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Reasons Why Our Elf Forgot to Move
This was first published in 2017, but we still use these ideas today because it’s that time of year again! Time to reshare our Elf’s Reasons for forgetting to move… again! Yes, even though the Elf on the Shelf’s Ideas make the kids laugh, he often forgets to move and stays put for two days in a row. So… every year, I share this post with the reasons why our Elf didn’t move.
I hope that your Elf is less forgetful than ours. 🙂
“MOM! Gilbert (our elf) forgot to move… again! He is STILL on the wreath on the door! Mom? Mom?”
To which I now have a good response… 25, in fact. If you don’t have an elf, scroll to the bottom and you can find my affiliate link to Amazon to find an Elf on the Shelf & more.
When the kids wake us up to tell us that our elf forgot to move – we need to be quick on our feet to think of a reason why. Our Elf on the Shelf has great ideas, but sometimes he just sticks with the same one for two days in a row. On his good days, he does fun things and even changes outfits, but other days… he simply forgets to move.
Here are 25 reasons why our Elf didn’t move:
1- My friend, Holly, uses the excuse that her Elf was stuck, so they use Kitchen Tongs to move him from his spot, to pry him loose.
2- He heard someone getting out of bed right when he was about to move. He was afraid that he would be caught, so he had to stay put! (You have to stay in bed so that he can move!)
3- (If your child had misbehaved) – He saw you crying about ___ yesterday and he decided not to tell Santa, this time, because in this house, we give second chances.
4- He fell asleep waiting for you to go to sleep…
5- I thought that I heard some snoring coming from downstairs. He must have fallen asleep early last night.
6- I think that I heard the TV last night- I bet he was watching a show and by the time it was over, he heard us waking up and couldn’t move.
7- You woke up too early. This is why I ask you to stay in bed until 7:00 because he doesn’t get home from the North Pole until just before 7.
8- You’re right, he didn’t move, but I see crumbs on the counter, so I bet that he had a snack and then went back to his spot and forgot that he had already been there!
9- Maybe he thought that if he stayed there today, he would be able to hide better since you wouldn’t look there again!
10- Oh no! It looks like his leg/arm/tag is stuck. Let me pry him loose with a spoon.
11- I think that he stayed there because he could see everything really well.
12- “Elf, I’m sorry that we didn’t sleep well last night and you couldn’t move. Maybe you can move while the kids are at school/lessons today.”
13- I think that sometimes he likes to move in the day because he has a hard time seeing at night.
14- I definitely heard some talking last night, I think that his Elf friend came here, because it sounded like two elves… I bet they were talking so much that he forgot to move.
15- One year, our Elf made the kids little green pancakes. When he forgot to move, we decided that it was because he just loved the pancakes too much to move.
16- Oh man! I think that it was my fault. I had to come downstairs to get a drink and I saw magic dust in the air. I bet that he was moving until I came down. Sorry, guys.
17- You know what? That glue of Daddy’s was taken out of the garage. I bet he was playing with it and got stuck. I’ll pry him loose with a spatula. (be sure to tell your Elf not to do that again).
18- (if you have a dog) – The dog kept staying by him and wouldn’t leave, so he couldn’t move.
19- He was sick last night – it looks like he might have a fever. Can you get a thermometer for me? I’ll check.
20- Looks like he may have hurt his leg. Let me see if I can take a look at it for you (get out the Dr. kit and give him a once over, without touching him.
WHEN YOU ARE BUYING YOURSELF SOME TIME SO YOUR ELF CAN MOVE:
21- “Hey, honey, can you run back to your room and grab a sweatshirt in case it’s cold inside today?” Or “Can you run upstairs and see if I left my phone/keys/money in there?” (This will buy you two minutes)
22- We need to all go look together as a family. Let me run downstairs first to make sure that the blinds are open, first, so we can see him really well. (Buys you 1-2 minutes).
23- Oh wait- you have to go brush your teeth (or make your bed or get dressed) before you can check on the elf.
24- Before you look for the elf, can you hurry and make him a card? I feel like we never make him anything and he always does fun things for us.
25- Oh man!! What was that noise? I think he is still moving. Stay here while I run and check. Don’t come down until I tell you that its clear because if you see him, he loses his magic!
#26 BONUS: This one came from a reader & I love it:
Since Elves are used to living in the cold North Pole and our house is so warm, the elf magic disappears when they get warm. In order to recharge the magic, the elf needs to be cold so I use an oven mitt to place him in the freezer for a while.
ps… YOU ARE WELCOME TO PRINT THESE EXCUSES, TOO!
If your kids are anything like our kids (below), they are counting on the Elf moving every day, so keep these little excuses handy. 😉
Where to get an Elf on the Shelf:
If you don’t have an Elf or you have never tried it, you can get an Elf on the Shelf here or you can get a big plush elf (I’ve never seen this until today!
More Christmas Posts you might like:
- FUNNY Elf on the Shelf Ideas
- 25 Christmas Morning Ideas
- Stocking Stuffers for Kids or Stocking Stuffers for Teenage Boys
- Elf Tracker
- NON TOY gifts for kids!
Our elf gets touched sometimes and I don’t want to pick her up for the year. So, we just have to sprinkle some cinnamon on her so she doesn’t lose her magic. Also, babies can touch them because Santa knows babies don’t know any better. But I usually say she was still a little too sick to fly and needed an extra day of rest.
I am just happy I found other moms that forget to move that !@#$@#$@ ELF! I thought I was the worst mom ever!
lol!
No
Our Elf was in our Christmas tree for 2 days and my daughter pointed at her in the tree and said why didn’t she move? I told her that she must have thought that she did such a great job decorating the tree that it was probably her favorite spot! My daughter said oh yea you’re right!
love it!!
I tell my kids, Baby elf saw you do something bad and he’s giving you another chance today. He really doesn’t want to tell Santa you’re bad.
Yes we have the same thing with my daughter
When I forget to move our elf I tell the kids that he loved that spot so much he decided to stay there.
Like I said it could lose its magic if you touch it like the book says so if you do touch it or move it around you might want to sprinkle some cinnamon around it
Did any of you viewers see the advertisement about the Birthday Elf on the Shelf last holiday season? The manufacture of EOtS thought it FIT, to advertise on severl children’s television networks, the “New birthday elf on the shelf”!!!
My grandson immediately called me, and his mom on it. Asking questions as to how this could be when it was a magical thing.
Little Elfie went in the trash and we were done with yet, another holiday lie.
The manufacturing company should be ashamed.
LOL. So many great ideas on here that literally made me Laugh out Loud.
Moms can be so creative at times can’t we 😉
🙂 So true, Addi!
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My kids found the elf on the shelf buddy on the Christmas tree but he was decorating it with underwear
LOL!! I think our Elf is going to have to try that one.
Sometimes our elf Bella has to stay in the north pole for the day and help Santa because he is super busy right now and needs extra elf help! So she will leave them a nice note hanging on the fridge saying that she is gone helping Santa and will see them tomorrow morning and then usually has an extra special surprise for them the next morning since she missed everyone so much! So she always moves but sometimes isn’t there!
I misplaced our elf and couldnt find him. Left a note to say he had forgotten a few things and had to go back. 1. He forgot to tidy his room. 2. He forgot to kiss his parents goodbye and 3. He forgot the kids surprise gift. He told them to give him a couple of days as he wasnt as quick as santa. (Just long enough for me to have a rummage and find Boingilingo) today he left a note with the gifts saying that he wasn’t allowed fun until his room was tidy and that they cant use their gifts and have fun with them until their room is tidy.