For those of you who have never heard of the Elf on the Shelf, it’s a Christmas tradition where a special scout is sent by Santa to watch over children. The Christmas elf observes the kids by day and each night returns to the North Pole to report whether they were naughty or nice.

While this custom is really exciting for the children, their parents have it a bit more complicated. Thinking of creative ideas and remembering to change the position of the doll 25 nights in a row can be harder than you might think.

Whether it’s forgetting the elf in the fireplace or setting up the dolls so they look like something from a horror movie, often things don’t go as planned. Here are some of the most hilarious Elf on the Shelf fails that are too funny not to laugh at. So continue scrolling and make sure to upvote your favorite ones!

#1 I Happened To Look In Our Window And Noticed That When She’s Backlit, It Didn’t Quite Look As Cute As Intended

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#2 Tried To Write A Fun Bathtub Message From The Elf, But It Turned Out A Little Cryptic

Image credits: elfgilbert

#3 Things Got More Toasty Than Planned

Image credits: Chelsea Hightower

#4 Throwback To That Time We Set Our Creepy Elf On Fire Last Year. Ooops. Don’t Let Your Elves Sit On Light Fixtures, Y’all

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#5 Did A Cute Angel Thing For The Elf. The Cat Thought It Was Litter And Did A Giant S**t On My Kitchen Side. My Poor Kids. We Go To Find The Elf And He’s Had A Giant S**t?

Image credits: Katie Wright

#6 I Bit The Head Off The Kids Christmas Elf

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#7 Snow Angels In Sugar Turned Out Looking More Like A Crime Scene

Image credits: pixiee83

#8 Well I Guess I Should Have Checked To Make Sure That There Wasn’t A F***ing Elf In The Fireplace Before Turning It On

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#9 This Idea Looked Okay At That Time. Brandon Woke Up To Find Berry An Well Brandon Said That’s The Creepiest Thing His Elf Has Done And He Doesn’t Like It

Image credits: mom_of_3_great_kiddos

#10 Balding Barry… Our Elf’s Hat Came Off So We Decided To Super Glue It To No Avail. Hey, Let’s Use Nail Polish Remover To Get The Glue Off….laughing Hysterically Ever Since!!!

Image credits: RoscoeDC

#11 Intruder Alert!

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#12 Poor Ken! Tried To Spread A Little Christmas Cheer At The Piano And Look What Happened

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#13 Set The Elf Up Eating Cheetos, And Didn’t Notice Where I Sprinkled Them Until My Kids Started Laughing

Image credits: carriehoppenjans

#14 When Your Husband Thinks Sitting On A Wall Sconce Was A Good Idea… Rip Chippy

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#15 Getting Him Into A Balloon Isn’t As Easy As It Looks

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#16 I Seriously Forgot I Put The Freaking Elf In The Freaking Oven

Image credits: Brittany Mease

#17 Elf Was Hiding In A Balloon. Which Deflated Over Night And Now Looks Like He Is Waiting To Be Born. The Questions From Mister 8 This Morning Are… Colourful

Image credits: dzintrasullivan

#18 Found The Elf Covered In Nail Polish, So I Tried To Remove It And Fix The Elf’s Face

Image credits: danielleee_victoria

#19 I Was Bound To Miss One Night

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#20 New Puppy Got Ahold Of The Elf, And The Rest Is, Well

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#21 Daughter Ran Into My Room Screaming “What Is The Elf Doing To My Doll?” Well I Thought They Were Dancing

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#22 Thought It Would Be Cute To Set Up A Candle Marshmallow-Roasting Scene… Until The Marshmallows Caught On Fire And Almost Burned The House Down

Image credits: Teresa Tangen

#23 Elf On The Shelf Was No Match For Booker The Boston

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#24 When Daddy Puts Maxi (Rowen Named Him) Too Close To The Light Bulb You Tell The Kids He Got Frost Bite On His Way Back From The North Pole

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#25 Set The Elf Up Near The Toilet, And He Promptly Fell In

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#26 Baby Boy Wakes Up And Searches For His Elf. He Finds Her And Says She Drew On The Bananas. I Asked What She Drew And He Says “Nothing, She Just Scribbled On Them”

Image credits: mruniquegomez

#27 Bearded Dragon Don’t Like Intruders Even If They’re Santas Little Helper

Image credits: elisejanelle

#28 It Wasn’t Me, Elf Did Not Loose His Head, I Repeat, The Elf Did Not Loose His Head

Image credits: chitasticdolly_rex

#29 Well….i Thought It Would Be Funny. My Kids… Not So Much ??. Both Had Tears And Told The Elf They Didn’t Like Her Anymore

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#30 This Is Doing The Rounds On Fb And Insta.. Poor Elf

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#31 Elf On The Shelf Display Goes Horribly Wrong And Stains The Kitchen Floor

Image credits: Lyndsey Sahota

#32 When You Come Home From Work To See What Your Dogs Did All Day.. My Poor Kids Are So Upset. Thankfully Santa Saw The Dogs Being Naughty And Turned Our Elf Into A Chew Toy! Our Real Elf Flew Back To The North Pole And Will Be Back Tomorrow!

