisse satisfied with porridge on Christmas Eve, or the house would experience misfortune after that. They were then called "Julenisse" or "Julenisser" from here on out.