EDMONTON – Every day in December is bringing a new surprise for junior and senior high students at a small town school in Alberta, which has been “blessed with the glorious presence of a life-sized Elf on the Shelf.”
Meet “Yukon Cornelius,” the elf at R.F. Staples Secondary School in Westlock, Alberta, about an hour north of Edmonton. He’s the alter-ego of English teacher Stephen Womack.
“While the convention is to have the hosting family provide me with my name, I have been observing some adolescent tendencies and I have, thus far, been unimpressed by many of your inappropriate and/or phallic inclinations; therefore, I have named myself,” he wrote in a letter to the students of R.F. Staples.
Every school day during the festive season Womack will be situated at a different place around the school, greeting students as they arrive, and causing some mischief.
For the first few days of December, he was spotted perched high up on a swing, standing outside on a car wrapped in wrapping paper, and perched over a doorway in a makeshift tent, pretending to roast marshmallows.
On Friday morning he got into the cooking supplies, by making snow angels in a pile of flour.
He even showed up with the school mascot at Thursday night’s Frosty Formal dance, dressed in a suit jacket.
The elf’s antics are being posted to Facebook, and he even has his own Instagram account.
“The kids can’t wait to get to school each morning to see what antics he’s up to each day,” said Jackie Comeau, a school trustee for the Pembina Hills Regional School Division.
For those not in the know, Elf on the Shelf is a big hit with kids these days. It consists of a picture book and a stuffed, felt elf that serves as a scout for Santa and has to be moved stealthily every night in the month or so leading up to Christmas Eve.
The elf’s mission? To magically fly back to the north pole every night and report to the boss in red on who’s been naughty or nice. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house, the scout elf and the family play an ongoing game of hide and seek.
READ MORE: Elf on the Shelf brings Christmas spirit to Canadian homes
The book describes how the elf gets its magic when it is given a name, but says the magic might disappear if the scout elf is touched.
After a decade on the market, the kit has been sold millions of times and is now available in two sexes and different skin tones.
While the elf may be magical for the kids, carrying on the tradition of making sure the elf is moved every night and out of reach can be a mundane chore for parents.
READ MORE: Elf on the Shelf a Christmas cautionary tale for some parents
The elf has spawned other Christmas traditions, including Mensch on a Bench. Every day of Hanukkah, kids are told to give him a Shamash candle to hold, and use that candle to light the Menorah each night.
WATCH: Mommy bloggers Leigh and Meg dive into the pros and cons of the popular ‘Elf on a Shelf’.
With files from Erika Tucker, Global News and The Associated Press
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