I am sure you have all heard the origin of the Elf on the Shelf. Wikipedia has the breakdown of its story as follows..
“The Elf on the Shelf story was created in 2004 by Carol Aebersold and daughter Chanda Bell over a cup of tea. Bell suggested they write a book about their own family tradition of an elf sent from Santa who came to watch over them at Christmas time."
What most people don’t know is that (like many childhood stories) this is just fairy-tale. Sure, it isn't the most “magical” fairy-tale but it was never intended to be. Sometimes the biggest cover-ups are just a simple story. It is tough to question something that is simple enough that the person reading it or hearing it can think “that sounds possible”. Any good tale is believable, and that is exactly how this story was intended to be told.