27 Surprising Things You Don't Know About the Elf on the Shelf, Straight From the Creator

Despite the flood of elaborate ideas on social media, the elf can be whatever your family wants it to be — and magic won't be lost based on the lack of originality of your ideas. "Your children will make special memories with their elf and this tradition," Chanda said. "Our elf simply flies back and forth to the North Pole and lands in a different spot. He might write a letter back and forth, and my daughter is making just as many special memories as these wild and crazy and creative elves."