The author has been doing Elf on the Shelf pranks for her son for years.Courtesy of Ashley Archambault I've been doing the Elf on the Shelf pranks for my son for years, and he's always known it's me.

This Elf on the Shelf left a permanent mark. A father took the Elf on the Shelf trend to the extreme and gave himself a tattoo to fully convince his children of their elf’s mischief. Doting dad ...

My kids are teenagers now, but they believed in Elf on the Shelf for more than a decade. When I was deep in my elf years, I complained about the work, and now I miss it. These days, my elves are ...

I've been doing the Elf on the Shelf pranks for my son for years, and he's always known it's me. I don't even use the trademark Elf — I have a little gnome that works just as well. I enjoy it more ...