The elf on the shelf...

[Gob]

sweet story...

A seven-year-old girl in the US called police in a panic because she mistakenly touched her Elf on a Shelf.

Isabelle LaPeruta from Old Bridge, New Jersey was upset because the story tells children the magic of Christmas is lost if the elf is touched.

In a recording of the conversation, Isabelle can be heard then telling the 911 operator her call was an "accident" and not to send police.

"I was trying to call my dad," she says.

As police must check all 911 calls, officers went to Isabelle's house, where they found her crying.

Her mother, Lynanne LaPeruter, was asleep and woke up to see her daughter trying to send the officer away.

"Isabella apologized. She touched the Elf on the Shelf. She won't call 911 again," the officer told headquarters over the radio.

"She was hysterical crying, she was panicking," said her mother, in an interview with NBC New York.

Isabelle said the elf fell on the floor when she threw a ball and she had been worried she would get into trouble.

She said Santa Claus "knows" she won't do it again.

"To her, it was an emergency when she touched the elf, and she's going to ruin Christmas, so that was her emergency," said Old Bridge Police Lt Joseph Mandola.

"In her mind, she did right, and it was fine with us."

Elf on the Shelf was first published in the US a decade ago and has since made its way to other countries around the world.

The story describes how Santa Claus sends "scout elves" to homes to watch over events ahead of Christmas.

When a parent buys the book, they also get their own elf to "adopt".

"There's only one rule that you have to follow, so I will come back and be here tomorrow: Please do not touch me. My magic might go, and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know," the book states.

Each night, while the children are asleep, the elf reports back to the North Pole and returns to a different location in the house in the morning.

[TPFKA@W]

I read this story elsewhere and the comments about it were interesting to say the least. Some object to the elf because they feel that it is conditioning children to think being under surveillance is the norm. Others went on about the same objection with respect to Santa.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Glad my kids were grown before this became popular.

Looks like something Ralphie might practice on.

[MajGenl.Meade]

The last time I allowed someone to touch my Elf on a Shelf, the police were not nearly as understanding.

[Big RR]

I had not heard of this, but I guess the Elf on the shelf is like a modern day Big Brother way TV monitor, watching all the time for the littlest infraction.

when I was a kid I probably would have hidden the elf in a dark closet or the basement and said "he must have gone"; but I never expected more than coal and a stick from Santa.

[MG McAnick]

I had not heard of this, but I guess the Elf on the shelf is like a modern day Big Brother way TV monitor, watching all the time for the littlest infraction.

That pretty much nails it Big RR, except that there is no camera involved. My daughter is an elementary school teacher. The school's elf is moved from room to room at night. The kids report where they've seen the elf every day. The elf is especially popular in the weeks leading up to Christmas. All the kids have to do is believe. Santa can't be everywhere...

Here's more about the elf: http://www.elfontheshelf.com/content/about-us

Here is the elf's cousin...
http://www.gocomics.com/theargylesweater/2015/12/15

[RayThom]

He makes sure you don't do anything nasty near the toilet bowl. Remember, don't shake it more that three times. Santa doesn't like that.