This ‘Elf on the Shelf’ shares human adventures online
Couple add real twist to popular holiday tradition.
This December, Alan Rill has toilet-papered a neighbor’s house, shopped for dozens of bottles of maple syrup and wished for snow via a lawn message written in shaving cream.
So go the mischievous adventures of a human Elf on the Shelf.
Several times a week since the first of the month, the 32-year-old Rill has donned a redand-white outfit for photos in playful situations — not unlike the kind in which parents maintaining an Elf on the Shelf game might place the toy.
Rill’s wife, Jennifer Kaperak — the brains behind the seasonal operation — posts a photo a day on Facebook to rave reviews and hundreds of “likes” from friends and relatives.
The Hilliard couple plan to sustain the fun through Christmas Eve.
“Kids have been asking: ‘Where’s the elf going to be next? What’s Mr. Alan up to?’ “said Kaperak, also 32. “I thought we would do it for a lot of chuckles. Now, we just get so much enjoyment from others’ enjoyment.”
Added her husband: “Our friends make ridiculous comments. Some of them say, ‘We wake up every morning to see what the post is.’”
The anticipation isn’t necessarily surprising, as interest in the doll and accompanying storybook has endured in the decade since The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition was introduced.
The concept behind Elf on the Shelf is that Santa Claus sends an elf to scout a child (or children) in a home from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24. Each night, the elf reports back to St. Nick about who was naughty and/ or nice. When the elf returns each morning, Santa’s helper perches in a new spot in the house, leading to a game of hideand-seek.
Elf on a Shelf — winner of a Learning Express Best Toy Award from 2008 to 2010 — spawned a 30-minute animated show in 2011 and a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon in 2012. The book has topped several bestseller lists.
In homes throughout the country, meanwhile, parents have become progressively more imaginative with the morning poses in which children might find an elf. Pinterest, Instagram and parenting blogs are littered with ideas on how to keep the elf moving as Christmas nears.
The Internet is also where Rill and Kaperak draw inspiration for their photos.
The idea to dress her husband as an elf originated two years ago after a colleague in the Madison Champaign School District — where Kaperak works as a speech therapist — showed her an online photo of a man in an elf costume. The colleague asked Kaperak whether Rill might be willing to do the same for a photo to show her children.
Kaperak and Rill have no children of their own, but Kaperak knew that her husband would play along — and the goofier the situation the better.
The couple created the costume using a red sweat suit and white felt, and added a Santa hat. That holiday season, they posted a few photos of Rill dressed as the elf.
Busy schedules precluded them from repeating the fun last year. The elf ’s absence, though, disappointed many children — and adults — they knew.
“We thought if we’re going to do this again, we’re going to go fullblown and take it over the top,” said Rill, an auditor for Nationwide Insurance.
“Over the top” has meant a daily photo posting and an enhanced “wow” factor.
He and his wife have spent more time mapping out ideas than taking the photos, relying on two quick “shoots” a week to capture a few antics.
“You see pictures online (of the elf doll), and you have to figure out how to make them ‘grownup’ size” Kaperak said. “How do I add pizzazz?”
One afternoon last week, Rill posed with the couple’s dogs, Roxy and Rusty, in front of a “For Sale” sign; and, for a separate photo, wrote “SNOW PLEASE!” in shaving cream in the yard.
They ended the session with the elf acting out a memorable scene from the film “Christmas Vacation.”
Though low-budget, their photos exude jolliness.
“It’s hilarious,” neighbor Crisha House said. “The elf was toilet-papering our tree one day. My favorite was when he was taped to the wall, and Roxy had the tape in her mouth.
“I can just see them sitting there racking their brains about ‘What can we do next?’ “
As a mother of two children — Carley, 11, and Grant, 8 — she appreciates her neighbors’ efforts to spread cheer.
Rill and Kaperak are already looking forward to photographing the elf next year, but they worry about keeping the ideas fresh.
Said Kaperak: “We might need to gallivant around Columbus.”