Christmas Helpers’ Day
United Elves Day
A Day to Honor the Pantheon of Fantastical Christmas Helpers
About Christmas Helpers’ Day
Christmas Helpers’ Day celebrates the supporting cast in the Christmas mythos: the elves, bakers, reindeer wranglers, talking snowmen, and all the other figures who work behind the scenes to make holiday magic happen. These helpers, including Mrs. Claus herself, embody the collaborative spirit of Christmas. Today, we honor their contributions by baking festive treats, reflecting on their unique stories, and perhaps imagining ourselves as part of Santa’s cheerful crew. From the obscure (like Louisiana’s snowman helper, Mr. Bingle) to the legendary (Rudolph and his so-called friends come to mind), this day reminds us that even Santa needs a team.
Ways to observe
(A) Low effort
Write a thank-you note to someone who made last Christmas work. Maybe they wrapped every gift, hosted without complaint, or picked you up from the airport.
(B) Recommended
Secretly become someone’s helper-for-aday. Do a task they usually carry: walk the dog, prep dinner, stock the guest bathroom. Don’t make a big deal of it. Just slip in, get it done, and slip out, like a seasonal ninja.
(C) High effort
Invent a brand-new Christmas Helper. Give them a name (Gleebus the Wrapping Troll), a full backstory, and a sacred seasonal duty. Then craft a costume, write a short theme song, and perform it for your family. You’ll need thick skin for this one.
Inspiration
Santa gets the glory, but the Christmas machine runs on elbow grease, and it’s often the misfits doing the heavy lifting. Maybe it’s an elf on the spectrum hammering out wooden trains, or a rejected reindeer finding its life purpose. The supporting cast of Christmas tends to be made up of characters society might otherwise overlook. And yet, in the glow of the North Pole, their quirks become qualifications. (Capitalism is ruthless that way, I suppose.) Elves, for instance, began as mysterious spirits in Norse and Celtic folklore, closer to goblins than cheerful toymakers. Over time, they became more elflike and unionized into the merry workforce we now imagine hammering away in Santa’s workshop. Clement Clarke Moore called Santa “a right jolly old elf,” and by the late 19th century, illustrators, storytellers, and marketers had fleshed out the rest of the team: pointy shoes, green uniforms, relentless good cheer. And then there’s Mrs. Claus. Long underestimated, now clearly the brains of the operation. First appearing in an 1849 story by James Rees, she’s since evolved into the North Pole’s COO, HR director, head baker, and possibly lead sleigh mechanic. Modern portrayals rightly cast her not as a passive partner but as Santa’s co-conspirator in global holiday logistics. We include under helper lore a wide range of fantastical figures, some genuinely helpful, others helpful only in a scared-straight sense. Iceland’s 13 Yule Lads, for example, include the notorious “Pot-licker,” who does exactly what his name suggests. Louisiana gave us Mr. Bingle, a middle-manager snowman who runs point on Santa’s department store promotions. These characters remind us that holiday magic isn’t a solo act. Sometimes a bunch of Icelandic freaks get involved. Gluggagægir (“Window Peeper”) is slavering on your front porch even now.
Adornments
Watch
Mrs. Santa Claus (1996)
Angela Lansbury shines in this made-for-TV musical set in 1910, where Mrs. Claus takes the reins (literally). Feeling overlooked, she test-drives Santa’s sleigh and winds up bringing holiday cheer and justice to New York City’s Lower East Side.
Prep & Landing (2009)
A duo of short Christmas specials that follow two elite elves, Wayne and Lanny, from Santa’s high-tech “Prep & Landing” unit. Their job? Sneak into homes ahead of the sleigh to ensure a smooth landing. Smart, fast-paced, and good fun.
Listen
The Elf Song by Crowder
A tongue-in-cheek anthem that finally gives Santa’s overworked elves a voice. It’s an unexpected and quite funny tribute to the unsung labor behind Christmas.
Read
The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
A charming Swedish picture book (adapted from a Viktor Rydberg poem) that introduces the tomten, a little gnome who acts as a farm’s guardian. On a still, moonlit winter night, the tomten tramps from barn to cottage on his tiny feet, checking that each animal is safe and each human is snug in bed.
Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men by Phyllis Siefker
A scholarly exploration of the origins of Santa and his companions in folklore. Far from the jolly figure in Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, Santa is traced back 50,000 years as the inheritor of ancient “Wild Men” traditions. Siefker connects the dots between Santa and a host of mythical helper figures.