Elf Antics 2019:

11/27, The kids received a letter explaining why they would be late this year.

Day 1, 12/7/2019, After recouping from their sledding injury, they elves finally arrived a week late. The kids were excited to see their paper airplanes, and wondered if they had seat warmers. I was more impressed with the fact that they not only folded paper airplanes for the first time ever, but that they were sturdy enough to fly all that way. Peppermint crashed into Grumps and Ahna's Christmas tree knocking out a whole section of lights. The others appear to have touched down peaceably on the mantle.

Day 2, 12/8/2019, Apparently tired out from their long journey after their recent accident the elves opted to call in a report to Santa. The Cunningham children have mixed reports...

Day 2, 12/8/2019, Santa Update: 1) Britt - very helpful and kind to little sisters and cousins. Move him up the nice list. 2) Ruth - thought of others but complained alot. Still on nice list. 3) Rebecca - drew on the wall. Will drop to naughty list unless she cleans up. 4) Kate - supper cranky and demands a cup all day. Definitely on the naughty list.

Day 3, 12/9/2019, The elves must like the vantage point that the height of the mantle gives them as they decided to take a flight on the Mallards above the mantle. Rebecca also wrote Santa a note after cleaning up her drawing on the wall which the elves carried back with them. (I am pretty sure she dictated it to Ruth based on the spelling.)

Day 6, 12-12-19, Ahna told the elves they couldn't come back to her house after they rode her ducks (which aren't allowed out of the house) to the North Pole and then writing on her mirror. Today they went too far - meddling with my planner and tell the kids if they finished up this week's school that they wouldn't let me schedule anymore till after New Year's. They eagerly started school early and told me if Santa said they didn't gave to do anymore school then I couldn't ask them to.

Day 7, 12-13-19, Ruth guessed that they would do some rock climbing on the wall to the stairs because that would be cool. This evening though the kids found all the elves in the freezer just as Britt predicted.

Day 8, 12-14-19, The elves cheated by hanging out in the chandelier something that they have done twice before in other poses. Ruth told them since it was a different light and a different position that it didn't count as the same.

Day 9, 12-15-19, Some time during the night the elves moved to the kids' windows in their room to watch the progress of assembling their rooms over the next few day. They found Ruth a sleep on her hope chest.

Day 10, 12-16-19, In the family room window to watch the back yard and the work downstairs.

Day 11, 12-17-19, I almost forgot to take a picture of what the elves were up to today. They took one of the empty moving boxes and encourage the kids to share toys they didn't play with anymore. The kids also left a few well loved items with a request that Santa and the elves repair them.

Today as you unpack your toys, stop and think about each one. Any toys that you don't play with anymore put in here. You can be Santa Claus and share them with others who aren't as blessed as you!

Love, Mistletoe, Jingle, Twinkle, and Peppermint

Day 12, 12-18-19, It appears that we caught the elves working on two notes in the school room.

Day 13, 12-19-19, I anticipate a day with fewer interruptions as the elves saw that Gary had plugged up a tv with the VCR/DVD player last night and kindly dug out the Super Nintendo for the kids. They also apologized for being unable to repair Britt's Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders doll.Day 14, 12-20-19, Not sure if I should be happy that they took time to untangle some jewelry or if I should be unhappy that they are in my jewelry box. Mistletoe clearly wants no part of this despite Hope the Reindeer attempting to show off her antlers.

Also I now have proof that Santa is a wizard who loves muggle children as the elves make use of time turners.
Day 15, 12-21-19, Apparently the elves found our bed irresistible while they were in our room.


Day 16, 12-22-19, While we were gone the elves took it upon themselves to fix the stockings that had faulty command strips and kept falling.




Day 17, 12-23-19, At a suggestion from Daddy the elves played hide and seek in our kitchen appliances. Of course he also suggest the "ELF or evil little fairies" do some cleaning but they didn't. It took the kids till 2 pm to find the first one.Day 18, 12-24-19, The elves set up a kissing booth with free kisses this morning. Britt especially loved the play on words. Rebecca on the other hand thought they were stealing candy.
Day 18, 12-24-19, All afternoon they played with the kids before saying goodbye till next year. The elves can be touched today since they hitch a ride home with Santa tonight.

People who are naughty get lumps of coal for Christmas, but elves who are naughty have to work the coal mines.

Once there was a gang of elves that were so bad, they delayed Christmas by so far that we almost missed it.  The next year we caught them.  They were sent to the coal mines.  They worked day and night.  They were tired, and they would have run away, but there were two Yetis at the entrance keeping guard so that nothing could come out, and hardly anything came in.  So, they were plotting to make it look like the mines were exploding.  They were working on a plan, but when the Yeti's turned around to check their work, they looked busy.

