what day does elf on the shelf start

The Elf on the Shelf tradition typically starts on December 1st and ends on Christmas Eve. On the first day of December, the elf comes to a child's house and hides somewhere in the house, watching over the child to make sure they're behaving. Each night, the elf moves to a new hiding spot and reports back to Santa on the child's behavior. The elf usually stays until Christmas Eve, when it returns to the North Pole with Santa.