I love the idea of the elf reporting back to Santa every night, then hiding somewhere different in the morning, but I think I'd say the reporting back is just so Santa knows he's choosing/making the right presents. I never liked the idea of Santa judging me on only my December behaviour

I saw a blog that said their elf is often found doing naughty things, like making a mess, so the kids are encouraged to talk to him about why the behaviour isn't acceptable. I thought that was an interesting way to make them think about how their own behaviour affects the family.

A different one, I didn't agree with. The kids are NOT allowed to touch the elf (I think that's the official story too) so when this woman's daughter accidentally touched it, it was packed away, and the child was told he was in elf hospital because her touch had stripped his magic and made him too weak to make it back to Santa. She was reminded a few times that it was her fault, and he came back a few days later with a note from Santa warning her it shouldn't happen again. I thought all that was unnecessarily cruel.