Gund Christmas Magic Messenger 17.5" Elf Gund Fun

Makes some pretty strange sounds - doesn't work right but it was too late to return it... Still very cute though, but I can't even give it to the kids and pass it off as no sound because it's got a hard spot when the mechanism is.... Soft otherwise. Tempted to perform an operation and remove the mechanism because otherwise it a broken toy that's stuck hiding in the closet...

This was one of the cutest elves I have. My son collects elves and this one with his elfin voice and recording is a treat. He loved telling him his wishes and hearing them played back. Please note that it does not record your voice--it changes it into the elf voice for playback.

I was very surprised at the lack of quality of this item; my elf did not have enough stuffing in the face to keep its form, and one leg was sewn on backwards. This is supposed to be a talking elf, you squeeze its hand and hear either static or illegible words-I still cant figure out what it is saying. Pretty sure this little guy will be going back-bummer, it looked so cute in the picture.

I wanted to purchase an Elf on the Shelf type doll, but don't care for the creepy original version. I thought this was absolutely adorable and had the added option that you could record a message and it would play back in an Elf voice. The first one I received didn't work at all, the light on the doll never illuminated. After trying new batteries, I returned it.The replacement I received had some hope as the light illuminated for the appearance of the recoding feature to work. Unfortunately it did not record or playback, and the light doesn't turn off.Disappointed by the second one, I decided to search for a different Elf for next year as the shipping took way too long and by then it was way too close to Christmas.

My kids realy liked having Elf with us. They looked forward to see what Elf say every morning. Although my second son, who was 3, didn't like that Elf knew exactly what he did wrong. I think my husband was the one that enjoyed it the most, it was hard for him to say good bye to Elf after Christmas. The only thing I didn't like was that sometimes it was hard to understand after you record the message. You have to speak very clearly and loudly, but other than that, this is a great idea to work with your kids to improve their behavior, at least till Christmas.

After seeing the Elf on the Shelf, my wife and I decided to try something similar. I didn't care for the look of the EOTS, so we sought out an alternative. We found this great little plush. It doubles as an elf and one of those underpants gnomes for those of you South Park lovers out there.I love the recording feaure - it elfifies (read - makes elf-like) your voice. We are doing a twelve days of Christmas count down and the kids have to decipher the message every day to get their prize or hint. Then, they can record a message to us if they want. It puts a nice new twist on Christmas as the kids get older. For the younger kids, it ends the recording with "I'll make he knows just what you want" indicating his ability to deliver the message to the big man himself.Overall fun toy, and despite the kids recording and playing messages for the last four days straight, the batteries have not died (something nice to see in toys nowadays).

The Good: This elf is very soft, cute, and just the right size for young children to hug and play with. He "elf-ifies" your recorded message so that on play-back your voice sounds sounds high and squeaky.The Bad: EVERY TIME the record button on his hand is pressed he first says, "Hi! Messenger Elf here! Tell me your list, and I'll mail it back to Santa." Then he records whatever you say. Next, he plays back your message in 'elf voice'. When your own message is over, he finishes with, "I will make sure he knows just what you want."How many times do you want to answer the same question and record your Christmas list?? I was expecting the elf simply to record and playback ... not make you listen to the same opening/closing phrases every time. I think this toy would SO much better if it simply did that. My kids would have loved recording their voices to make him "talk". Instead, the pre-recorded lines ruin the fun of that. I guess you could try to ignore what the elf automatically says, but it still adds too much unnecessary wait time and interrupts the imaginative fun of pretending he is really talking. Toy is being returned. Too bad.

Very Funny.. Loved the Elf.. Sooooo Cute!