These parents have won Christmas.
Courtney and Justin Boles demonstrated some clever thinking this year when it came to the Elf on the Shelf tradition.
They told their kids that Buddy has broken his leg and is under strict orders from Santa not to move until December 18th.
Alongside the snap on Facebook, which shows the elf in a cast and everything (very impressive), Courtney described it as a: “Parenting WIN!!”
According to
TODAY Parents, they left a note for their children which read: "Oops! I fell off the star last night and broke my leg.
"Never fear, Santa set me up with a cast in my favourite colour. He also gave me STRICT orders not to move for two weeks to let my leg heal.
"In the mean time, Santa will be coming here to get his nightly report.
"That means you MUST go to bed when your parents say so you don't chance Santa seeing you! Sincerely, Buddy the Elf."
via GIPHY
While most people’s reactions have been full of praise and admiration for the pair, there have been a few negative comments.
In response to those who said there was little point of having the elf at all, Courtney told the publication why they decided to do it.
"My four-year-old son has autism and has a hard time following the rule about kids touching him (the elf), as clearly stated in the book, so I am limited in my options on where he can move...
"Instead of trying to come up with an excuse why Buddy wasn't coming, we decided he should break his leg."
