Elf on the Shelf Parent Hats

Every December, a small felt scout elf shows up on a shelf and the kids call it magic. The parent knows better. Somebody has to remember at 11:58pm that the elf is still sitting where it sat yesterday, stage a new scene, and do it again for 24 nights straight. The toy comes from the self-published 2005 book by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell, and the people who keep it going are the adults who never asked for the job. These hats are for those adults. ELF ON THE SHELF DAD and ELF ON THE SHELF MOM are the plain role badges. The rest treat the elf as a coworker who is not pulling its weight: it reports to you, it is in a meeting with Santa when it should be on the shelf, it moves only when you remember, and you keep a backup elf in a drawer for emergencies. ELF ON THE SHELF CANCELED DUE TO BUDGET CUTS is for the night the ideas run out, and ELF ON THE SHELF HATER is for the parent who never wanted the thing in the house. Every design is custom embroidered on a soft dad hat. Two of the strongest lines, THE ELF IS IN A MEETING WITH SANTA and I'M THE ONE WHO MOVES THE ELF, come in a second colorway. Demand runs from November 1 to Christmas Eve, so it also makes a Secret Santa gift for the parent who has everything except sleep.