By Saige Miller

The little red elf sitting on the shelf is a global phenomenon. The elf’s main purpose is to report back to Santa every night and tell him if the kids in the house were naughty or nice.

Some families whip out the Christmas helper only during the holidays, others use the elf throughout the entire year. Families everywhere from the United States to Zimbabwe personalize their elf, giving them names and personalities.  You’ll most likely never see the elf in one place–he’s always on the move.

Let’s meet some of Santa’s clever elves…

This is Buddy. Buddy loves finding sneaky places to hide. The kids in the house search for Buddy every morning. Buddy is the master at hide-and-seek.

Buddy the elf hiding in a pot
Photo credit: Susannah Brown Nelson

Jingle the elf encourages the kiddos to build healthy habits like consuming their daily dose of potassium!

Photo credit: Jenny Biesinger

The many faces of elves on the shelves… Elves like to take elfies like the rest of us!

Photo credit: Terrilyn Balaszi

Santa’s crew has to stay in tip-top shape! This elf’s marshmallow benchpress is nothing short of impressive.

Photo credit: Mandy Fowler

Meet Snow Flake. He is a classroom elf. He helps the kids do their math and helps the teacher keep their sanity!

Photo credit: Jo Hooton

And there comes a time in every great elf’s life where the kids are grown, Santa is happy, and the elf finally gets to retire…

Photo credit: Marcee Buxton