Amazon has finally fixed a long-standing issue that was threatening the magic of the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition: Alexa’s tendency to spoil the secret by revealing that parents move the elf. After months of complaints from parents and a direct inquiry from Business Insider, Amazon has updated Alexa’s responses to better protect the holiday spirit. Previously, when children asked Alexa, “Who moves the Elf on the Shelf?” the smart speaker would respond with a straightforward answer: parents. This often shattered the illusion for kids, turning a beloved Christmas tradition into a moment of disappointment. For many families, the joy of the elf lies in the mystery and the belief that the little character is truly magical and moves on its own each night. Sara Filek-Satterfield, a parent from California, shared her experience after her son asked Alexa the question. “Alexa told him that the parents move the elf every night as it's impossible for a doll to move on its own,” she said. “I told him Alexa is on the naughty list, and it seemed to remedy the situation.” She noted that her kids are now more skeptical, but still choose to believe in the magic. The author of the article, a parent of two elementary school-aged children, also faced the same problem. After introducing the elf to their family, their older son asked Alexa about how the elf moved. The response was the same — parents do it. The parent quickly unplugged the device mid-answer, but the issue didn’t end there. Despite trying to reprogram Alexa with custom instructions to say the elf is real and never to mention parents, the device kept reverting to the original response, sometimes forgetting the settings after a day. Frustrated, the parent reached out to Amazon’s PR team. A few days later, they received a message from Trang Nguyen, a spokesperson for Amazon, announcing the fix: “Alexa+ will offer kid-friendly responses to questions about the existence of folkloric characters like Santa, and we've updated the experience for when kids ask Alexa about who moves the Elf on the Shelf.” The update now ensures that Alexa responds in a way that supports the holiday fantasy, saying the elf is magical and moves on its own. Whether Amazon acted in response to the article or was already working on the fix, the result is the same: the magic of the elf is preserved. For many parents, this small but meaningful change is a win. It’s a reminder that even in a world of smart devices and AI, some things are best left a mystery — especially when it comes to Christmas. And for one parent, the fix felt like a personal victory. “I am choosing to believe that I personally saved Christmas,” they wrote, “like a journalism Ernest. You're welcome.”