i kinda noticed this when i was a kid, around that time in middle school when christmas lost its charm and i started getting bitter and critical about “kid stuff”, and now i’m bringing it back because it’s relevant:
hermey has round ears, not pointy ones like all the other elves.
the reason he can’t do elf stuff right is because he’s not an elf; he’s either a human child or perhaps a very short human man (which wouldn’t be a stretch, as i recall santa wasn’t much taller than the elves in this movie).