Elves work really hard all year, but how do they enjoy themselves after the December 25 comes and goes? Whether it's after-Christmas sales, tropical vacations, or just napping, here are some of the things I imagine the elves are up to on December 26.
1. Celebrating their Christmas:
Surely the elves celebrate Christmas too, right? Here's the big question: Do they make their own gifts, or do they order everything on Amazon? I'm sure the drones ship to the North Pole.
2. Watching Christmas movies about elves and laughing at inaccuracies:
I don't know what they'll pick out, but I've got to believe elves enjoy mocking our portrayal of them. Maybe they even have a little too much eggnog and pretend they're Will Ferrell.
3. Snapping their "Elf on a Shelf" in compromising positions:
I like to think that real elves find our notion of traveling elves from the North Pole magically sold in Barnes & Noble about as ridiculous as it sounds. I picture them photographing elves on shelves in all sorts of compromising situations and sharing them on elf social media (Elfbook?).
5. Sleeping until next year:
Making enough toys for all the world's children (even if it's only the world's "nice" children) proves no small task. The elves probably work longer hours on less sleep than all our finals studying combined, so on December 26 they might just want to sleep until 2016.
6. Jamming out to Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song":
If movie portrayals prove accurate, then elves listen to Christmas music all day, every day. That's why, when they get a day to choose the music, they want to twerk to the least Christmas-y song possible.
7. Shopping the after-Christmas sales:
You know that short guy who cut you off in the Bloomingdale's parking lot -- he's an elf. Elves have no other time of year to get in their shopping (believe it or not, they don't like wearing red unitards when not at work) so they hit up the after-Christmas sales to get the best deals just like we do. Plus, they can use their elf costume to pretend they worked as Santa's helper at the department store to score an employee discount.
8. Go on vacation:
As wonderful as we might think it is, the North Pole is cold and in the middle of nowhere. An elf needs to get away from it all. I imagine Santa getting back on December 26 and all the elves grabbing one of his reindeer or maybe hopping on a flight. So next time you spot a little person in the airport, don't give him your new Christmas list -- even Santa's helpers need a week off.
