Pop In Kins Elf Pop-In-Kins Christopher Bookset

When my son was I heard about "The Elf on a Shelf" in an online mommy group and it sounded like so much fun. So I bought one for my just turned 3 year old about 2 weeks before Christmas. I was dismayed by the cheap, creepy looking elf that came in the box. With his skinny arms sewed together, points for feet and hands and his floppiness he wasn't at all what I had expected. Posing him was a pain too. Still my son has an amazing imagination so I was excited to introduce him to the fun. I read him the book and after he fell asleep I carefully posed the creepy little guy even though his expression gave me a bit of the willies and I eagerly awaited morning to share the fun. My son tracked down the elf pretty quickly, took one look at him and declared "That's not a real elf!" I tried to explain the story and the magic, even reading the book again, but he was not convinced. I was so disappointed. I continued to hide the elf every morning and he would search for him but there was no convincing this little boy who has imaginary friends that this was anything other than a toy. When the next Christmas was approaching I decided that I was going to switch shelf boy with a more realistic looking elf. I had no idea that there was an elf who had been around longer and was 100 times cuter until my search brought up Christopher Pop-In-Kins. He was adorable in the picture and I decided to take a chance on him. He is everything I expected from the "pretender" and more. Not only was he adorable in his green and red outfit, he had bendable arms and legs so you could pose him in many different positions and he had on large (for an elf) green shoes that made it pretty easy to stand him up as long he had something for a little support. We have used him the last 2 years and my son's face just lights up when he discovers what Christopher has been up to during the night. I've had a blast finding creative ways to display him. My son has discovered him hanging from the chandler - riding in a shoe sled with stuffed animals pulling it - Making hot chocolate with marshmallows - Building a snowman with other toys from around the house. Hiding in the Christmas tree - hanging upside down from his knees or toes from assorted places. The possibilities are endless when you aren't working with limpness and a figure who can only sit. We loved him so much the first year we had him visiting that last year we invited his sister Christina Marie to come along. {;ix I bought some extra sets for gifts.

I have never written a bad review. But tonight when I opened the package which was suppose to have Christopher the Elf and the book together...no elf. I am specially upset because I made the effort of going to my grand kids home to open in front of them. After telling them about the special elf and seeing their sad faces when no elf...well I can only say lets make a wrong right and send the kids Christopher Pop In kins on overnight delivery. If possible after receiving the elf hopefully before Christmas is over (the whole fun of this is to entertain the kids before Christmas.) I will write a positive review to x out the negative. I hope no one else has to be disappointed like me on this purchase. Reading some reviews it looks like I should have believed what I read. A sad grandmother Diane H.

We are going on 5 nights with this elf and it's been a blast! Even my 10 year old is fascinated with this thing. First day I forgot about it... I had warned my kiddos a week before that when we got home from vacation one of Santa's elves would be visiting us. My 6-year old had woken up all excited for Santa's elf... I told her to get dressed and ran downstairs and did the quick toilet paper idea around the tree. Day 2, I made snowflakes out of cue-tips along the floor. Last night they were in a[...] ours carries around a candy cane with him where ever he goes - kind of ironic the first day we placed the candy cane ornament around his arm and when we read the story we learned that Christopher loves candy canes. So he baked Candy Cane cookies, turned our milk gallons pink and green, and wrote a quick letter. And today I got a toy story monopoly pre-school game from goodwill for $1 and him and all the toy story characters were playing monopoly last night. So cute! This is by far less creepy than my friends "elf on the shelf" - it honestly looks like a chucky doll. I didn't want to creep out my little ones... way better choice & cheaper too. :)

We love Mr. Popinkins, as we've grown accustom to calling him. The concept is that we move our elf every night while our son is asleep. The next day he looks for him. It has actually gotten to be quite a lot fun for us parents too. Here are some things we've done with our elf so far: ** He showed up (from Santa of course) and we read the accompanying story to our son (who's 4) and we put Mr. Popinkins on our mantle. The next day he was found in the fruit bowl surrounded by orange peels. He was very hungry from his journey from the North Pole. ** Then he showed up on my son's book shelf playing with his legos. ** Then he really got into mischief and we found a trail of candy wrappers across the floor, into the pantry and up to the leftover halloween candy and there he was holding his tummy with both hands and chocolate all over his face. ** Next he was found hanging from the chandelier putting up decorations. ** It got very cold the next night and we was snuggled up in our son's stocking. But then when my son go home from school Mr. Popinkins was gone? Where did he go? ** He returned and was found sound asleep in the guest bed holding a small present that he went to the North Pole to get - for my son because he was being exceptionally good and listening. We (the parents) have been having a great time finding new and creative things for Mr. Popinkins to get in to. And of course our son is enjoying him too. :-) He has posable limbs so we are able to stand him up, have him hang on things and pose for action shots (like hanging decorations). I don't know if the elf on a shelf has this, but we love it. Enjoy the elf! We certainly.

