Gamboa Elf

When we spent Christmas in Burbank with Sam, Jess, Maddie, Max, Theo and Toby last year, we were visited everyday by a Christmas elf, who would disappear at night to report to Santa and reappear each morning, always in a new spot. A couple rules were in place - you could never touch the Elf (otherwise he might lose his magic powers). But you talk to him, tell him your troubles, if you'd been bad or good - and what you'd really like for Christmas...

The kids were pretty sure that the elves only frequented houses in California. So they were pretty surprised to see (with some thoughtful coordination by Aunt Jess), an elf appear right here in Gamboa! Gwendolyn's reaction was mixed at first - I think she was quite worried that someone would now be watching her every move (and noting bad behavior). But she quickly warmed up. By the end of the first day, she made him a drawing, started conversing with him with winks and hand gestures, and decided that he needed a nightly offering of food, to fortify him for his long trips to the North Pole.


Simon is pretty in to him too. Each morning starts with a hunt for the elf's new location (and he's getting harder and harder to find). We hear that he will leave for good on Christmas eve, to return the following year.