Can a Reindeer With a Diversity Agenda Topple the Christmas Elf From His Shelf?

A look inside the strange business of selling holiday traditions to Americans

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To hear Adam Reed tell it, the whole thing started when he realized that Elf on the Shelf was “going to scare the crap out of my daughter.”

It was three years ago, and Reed’s daughter Peyton had just been born. When winter rolled around, he wanted to start a holiday tradition that she’d remember. Like many people, Reed was vaguely familiar with Elf on the Shelf, which since its 2005 introduction had indeed become a tradition for families across America.

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