Here's the story that we'll read while putting up the Christmas tree to introduce our daughters to the Helper Elves.
The Elf Story
On November 25th, all Elves who will turn 100 years old on Christmas day get a special summons from Santa to join him in his workshop. There, the Elves get their training assignments. It is here, on this day, that they will discover if they will be Wish Operators, Toy Specialists, Gift Wrappers, Bakers, Veterinarians, Load Masters, Doctors, or Helpers. Each job is an important one to keep the North Pole working at peak performance. The Wish Operators man the wish phones and take the children’s Christmas wish orders from the mall Santas and pass them on to the building center. Toy Specialists are in charge of making all the toys and giving them to the Gift Wrappers. They, in turn, wrap all the gifts and give them to the Load Masters. Load Masters are in charge of putting all the toys into Santa’s big magic bag and making sure that all toys are accounted for. The Bakers are in charge of goodies production. They make all the candy canes, gingerbread men and other delectables. The medical staff is in charge of making sure that the Reindeer, Elves and all of Santa’s family is healthy and happy. The Helper Elves, ah…now they have an interesting job. They are Santa’s eyes and ears! When December 1st rolls around, Santa is so busy that he can no longer keep track of who’s naughty and who’s nice on his own, so he has the Helper Elves visit the children of the world and keep tabs on them for him.
Once the Elves have their assignments, they report to their stations where they become Elves-in-Training (EIT). The seasoned veteran Elves teach them everything they need to know to do their jobs well. There is, however, one problem with this system for the Helper Elves. All of the veterans are out in the field and Santa just doesn’t have the time to train them properly. So, they get sent to families who don’t already have an EIT assignment and then it is up to them to teach the Elves how to be the best they can be.
Training begins on December 1st and ends on December 24th, when the Elves must return with Santa to prepare for finals week.
For the journey to their training family, the Elves carry with them vital items to help them in their quest for knowledge. Passports, so that they can travel without problems, their own sleeping bags, for a comfy place to snooze, a small bag of snow that must be placed in their sleeping bags to keep them cool, a study guide that must be read to them every night before bed, their very own cups and bowls for food and water (human dishes are too big and they tend to fall in) and a special surprise or two for the children who will be training them. If the children are in a home without a chimney (Santa’s entrance of choice), then a magical key will also be given so that Santa may enter through the front door. Field journals are also brought to make notes about the family’s activities and for any correspondence with Santa. These must be left in a “special” mailbox. Any mailbox will do, as long as it is decorated in a holiday fashion.
What happens when the Elves arrive? Well, the stories are endless! Elves are, by nature, inquisitive creatures. They love to explore and try new things which can sometimes land them in some hot water with Santa, not to mention some hairy situations. It is recommended that car keys be hidden or locked away! While grand theft auto is highly frowned upon in the North Pole, the Elves are not above taking a car out for a test drive to see if it handles like Santa’s sleigh! Late night movie watching, unauthorized snacking, base jumping off of furniture, as well as tree climbing, are all common place for these little mischief makers! Along with the nightly escapades though, comes great fun! Gifts have been known to show up in the most unlikely of places and interesting things to do abound. While their visit may be short, the memories last a lifetime!
When it’s time for the Elves to return home on Christmas Eve, the host family must gather all of their things and leave them out where Santa will be able to find them. The magical key and book can be kept but the passports, sleeping bags, dishes, field journals and snow have to go back. When Santa stops in to deliver presents, he will sprinkle magic Santa dust on the internal GPS system located on the Elves’ sleigh and the workshop coordinates will be programmed in (the location is very hush-hush) and they can find their way home.
Once back at the North Pole, it will be test time and the Elves will be put through rigorous testing to ensure that they were trained properly. This takes about a week or so but it’s very important to make sure that they know everything there is to know about being a Helper Elf. Once the tests have been evaluated and graded, the Elves will then know if they have passed or failed. If they have passed, they receive a certificate and become Certified Helper Elves and get to return to their training family every year at Christmas. Not as students but as observers and full participants in family activities. If they fail, they will be reassigned to a different job and will be EITs once again.
There is one more part to this story…Santa’s reindeer! While Santa does have his “go-to” reindeer (we all know who they are), there are times when these reindeers will be under the weather and not fit for sleigh duty. When that happens, the second string of reindeers will step in and aid in whatever way they can. This is very important, especially for sleigh testing to make sure it is fit for flight. These guys also need training and once again, no one at the North Pole has the time to train them properly. They don’t require much teaching but they do need to be fed and groomed regularly. Normally, the vet would do this but once December 1st rolls around, all focus is on the stars of the sleigh show and 9 reindeer is a lot to take care of! The special blend of feed that they eat gives them their flying abilities and although they won’t have enough strength until Christmas Eve to actually fly, they have been known to go to great lengths to do so before then. Ceiling fans are a favorite of Reindeers-in-Training. The Elves have been known to hang them from there to give them the sensation of flight. They love to cuddle and make great lap pets. They too will go through training once back at the North Pole. If they pass, they are permanently assigned to a Helper Elf, unless they are needed by Santa for official sleigh duty.
Now that you know the story of the Helper Elves and their Reindeer, keep your eyes open come December 1st because you never know when YOU might be picked as Santa’s Special Elf Trainer!
This is the letter from Mrs. Claus letting us know we've been picked to train the Elves.
Santa’s Workshop
North Pole
Dear ______ Family,
Congratulations! You have been selected as one of Santa’s Special Elf Trainer Families! Hope you’re ready for fun, fun and more fun!
We’ve got a great group of helper Elves waiting to be trained. Percival, Penelope, Marvin and Mabel are cousins and are eager to make your acquaintance. They are the best of friends and asked to be trained together. Santa thought long and hard about this and decided that your family would be capable of doing a great job! They are also bringing their four reindeer trainees so be sure to help them out with them.
Please take good care of them and train them in the spirit of Christmas. Santa knows he can count on you to help him out.
On Christmas Eve, be sure to gather up all of the Elves’ stuff and get them ready for pickup. Leave them where Santa will find them so he can bring them back for their evaluation. If they pass their tests, they will become certified Helper Elves and will be permanently assigned to you and return every Christmas. So, if you want them to visit again, make sure you teach them well.
Elf Training Instructions:
• Read from the Santa Clause book every night
• Be on your best behavior
• Feed them crackers and give them lots of water to drink
• Place their snow-bags inside their sleeping bags when going to sleep so they stay cool
• Watch out for mischief
• Report back to Santa often
• Make sure they leave their notebooks in your mailbox for Santa every night.
Reindeer Instructions:
• Feed only with special reindeer food. A pinch in their special bowl is enough for all of the reindeer.
• Be sure they have lots of water. Oatmeal tends to back them up!
• Brush regularly to keep coat shiny and clean.
Christmas Hugs and Holiday Kisses,
Mrs. Claus
And this is the note from the Elves...
Santa’s Workshop
North Pole
Dear ______ Family,
We just got our assignments and are thrilled to hear that you will be training us! We’ve been looking over your file and think you sound like a swell bunch of people! We are so excited to get to _____ and meet you…we just know we’re going to have so much fun together! Percival is a little down because he was hoping to get a family with a boy or two but he’ll be fine, we’re sure of it!
Anyway, we are getting our gear ready and counting down the days until we can come and visit! There’s so much to do and so much to learn but we’re sure you’ll all be GREAT teachers!
See you soon!
Love,
Penelope, Percival, Mabel, Marvin
I put the pictures of the Elves on there so they would know who was who when they get here. :sleigh:
rnament: