Judge jokingly bans Elf on the Shelf from Georgia county. ‘My gift to tired parents’
A Christmas tradition frequently touted by parents and others as “creepy,” “disturbing” and an “unnecessary stress” has been banished from a single county in Georgia after a local judge determined it was causing “extreme emotional distress” for children — his own included.
The one-page order issued by Judge Rob Leonard in Cobb County Superior Court was, of course, a joke.
“Tired of living in Elf on the Shelf tyranny? Not looking forward to the Elf forgetting to move and causing your kids emotional distress?” he said in a Nov. 4 tweet. “I am a public servant and will take the heat for you. My gift to tired parents.”
The tweet was accompanied by a signed — but not stamped — order titled “Banishing Elves on the Shelves in Cobb County.” Cobb County encompasses northwest Metro Atlanta and is coincidentally home to The Lumistella Company, which makes The Elf on the Shelf.
In a statement to McClatchy News on Tuesday, The Lumistella Company was quick to reassure children their beloved Christmas tradition was safe.
“On behalf of The Elf on the Shelf Scout Elves, Santa would like to assure the children and families of Cobb County that the honorable Judge Leonard has no jurisdiction over Christmas cheer,” the company said. “The Scout Elves will be bringing their holiday magic and an extra measure of joy to all those celebrating this season.”
“P.S. Santa has checked his list twice and Judge Leonard is still on the nice list,” Lumistella added. “Despite this silly jest, his Scout Elf reports he’s actually a jolly good fellow.”
Leonard also replied to his tweet with a message clarifying that he does, in fact, “love the elf and our local company that has so generously supported so many local charities and done amazing things in our community.”
The Elf on the Shelf is a children’s book and magical doll known as a “scout elf” for Santa who reports back to the North Pole every night, according to the Elf on the Shelf website. Scout elf — with some parent help — finds a new hiding spot every night after reporting to Santa and returning to the house.
Children are told never to touch the elf, lest it lose its magic.
The elf has caused its fair share of headaches for parents, including one Kansas City-area mom who accidentally burned her family’s Elf on the Shelf after warming up the oven and forgetting he was in there.
In his order, Leonard said the elves have caused distractions at school and are a “risk to the emotional health and well-being of Cobb’s young children.” They also “inexplicably” don’t move every night, he added.
“The undersigned recalls a horrific incident in his own home where three children were sent to school in tears, with one child being labeled an ‘Elf Murderer’ and accused of making the elf ‘lose his magic,’” Leonard wrote. “The court has no doubt that day of education was lost to everyone.”
Between supply chain issues and the aforementioned “risks to vulnerable children,” the judge concluded there was “no choice” but to banish the Elf on the Shelf from Cobb County.
Some didn’t get the joke. One person questioned how the judge didn’t have more “pressing matters” like robbery with which to concern himself.
Others, however, were in agreement.
State House Rep. Beth Moore called Leonard’s order “the kind of judicial activism I can support,” and Georgia Supreme Court Justice Carla Wong McMillian affirmed it.
“Kids are older now but there might have been a time when my son....put our elf in a dark corner of my daughter’s bathroom and she started screaming bloody murder when she saw the elf looking at her in the mirror,” McMillian said in a tweet.
Even the State Bar of Georgia got in on it.
Here’s what other Twitter users had to say:
For fans of the Elf on the Shelf, Leonard declared: “If you love your elf, keep your elf. No contempts.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Judge jokingly bans Elf on the Shelf from Georgia county. ‘My gift to tired parents’."