If you're here, you're no doubt trying to decided between the Elf on the Shelf and Christopher Popinkins. First of all, understand that in concept they're both meant to hide in your house and leave to report back to Santa every night, then return in a new hiding spot. Children aren't techincally allowed to touch either of them or they have to go back to the North Pole early. Neither book mentions the pranks you see on Pinterest, blogs, and maybe your Facebook newsfeed, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with it. So what are the differences? Here are my pros and cons: Pro - Cuteness factor. I get a bit of a sly-vibe from EotS, but that could just be me. Christopher is all cuteness. Con - He comes already named, and since the book calls him Christopher, it would be hard to change. There's no good explanation for why someone else would have this *exact* elf with the same name in their house. With EotS all the identical elves have unique names. Pro - He has a little sister named Pop In Kins Elf Pop-In-Kins Christina Marie Bookset , who I'm sure will visit us next year, and unlike the EotS "girl", Christina Marie is very girly looking. Two elves! Con - Both books are hardcover and of comparable quality, but I think the EotS box is nicer. Christopher's box is nice, and it also comes with a nice sleeve for the book, but the EotS version is more durable. Pro - Chistopher is secular, while there is a mention of 'say your prayers' in the EotS book. Con - Christopher's book does not rhyme. I like rhyming. Christopher has a poem, but his book isn't written in rhyme. Pro - I think Christopher has a nicer story, the emphasis is less on "watching" and more on "visiting". He was sad that he made toys for children he never got to meet. He really wanted to meet the children so Santa sent him to watch the kids as a lookout. Pro - Christopher is posable. To pose EotS parents have to resort to rubber bands and bits of wire, but Christopher has bendy arms and legs, much easier. Also it's worth noting that Christopher's story is a lot longer than EotS, if that's a pro or a con depends on your point of view. I ordered Christopher and I wasn't sure if I'd regret it once he arrived. Let me tell you, I'm glad I did. For our family I think Christopher is a better fit. We love our elf.

I loved the Elf on the Shelf concept, but like a lot of other reviewers, thought that elf was creepy. If I did, I knew my children would too. I'm so happy that some of the other reviewers had suggested Christopher Pop-In-Kins! Our 4 & 5 year old sons adore Christopher. They ask me to read the book to them every night. The illustrations are bright, cheerful, colorful, and beautiful! There are plenty of opportunities within the story to change the inflection & emotion in your voice when reading it aloud, and the boys love it when I reach out to trace the path of a tear down their faces or give them a hug when these are mentioned in the book. Christopher himself is so cute! He has poseable, sturdy arms and legs, giving lots of opportunity to have Christopher show more personality & do different things, like hang off of something, hold something, etc. So far our Christopher hasn't done too much- he's just been "exploring" rooms in the house, and once Christopher has visited each room, I'll be taking a cue from the other reviewers and start having Christopher do funny things, or bring small treats when the kids are especially good. Christopher has had such a positive impact on our boys; after just 3 days, my 5 year old on his own made a little card that said "I love you" for Christopher to take home with him. We will all be sad when he leaves for the North Pole, but happy to see him back next year!

There was no doll that came with the book like it says in the product description. Now I have to print the label and package with a box I know have to buy and drive 15 mins to the closest UPS as that’s the only option for return. Ridiculous!

If you are wanting to start the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition at your house, buy this one!! Christopher is such a cute little guy, unlike the other elf that looks a little creepy. I love that he is completely posable (arms and legs) which makes it easier to do fun things with him. And he comes with a nice book that explains to the kids how he got to your house and what he's going to be doing. I just started this last year and all of my kids, teens down to toddlers, loved it and were excited every morning to see what new adventure Christopher had been up to. I never did anything super elaborate like some of the ideas you'll see online, I kept it pretty simple. There are tons of great ideas on Pinterest or just Google "Elf on the Shelf ideas". My kids' favorites always seemed to be the times that Christopher got into some type of mischief. :) My only regret is not starting this fun tradition sooner at my house!! Buy this little guy, you will be so glad you did!