This is what it was like working there.  You're mining all day and all night.  It's cold with no heaters.  You get one coat and a hat.  Most of the time, you worked all month long, with only 1 meal a day and no snacks.  If you disobeyed time was added to your sentence.  Their plan was to make some of the coals burn, so the Yetis would leave to get things to put the fires out.  Then they would escape before the Yetis could get back.  But if they don't think the entire mine is catching on fire, you don't want an angry Yeti yelling at you.  They are big, mean, and scary.  So most elves, just waited until their working in the mines was over.

But the plan worked, and the elves were back to trickering.  But when they were caught again, they got hurt.  Ever since then, they never tried to cheat people or trick them ever again.

It's the coldest Christmas Eve in history and a poor family is out of coal for their furnace.  The only child in the family has 24 hours to get on the naughty list.

It is the coldest Christmas ever and we are out of coal.  Do you know how bad that is?  So that means, since I'm the only child in the house, I have to find a way to get from the top of the nice list (which is where I am) all the way down to the naughty list.  I only have 24 hours!  But I don't want to be bad.

So first, I guess I'll draw on the walls.  But I'll only do it with pencil, because I can erase it after all of this is over.  Then, I will have to throw a snowball at my mom and dad.  They will really hate it, and since we are really poor we don't have thick clothes like other people.  So they will be cold, not think it's fun.  I don't want to do it, but without that coal we will die it's so cold.  The freeze might last until summer.  So I went outside, and the kids with plenty of coal where having fun building snowmen.  So, sadly I walked over and kicked the snowman to knock it over.  It accidentally fell on them.  They got super mad, and I felt bad, but how else was I suppose to get coal, it's not like they were going to give me theirs?  Then I dumped snow all in Momma and Daddy's bed.  When they sat down to go to sleep it was part snow and part water.  It made them miserable, I was so sad.

Finally, finally, Santa dropped off a list that sad you are now on the naughty list.  I was so happy, I decided to go to bed early.  So I decided to go to bed early, because if I did anything else to help my parents I might get back on the nice list.  So I went to bed so I didn't do anything else good or bad.  That night I got woke up, as there was a big hole in my ceiling.  A big clump of snow feel on me.  So I woke up and snuck into the living room.  I hid so Santa wouldn't know I was here.  I watched as he put a whole bunch of coal in my stocking.  (The stocking that was actually just one of my socks.)  I was so happy, but I didn't make a sound.  Then something strange happened, he put presents under my tree.  Then my curiosity just got the best of me.  I walked out from behind the door, and asked Santa, "Why did you put presents under the tree.  I thought I got on the naughty list?"

Santa said, "You wanted to be on the naughty list, so you and your family wouldn't freeze.  You didn't want to do any of the things you did.  The people on the naughty list go on there because they meant to be naughty or because they were whiny and complainy not thinking of others."  Then he told me bye.  Touched his nose, and flew up the chimney.  I heard him walk across the ceiling, heard the reindeer prancing, and saw him fly away.  I woke up my cold and shivering parents to show them all the coal and they were happy too.  We made a big roaring fire, and slept next to it all night.

What do you think it is like to be an elf?

Rebecca:  I am a sleigh elf.  I ride in Santa's bag with all the presents.
Ahna:  Do you get crushed?
Rebecca:  No. The bag is magical a kid could get in it and not get crushed.

My name is Snowfall.  Almost every Christmas Santa gets started giving out the presents late.  So my brothers and sisters have to help him send out the presents.  It gets a little boring because we have to read the names and look in the book to see what the address is.  But it is pretty fun to jump out of the sleigh and push my button that takes out my parachute.  That's fun.

But this year I'm changing jobs.  I hope I get a good one, like putting the presents in the bag.  The good part of that job is since you only do that once, the rest of the time when they are delivering you get to play.  That's an easy job that includes no reading.  Or maybe putting the toys in the wrapping machine, because you don't eve have to wrap them, and they only do it once a day, so you get to play the rest of the day.  I like jobs where you get to play.  You get the idea now.

I will tell you about me and my reindeer.  My reindeer's name is Twinkle.  We play a lot together when I have time to.  When I'm not doing busy stuff like delivering presents.  DING! DING!  Oh dear, sorry it's about time to go help Santa.  That's the bell that calls me.  See you later.  Hope I can talk to you later.  I hope you liked my story about me in the North Pole.  Please come back to the North Pole Story teller, that's me, and listen to great stories about me in the North Pole.  The end.