After a magical 10 years, there’s a new Head Elf in charge for Love From Santa!

From 2025, the wonderful Kelly will be taking over the reins and reporting directly into Santa. We are all so excited about this. Over the past few months, Kelly and I have been working together behind the scenes to make sure everything is ready for Christmas 2025. Kelly is a former customer of Love From Santa and she has seen and enjoyed the magic of Santa’s special letters from Love From Santa with her own children. She is also a true Christmas enthusiast (mandatory for this role I suppose!) and can’t wait to continue the magic with your families.

Rest assured – all the special touches that Love From Santa letters bring will stay the same. The letters will be made with all the personalisation, love and care and of course North Pole charm that you’ve come to know and expect from Love From Santa.

To all the families who’ve trusted me to be part of your Christmas traditions over the past decade – thank you, from the bottom of my heart. It’s been an honour to help create a little magic during such a precious time in your children’s lives. Santa and I part on the jolliest of terms, and he’s thrilled to be working with Kelly and all her clever skills (though he’s hoping for fewer late-night calls!).

Here’s to the next magical chapter, Pippa

 

A few years ago I wrote a new letter called “believe” helping children to believe in the magic of Santa, just as we adults have learnt to. I’d been wanting to add this special letter to my collection for a few years. I was inspired by some beautiful stories you shared with me and things I have read about this moment in child’s life. It’s a hard message to get right and that is why it took me a few years to crack. But I finally did. And it’s beautiful (if I do say so myself).

Why a believe letter? In my journey or writing letters for Santa I’ve learnt that there are plenty of older children who believe in Santa, or at least who desperately want to believe in Santa, and my letters have allowed them to feel connected to that belief and wonderment, even if just for a moment. But we all know that the older you get, the less the whole story makes sense in your brain, and that is just a natural (very sad) progression.

I was driving home from a winter weekend away (a few years ago now) and my seven year daughter and I had “the” full on chat about Santa. She asked me all the questions. I thought I was ready to handle them, I thought I was well qualified. But I wasn’t. The most interesting thing I deduced from the conversation was that I could hear in her voice she wanted me to tell her it was all true, she wanted to believe. So Bonnie, my darling, you were my final motivator, this letter is for you this year and I hope it keeps the magic alive whilst acknowledging your concerns.

The “believe” letter is only going to be offered for children aged 8 years and older.

It explains what the magical feeling is at Christmas time, and how powerful it is to believe in that feeling together.

It starts like this …

” Have you ever felt befuddled? That’s the feeling inside when things just don’t make sense, no matter how hard to you try. Whenever I feel particularly befuddled about something, I just imagine the joy and surprise on the faces of kids like you and Freddie and Lucy when you wake up on Christmas morning feeling full of love and happiness. And it has helped a lot. Now this part of the letter is for your eyes only Bonnie. I was having a little chat to your Mum and Dad the other day, who said you were feeling a little befuddled about me and my whole Christmas Eve adventure?“

As you know I don’t normally share my letters each year, it’s part of the magic for everyone. But this one is different. You can read the rest of the letter below, if you fancy.

When should you send this letter?

When you’ve really run the full length of the Santa magic in your house … it’s the last straw. I don’t think this letter will actually pop any bubbles, but it will nod to the child’s intelligence, and pending who the child is it may, or may not get them on the other side of the fence. My advice would be to leave it as long as you can … and then keep sending them letters year after year – keep the magic alive between you.

You can order it here with all my other letters.

copyright LOVEFROMSANTA

This is the BEST Christmas Craft to do with your kids

This is such a fun and easy thing to do with your kids. Thank you @anneke_hau for this wonderful recipe and inspiration!

I made this with my kids a few weeks ago, and the only thing I would add is that it took a bit more cooking – you really do need them to brown on one side, so they are not brittle and break. And I used hair spray to seal mine!

Ours our Christmas tree decorations and gift tags for presents …

Dough Recipe

What does tradition mean to you?

If you haven’t already guessed, I love this time of year. The days are long, the sun is warm and the house is filled with more laughter (mostly) and unique smells that instantly bring a smile to my face. There’s no doubt that it’s the smell and sound of tradition, the traditions of Christmas.

