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<\/p>\nWhether or not you have kids, you've probably heard of Elf on the Shelf.<\/p>\n
Over the years, it's become one of the most popular Christmas traditions in the UK. The doll is sent from the North Pole to make sure kids are on Santa's nice list ahead of the big day. <\/p>\n
Every morning the cheeky elf can be found hidden around the house. The character might be doing something mischievous before returning to Santa to give him the low down.<\/p>\n
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Now as Elf on the Shelf has become a legend during the festive period, you're probably wondering where Santa's helper got its name.<\/p>\n
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Elf on the Shelf was actually based on a book created by Carol Aebersold and her grown twin daughters Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts in 2004.<\/p>\n
They wrote a poem which would be turned into a storybook and the following year the family launched their own company to bring the tradition to other families.<\/p>\n
The idea dates back to their childhood in Georgia, US, in the 1970s, when they had an elf called Fisbee, who became the inspiration for Elf on the Shelf.<\/p>\n
Christa told HuffPost: "We had an elf growing up for as long as we can remember. Our elf was named Fisbee, and Fisbee of course would report to Santa Claus at night and be back in a different position in our house the next day. <\/p>\n
"We loved it. It was a chance for us to tell Santa directly what maybe we might want for Christmas, or to do good deeds so that Santa would know about them."<\/p>\n
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Unlike the Elf on the Shelf we see in homes today, Fisbee was an ornament who stayed on the Christmas tree and didn't move.<\/p>\n
But over time, the tradition changed and when Christa became a parent, the elf would move overnight. She would tell her kids to not touch Fisbee or he'd lose his magic.<\/p>\n
It wasn't until 2004, when their mum left her job as a reading and language arts teacher to care for their son, that Chanda suggested writing a book to bring the magic into other people's homes.<\/p>\n
She explained: "It was during that time at home that I looked up and I saw our elf that we grew up with sitting on a shelf.<\/p>\n
"I was like, 'mum, why don't we write a story about the elf on the shelf?' I can tell you honestly, at that time, there was no \u2013 and I do mean zero \u2013 intention of starting a business or really doing much of anything other than a fun project for mom and I to work on together."<\/p>\n
However, once they completed the story, the sisters wanted to publish it. But because they received nothing but rejections from publishers, they self-published The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.<\/p>\n
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