Even Elf on the Shelf’s own creators know the trend stresses parents out — but they want to help

That little red Elf on the Shelf can be a pain in the neck for parents during the festive season.

Amid all the holiday hubbub — the shopping, the schlepping and gift-stashing — the last thing burned-out parents want to do is keep up with the tradition of hiding a mischievous imp (who oft-makes messes or leaves elaborate gifts) around the house for the first 24 days of December. 

The sweet-faced snoop, a 10-inch doll that each family assigns a special name, creeps into homes and spies on children, ensuring they behave before the big guy comes down the chimney. 

But, in reality, moms and dads are secretly doing most of the little guy’s legwork, and have deemed the tiny troublemaker ”annoying” and “stressful.”

“It’s a pain in the butt,” Beryl Goldblatt, a single mother to nine-year-old daughter, Blair, groaned to The Post.

“It’s just so stressful because I’m tired when I get home, I do my nightly routine to get my daughter in bed then I have sacrifice my relaxation time figuring out what this elf is going to do tonight and how I’m going to clean up the mess in morning,” lamented the native Long Islander.