Mom Shows Off Her Impressive Elf on the Shelf Ideas: 'I Want to Keep My Kids on Their Toes'

When Dec. 1 rolls around, New Jersey mom Mary Grego is ready to up her game each year with her creative Elf on the Shelf displays.

Grego, a mom of two from Chester, has been having her own fun with the interactive hide-and-seek game for years, telling PEOPLE her unique ideas have "progressed over time" to wow her little ones, daughter Natalie, 5, and son TJ, 8.

"I started when my son was about 2 years old when a lot of the parents were beginning to talk about it and I thought it would be a great new tradition to try out," she says. "I jumped in with them and ever since then it's been fun creating things and seeing [my kids'] faces light up."

For the 25 days leading up to Christmas, Grego creates new and impressive Elf on the Shelf displays for her kids to see every morning.

"I try to keep it different now that my kids are getting older," says Grego. "I want to keep them on their toes and do something more creative."

This year, an epic shark attack in the toilet and a "party in the potty" were just some of Grego's fun elf surprises for her kids.

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"There was one display where the elves are all in the bathroom and streamers are hanging down from the ceiling. I was like, it's a party in the potty because when I get dressed in the morning or if I'm getting my hair done and everybody's in the bathroom with me, I say, 'We're having the party in the potty.'"

"So I was like, you know what, that's a great idea. I'm just going to try a bit on that," she says.

As for the shark attack, which featured the elves almost falling into a toilet bowl that held a vicious-looking shark, Grego says her son had the "best reaction."

"My son's face, he was like, 'Mommy, how did the shark get in the toilet?' Their eyes, they just glisten," she says. "My heart was just so happy."

Mary Grego

Grego also came up with a clever idea to put the elves in quarantine and give them tiny masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, which she says was a display she "really enjoyed."

Not only are Grego's kids impressed by the displays, but the mom of two says she often gets rave reviews from other parents on Facebook.

"I post them on Facebook and I say, 'This is what happened with the elf last night,' or, 'I can't believe they did this today.' And I get comments like, 'I have got to steal this!' They're like, 'This is great. Your kids are having so much fun with this.'"

While Grego notes that her son is getting older, she says she "still wants to keep the tradition alive" for years to come.

Mary Grego

"They're not going to be kids for too long. They're going to be grownups and before you know it, I want to have these memories and good times that we had," she says. "And just seeing those smiles and sparkling eyes, it really makes it so much more enjoyable."

While the traveling elves are a time of joy for her little ones, Grego admits it's just as fun for her as well.

"I'm such a kid at heart and this is just as much excitement for me as it is for them," she says.

Grego also shares her recommendation for other parents looking to start the Elf on the Shelf tradition.

"Start simple," she says. "As you start this as a new tradition, just make it a little bit different every day and don't stress out over it."