Lidl launches £2.99 dupe of £20 Elf on the Shelf in time for Christmas – and parents can buy cheap outfits for them too 

CHRISTMAS is specified months distant and immoderate parents volition beryllium anticipating the instrumentality of 1 mischievous quality - Elf connected the Shelf.

The festive icon has go a beloved household contented successful galore households, but the authoritative elf doesn’t travel excessively cheap.

The Elf of the Shelf acceptable volition acceptable you backmost £19.95 connected the website, which includes the elf, a storybook, a keepsake container and authoritative commencement certificate.

However, if you are watching the slope relationship up of this upcoming festive season, you whitethorn privation to popular to Lidl to prime up a cheaper dupe.

The supermarket is selling an ‘Elves Behavin’ Badly’ Naughty Elf for conscionable £2.99.

From October 31, Lidl volition beryllium selling the long-legged elf successful stores.

The statement reads: “Featuring a brushed assemblage and vinyl face, the elves are acceptable to enactment retired immoderate comic scenes and get up to their accustomed mischief.”

Lidl is besides selling outfits truthful you tin customise your artifact to make immoderate comic scenes successful your home.

The outfits outgo £1.99 and you tin prime up everything from sweaters to mermaid costumes.

The store wrote: “When each their mischief and pranks are finished, formal them acceptable for furniture with the teddy carnivore plan pyjama outfit.

“Choose from a large scope of amusive designs.”

Elf history

The Elf connected the Shelf is simply a Christmas contented that began successful 2005, according to CNBC.

According to the outlet, that year, Carol Aebersold and her girl Chanda Bell self-published the publication titled The Elf connected the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.

The publication came with a peculiar container that contained a tiny Scout Elf.

In an interrogation connected The News with Shepard Smith, Bell said the contented is similar a "simple crippled of fell and seek."

She continued: "The elf volition ticker america during the day, study to Santa astatine night, and successful the greeting earlier kids aftermath up, the elf flies backmost from the North Pole and lands connected a antithetic spot successful the house.

"They determination astir the house, they prosecute with families, hopefully they bring tons of joyousness and tons of fun."

According to The Elf connected the Shelf website, Scout Elves are "Santa’s astir trusted helpers who assistance him successful homes astir the satellite and backmost astatine the North Pole.

"Each elf wears a red-and-white suit, a pointy chapeau and a achromatic collar—that’s however you cognize they’re an authoritative Scout Elf!"

Each morning, children volition spot what the cheeky elf has got up to overnight.

The elves bash not travel with a name, truthful families person the task of naming their festive friend, arsenic the website notes.

According to the publication The Elf connected the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, an elf’s occupation comes to an extremity the nighttime earlier Christmas.