Georgia judge 'banishes' Elf on the Shelf, freeing parents from 'tyranny' - USA TODAY

Want to put that annual holiday tradition, The Elf on the Shelf, literally on the shelf – as in, out of commission? One judge has your back.

Robert Leonard, a chief judge in Georgia for Cobb County Superior Court, recently posted a mock order banishing The Elf on the Shelf in his county, which includes part of the Atlanta metro area.

If parents are so inclined, his order could set a precedent for homes where the elf has perhaps wreaked holiday havoc in recent years.

The Elf on the Shelf phenomenon began in 2005 when Chanda Bell and her mother Carol Aebersold, released "The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition," a book that comes with a scout elf doll. The book – and subsequent company, The Lumistella Co. – was created by twin sisters Bell and Christa Pitts and their mother – is based on the family's tradition of putting an elf around their house during the holidays.

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The elves, as the story goes, show up in homes around Thanksgiving and monitor happenings until Christmas Eve. When kids go to sleep, the elves buzz back to the North Pole and report on who has been naughty or nice and then return, by morning, to a new spot in the home.