Move over Elf on the Shelf, there’s a new crew of elves working to reinforce a child’s good behaviour, while taking some of the pressure off parents.

The Kindness Elves, first released in 2013, challenge a child to complete good deeds each day, rather than trying to prevent kids from being naughty.

The idea behind the Kindness Elves is that the elves leave notes around the house -- or in a specifically designed mailbox -- with suggestions or challenges for an act of kindness a child could complete that day, such as baking cookies for a neighbour, or reading a book to a younger sibling. Once the good deed is completed, the elves then leave a postcard for the child to collect.

This offers an alternative to the Elf on the Shelf, which launched in 2005 and has exploded in popularity over the past few years. The Elf on the Shelf is a toy elf that is placed around the house in the days leading up to Christmas. It acts as a “scout” for Santa and reports the child’s behaviour back to the big man to determine if the kid has been naughty or nice.

Despite its popularity, some parents have noted the increased pressure to come up with funny or unique places to put the toy and impress admirers on social media, all while trying to complete a busy holiday to-do list.

A hashtag for the Kindness Elves has gathered 1,889 posts on Instagram, with fun photos and ideas for acts of kindness the elves can suggest. The Kindness Elves have also gathered hundreds of suggestions on Pinterest.

A Kindness Elves set is sold for $34.50.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

"Sprinkle kindness wherever you go" �� ����‍♀️

A post shared by Laura Noelle (@lauranoellewrites) on

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We love this little scene of Misty the Recipe Maker Kindness Elf introducing herself to her new family and suggesting they bake cookies as an act of kindness! Love the use of the character card in the set up too! You can find these character cards for every Kindness Elf over on our website free to download and use! #Repost @ktsnflwr (@get_repost) ・・・ Misty introduced herself as the cookie baker today and measured out ingredients for Olivia to make cookies for the neighbor. We also packaged some up for our mail carriers and garbage man. . ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ . #thekindnesselves #12daysofchristmaskindness #rak #randomactsofkindness #choosekind #kindnesselves #kindkids #payitforward

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