Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have updated my review to perhaps provide information to those of you who may be on the fence. My five year old daughter received this as a gift. When she first heard the story she asked questions such as "Does the elf have batteries?" and "It's not real, is it?" and commented that it doesn't look friendly. We visited the website and she liked the animation; we had fun playing a few of the games together. Ultimately, though, she was not interested in participating in the tradition, and after learning about it myself I am glad she didn't find it appealing. I have seen posts where some people purchase the elf but decide not to use the elf to report to Santa every day, but rather to simply be a reminder to make good choices. For those of you that this idea appeals to, I was reading about another product, Elf Magic...you might check into that...people say it looks friendlier. There are many blogs and reviews out there...many more that are positive than negative. Many folks say that the elf works to help improve your child's behavior during this month, that as parents we need all the help we can get, and/or that kids enjoy looking for the elf each morning. I have also read many reviews where childrens' first instinct is to be scared and afraid of the elf, and that if you are providing good direction as parents, the elf is not needed and many other Christmas traditions are preferred. For those of you on the fence, I recommend that you read the story yourself before deciding if it's right for your home. I would also recommend that if you give this as a gift, ask the parents if it's ok first so that the parents have the chance to learn more before sharing it with their children.