Jimmy Kimmel and his wife are hoping that their children have "outgrown" Elf on the Shelf.

Jimmy Kimmel and his wife are hoping that their children have 'outgrown' Elf on the Shelf

Jimmy Kimmel and his wife are hoping that their children have 'outgrown' Elf on the Shelf

The 57-year-old talk show host has Jane, 10, as well as seven-year-old Billy with his wife Molly McNearney and he joked that the pair of them both "resent" the children's book character who, since his first appearance in 2004, has morphed into something of a tradition for parents where a plush version of the elf "watches" their children on the build-up to the big day from various locations in the house.

Molly told People: "We were hoping that they outgrew Elf on the Shelf. We're hoping that they're done with that. We pray."

Jimmy added: "We're lucky if we remember to move it. We resent that elf!"

Molly confessed that the pair of them have had to make something up when the elf fails to move, and even decided to stage it as if the toy was "hungover" at one point.

She said: "Then he has Covid. We did that one time during Covid. We're like, ‘Oh, I bet he had Covid and he couldn't move!’ We made it look like it was hungover, throwing up over the toilet. We're not great at it."

Jimmy also has Katie, 33, and son Kevin, 31 from his first marriage to costume designer Gina Kimmel and screenwriter Molly, 46, explained that they worked together long before they dated but joked she has had to have a "thick skin" when her husband rejects her ideas.

She said: "We worked together for eight years before dating, and so we really just kind of kept that the same. We know how to compartmentalize. It definitely can be difficult when I pitch ideas to get rejected by my husband, but it's okay. I've got thick skin."

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