KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Those elves really don't stay on the shelf, do they?
"Elf on the Shelf" is a popular Christmas game -- the tiny elves "hide" in a new spot every night in the holiday season.
The new tradition has Knoxville roots; one of its creators graduated from the University of Tennessee. So it's not surprising that many East Tennessee families host an elf every year.
10News asked viewers where their elves were hiding. It turns out that the local elves get into some creative situations!
It all started when Jaime Lyn Phillips shared her elf's quick thinking -- Betty the Elf took cover in a Mason jar when she "smelled" trouble.
Some elves were a little more helpful to their hosts.
Ashley Mahathy Kloefkorn said she gave her family's elves a "pep talk" about how they needed to stop being messy and start helping out. They listened -- at least for one day!
The holidays are a busy time for elves... so some of them decided to take breaks and have some fun.
Layla Marie Wilson's elf, Cocoa, started the holiday season by swinging on a Christmas tree ornament "like a wrecking ball!"
Not all the elves had such a good time.
Danielle Kincer's elf, Rusty Snickerdoodle, ran into the family's Darth Vader toy. Kincer said the elf "learned the power of the Dark Side!"
We're sure Rusty Snickerdoodle is fine.
He wasn't the only elf who got into trouble with a family's toys...
Christie Slatton said her family's elf was caught stealing from the candy jar. "Lucky for us, the police caught him!" Slatton said.
An elf's holiday duties must get tiring.
That's probably why Julie Pipkin Rech's elf started the day with an elf-sized cup of coffee. "She got thirsty," Rech said.
Hundreds of other people commented with pictures of their elves. We put some of the other pictures in this photo gallery!
East Tennessee's Elf on the Shelf shenanigans
If you want even more Elf on the Shelf ideas (or you want to post your own), check out the Facebook post below!
