Georgia judge 'banishes' Elf on the Shelf from his county

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A Georgia judge issued a tongue-in-cheek order banishing the Elf on the Shelf -- a recent Christmas tradition -- from his county.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert Leonard tweeted the text of an order banishing the Elf on a Shelf, a small toy elf that reports the actions of children to Santa Claus in the runup to Christmas, due to it posing "a risk to the emotional health and well being of Cobb's young children."

"Inexplicably, Elves sometimes move and don't move overnight. When these Elves do not move, it leaves our children of tender years in states of extreme emotional distress," Leonard wrote.

The Elf on the Shelf sprang out of a 2005 children's book of the same name by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell.

Leonard tweeted that his order was a "gift to tired parents." He explained that families who love their elves can feel free to keep them.

"No contempts," he wrote.