Until about 20 years ago, the Christmas character canon included the usual suspects: Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch, and of course, Santa Claus himself. In the weeks leading up to December 25, children ...

In 2005, Chanda A. Bell teamed up with her mother, Carol Aebersold, and sister, Christa Pitts, to publish their book 'The Elf on the Shelf' Meredith Wilshere is a Society and Culture writer at PEOPLE.