If you’re a tired or stressed parent who has been trying to keep their offspring somewhat behaved despite the excitement of the past few weeks, chances are you’re well aware of the Elf on the Shelf.
The crafty little dolls come from a popular Christmas children's book – with the little helpers keeping an eye on kids in their home, making sure they behave.
You also can’t move or touch your elf to try and hide your bold behaviour.
Unfortunately for one little girl in New Jersey, the worst Christmas trauma of all time occurred today… so she had to ring the police to let them know.
According to
Mashable, 7-year old Isabelle LaPeruta was playing in her house when she accidentally touched the elf on the shelf.
Panicking the young girl rang police – worried that by touching the elf doll that she was going to ruin the spirit of Christmas.
While Isabelle later asked the operator not to check on the house, the operator dispatched a team to chec up on the little girl.
Her mum, Lynanne, was surprised by the call to her front door, telling media:
"She was hysterical crying, she was panicking.”
Explaining the hysteria, Police Lt. Joseph Mandola who arrived at the scene sent a message back to the station saying:
"Isabella apologized. She touched the Elf on a Shelf. She won't call 911 again.
"To her, it was an emergency when she touched the elf, and she's going to ruin Christmas, so that was her emergency.
"In her mind, she did right, and it was fine with us."
If you find yourself falling victim to the same situation in your own house, Mashable uncovered a handier way of fixing the situation for any troubled children:
“If your scout elf has been touched, you can apologize by writing a letter to Santa, or saying you’re sorry to your elf. Then, please sprinkle a little cinnamon beside him or her before you go to bed; cinnamon is like vitamins for scout elves, and it helps them get back to the North Pole. Once they arrive, the North Pole doctors will check them out.”
So, they can safely head back to sleep without worrying that Santa won’t be making his stop-off.
