“He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good,” or in this case the elf knows.

In 2008 Carol Aebersol and Chanda Bell released their book Elf on the Shelf and now five years later it has become a phenomenon.

Aebersold and Bell’s book is now sold with an elf that comes to watch the children for Santa.

The elf stays each day and watches what the children do and listens to how they are behaving. Then each night when the children are asleep it returns to the North Pole and reports back to Santa.

Because it leaves every night when the kids get up in the morning it has hid itself in a new location.

“Since these little elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot! While some like to hide in the freezer (probably because it reminds them of the North Pole) and others prefer to sit on the fireplace mantle or hang from a chandelier,” says www.elfontheself.com.

The kids do not know where it is and have to find it during the day. However, the kids cannot touch the elf because if they are to touch it the elf will lose its magic.

Just in case the elf is touched by a child though, the book tells you how you can get the elf’s magic back.

Parents all over are buying the book that goes along with the elf and are teaching their children that they have to be on their best behavior if they want to receive gifts from Santa this year.

There are boy elves and girl elves and they all have different names. Children are taught that they can talk to their elf and tell him or her what they would like for Christmas.

While Santa has the last say the elves will tell Santa everything the children say and all the wished they have.

Finally on Christmas Eve the elves will listen for Santa’s bell and then they will fly back home until the next Christmas season.

So this Christmas season you better not be naughty but nice because the elves will tell Santa.