Santa’s little helpers will be returning home for the holidays.

The Elf on the Shelf was created in 2005 by Carol Aebersold and her daughter.

They published the book and it started many traditions for families, these traditions could be funny and sneaky or could be sweet and wholesome.

Families have created new ways to enjoy the Elf on the Shelf.

The Elf on the Shelf is used to watch over kids to make sure they were being good.

Senior, Riley Cole shares a memory from when his elf was watching them.

“[The elf’s] name was sprinkles. It was a boy. Sprinkles came back to the house 3 weeks before Christmas and moved around every night. One time I woke up and it was right next to me in bed and I got scared,” Cole expressed.

Freshman, Preston Boggs was one of those kids who was scared of his elves.

“I had two elves growing up, they were both boys. We named the elves Pixie and Kansas. I was pretty scared of the elves and when they would hide in my room I would freak out because I felt like they were staring at me. I ended up making my dad cover the elf,” Boggs remarked.

Freshman, Audrey Borden reminisced about the elf she had when she was younger.

“Every year our parents would take the elf and hide it in places and do crazy things. When I was younger I named the elf sparkles and we got a skirt for her,” Borden exclaims.

The Elf on the Shelf has very sentimental value to families and will continue to have that effect on families for a long time to come.