Twas the night of Christmas Eve

And all through the house not a creature was stirring.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

And the elves were waiting quietly to take their leave.

When outside their windows, the elves heard a whistle

And went running like they were shot out of a pistol.

They jumped on Santa’s sleigh and went off into the sky.

And, as they drove out of sight, the elves waved to say,

“Little boys and girls, don’t you be sad and don’t you cry!

We’ll come back to surprise you at another Christmas time.

And as they drove out of sight, all the elves called back,

“We had a great time! Happy Christmas to all!”

Sometime on Christmas Eve night, Elves on the Shelf and other elves, too, hitched a ride back to the North Pole with Santa Claus when he came to bring toys to good little boys and girls all over the world.

Santa left a note hanging on the North Star so children everywhere would know not to be sad that their elves had gone home.

“Dear boys and girls,” Santa wrote. “The elves that come to visit homes all around the world at Christmastime are hand picked by Mrs. Claus and me. They are chosen because they always mind and do as they are told. They hardly ever get grumpy or fuss or pout. They keep happy faces and live by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. So, Mrs. Claus and I can trust them to visit in the homes of boys and girls around Christmas time and come back at night and let us know how good or bad the children have been. They’ve all had a good time and will miss being with you. But, they’ll be happy to be back home with all their elf friends and me and Mrs. Claus, too. And, if they’re good all year long, they will get to come back again.”

Santa said that he honors all elf requests. So, children who would like to have an elf visit them next year should wish upon the North Star and those wishes will come true.

Note: The popular classic poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was published 190 years ago on the 23rd of December 1823. The poem was first titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and appeared in the New York newspaper, “Troy Sentinel.”