what day does elf on the shelf come

The Elf on the Shelf tradition began on November 28, 2005 when Carol Aebersold, co-author of the children's book, wrote a letter to her daughter, Chanda Bell. The letter asked Chanda to start a new Christmas tradition in their family by bringing home an elf, which they named Scout. The elf would fly to the North Pole each night and report back to Santa on the children's behavior, and in the morning, he would return and move to a new location.