Image credits: movewithmeganrealestateteam

#33 The Elf In The Burn Unit “Dad… Frank’s Leg Fell Off!”

Image credits: the_tao_of_jh

#34 Thought It Would Be Fun To Put The Elf On Top Of The Guinea Pig’s Igloo In Their Cage

Image credits: lively.shell

#35 Finn Attacked Rudolf, Our Elf! He Was Laying On The Counter Making Snow Angels And Now He’s Head First On The Floor! Rudolf Now Has Flour Stuck To Him From Being Licked To Death By Finn

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#36 So We Decided For “Buddy” To Have Some Lil Zipline Action, But Used Fish Wire Instead Of A Noticeable String, So Yea! Angelito Said He Seen Buddy Floating. He Is Scared Of Him Now

Image credits: Karen G. Quiroga

#37 I Didn’t Prepare For The Off Chance The Tape Didn’t Hold. So My Children Woke Up To An Elf That Drowned In Last Nights Spaghetti Pot

Image credits: brandi_cerone

#38 Thomas Our Elf, Thought It Was A Bright Idea To Hide In The Light Fixture. Thomas Is Now Wearing A Scarf For The Remainder Of His Stay

Image credits: melbrookins14

#39 So Clearly The Dog Feels The Same Way About Elf On The Shelf As I Do! He Went To Town With Poor Mr Elf And Then Left It Behind James’ Curtains And I Have Spent All Afternoon Trying To Find The Damn Thing

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#40 Ffs Ruby!

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#41 Elf-Barbie Fishing Scene Was Super Cute… Until Barbie’s Dress Slipped And Made The Elf Look Like A Creep

Image credits: Justin Carver

#42 Elfette Took A Chocolate Chip Dump But Fell In (Not Intentional!!!)

Image credits: brittanysfontenot

#43 I Didn’t Have Flour For The “Snow” So I Used Sugar… Well

Image credits: Jaycee Ingalls Mansfield

#44 Me To Daddy, Because I Didn’t Have Time “Can You Do Something With The Elf?” Apparently He Didn’t Either. Not Sure What Is Going On Here?

Image credits: aajjmm1982

#45 Elf On A Shelf Fail!! They Were Supposed To Be Sitting Around Nibbling On The Gingerbread House!! Warning: After A Couple Days Those Houses Aren’t That Sturdy!! Think We Have An Elf Down, Somebody Call The Paramedics!!

Image credits: insta_armydelk

#46 The Things I Do For My Kid… Bubble Popped… Looks Like Diarrhea… Elf Freaking Fail… Whatever

Image credits: AmCo711

#47 I Killed Our Elf. Psa: Elves Don’t Like Light Fixtures

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#48 Lil Ginge vs. Elf On The Shelf (Or Should That Be Floor? Haha). The Little Humans Freaked Out But The Elf Didn’t Complain

Image credits: sugar_and_ginge

#49 Note To Self. Next Year Wait Till Morning To Write Poohs Note On Mirror

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#50 What We Executed And How We Found Elfie This Morning!

Image credits: nicole.d.powell

#51 When You Try And Bring That Dreaded Elf Back And Someone Showers And Melts Your “Be Good” Message!

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#52 They Were Supposed To Be At The Beach, Until Louie The Bernedoodle Made It Onto The Countertop

Image credits: marypatt.thomas

#53 Ddo Not Place Your Elf On A Chandelier, Even If It’s One That Rarely Gets Used

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#54 Did Anyone Else Know That Cotton Candy Evaporates Over Night?

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#55 I Don’t Think Wally Is That Interested In Sharing

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#56 Yep So This Is How Poor Auld Sebastian Was Greeted This Morning With A Definitive No And Thrown In The Sink

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#57 We Had A Tragic Circumstance With Our Elf On The Shelf, Elfer, Lastnight. Full Thickness Burn To The Head With Charring. The Kids Are Devastated

Image credits: nostalchick_rn

#58 Dog Got To The Elf Before I Could Save It

Image credits: meredith_colberg

Source: boredpanda.com