For all of you that participate in the “Elf on the Shelf” tradition…how many times have you forgotten to move that pesky elf before your kids woke up in the morning? For me, it’s a daily challenge to remember to help my elf get into mischief.

Creator and author of the popular “Elf on the Shelf”, Carol V. Aebersold, gives parents a tip on how they can remember to help their elves get back to the North Pole and back before it is time for their kids to discover him again. It’s simple really, just use post it notes.

“I tell parents to put a blank sticky note on the bathroom mirror every night so that they can remember to check whether their elf has flown back to the North Pole,” says Aebersold.

Aebersold released a new book back in October called, “The Birthday Tradition”, which is where Santa will allow the child’s elf come back for one special day each year: their birthday.

“What other more special family tradition is there than your own special holiday, your birthday,” says Aebersold. “We heard so many requests from kids saying ‘Can my elf come back?’ that we decided to talk to Santa, and he said, ‘This is how we celebrate birthdays at the North Pole, and kids might want to do it, too.” Aebersold says she has gotten a great response from the new book, with thousands of kids writing letters to Santa to have him send their elf back for their birthdays.

“Elf on the Shelf” was more than just a creative idea Aebersold thought up. It was a tradition that her family started years ago, and once she had kids of her own, she decided to write a book to share their tradition.

“It was a tradition we had in my family; you adopt your elf for a lifetime. So when I got married, he came with me and my children grew up with my elf. When they grew up they told me what a wonderful family tradition that was and said ‘Mom, we should write a book and share it with the world,'” she said.

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