Do you remember things about the festive season when you were growing up? Was it something you ate? The smell of glazed ham, garden potatoes or fresh prawns? Or was it making presents for each other or going to the local carols? As I think about what this time of year means to me, it becomes evident that it’s the traditions the we have as a family, that make Christmas so special. The more I talk to others, I hear about new traditions, some of which really excite me.

Traditions are what make us, they are embedded into our culture, our history and shape our norm. A recent conversation about Christmas traditions got me excited so let me share some special Christmas traditions with you … so in no particular order here are some ideas I’ve put together:

December = Christmas story month! The excitement of snuggling up our kids and seeing their faces light up with a Christmas story will never get old. Get out your collection of Christmas books and read one each night until Christmas, perhaps is there a new one added each year? Perhaps there are 12 on rotation, 24 special ones (!) or even a special six? It is a beautiful way to bond and get the kids excited and reinforce the special stories of Christmas. Why not do a swap with family or friends for a week or two to get a fresh story or too to read?

Sweet dreams – get your kids a special Christmas pillow case that they use for the month of December (with regular washing of course)

Tis the season to be kind – This is one of my absolute favourite traditions. For me Christmas is as much about being gracious and showing gratitude as it is anything else so I am right behind the “acts of kindness” traditions. This one costs nothing, or very little and can be translate anyway you want but the idea is the that you work together as a family to do things for others, as acts of kindness. 10 days / 12 days / 5 days / 1 day it doesn’t matter – do what works for your family

Ginger all around us – when I recently spoke to a group of mums one of their favourite traditions involved cooking and in particular cooking ginger bread men or gingerbread houses. I absolutely loved this, and what a special treat for the kids. They told me this is an annual tradition as soon as the kids break up from school. I know not everyone is a Betty Crocker, so I did some research and Ikea has delivered. They have kits from just $5. If you trust your kids decorating skills they would also make beautiful gifts. I’ve also seen local supermarkets with some great kits too!

Escape the distraction and make decorating your tree a phone free time – today we have a unhealthy relationship with our phone, iPads and other devices so why not actively pop them away and have distraction free time, tune into your family only as you set up and decorate your tree, put the carols on and just enjoy all that Christmas has to offer.

Mark the year. Another favourite, don’t let the years fly by unnoticed get a special something that reminds of the year gone by and hang it on the tree – mark it with the years date. It could be from a holiday, a special place you’ve been, something from your home or garden or just something you love – you will create lasting memories and create talking points in the years to come

The special Christmas Eve Book – I know a few families who have a special read of The Night Before Christmas, and have done for generations

Pay it forward – I think this is a special idea and one I am going to be embracing. Going to a local toy store and choosing a gift each for someone less fortunate than ourselves. Each child chooses one for a child the same age, wraps them and then leaves them under one of the donation trees.

Christmas Night ideas (if you have the energy). How about once the kids are in bed on Christmas night, you put together new toys and games so that they can spend the entire Boxing Day playing with their gifts – extend the fun?

Some other favourite traditions I’ve come across include;

Making Christmas wrapping paper – fun holiday activities for the kids and so cherished by the recipient (or reusing artwork from the year that has bee?)

Christmas reef making with your friends (Adults that is)– forage each other’s gardens, pop the champagne and have fun creating something unique with a ring of oasis!

Make an electronic Christmas Card – save on paper and get the family involved on making an electronic card

Get into the spirit of Christmas –after the kids have gone to bed (finally) create and organise the Santa gifts or eat the milk and cookies – with Santa hats on!

Write Santa letters – and if you want one back in the mail check out my shop https://lovefromsanta.com.au/personalised-letter-from-santa/

Elf on the shelf – too fun

Annual Santa photos

Baking gifts and Santa cookies

Christmas is a time for family, friends, laughter, love, food, tradition and gratitude. Why not add a new ritual this year and see if it sticks? It may just become a tradition for years to come.

Are you Christmas Elf ready??

It’s one of the things that every year, just suddenly hits you … 30th November and OMG I have to get that Christmas elf out! And on that subject where of where is he …?!

When I first got into this business back in 2015 the Elf on Shelf was still quite a new concept, so much so I actually got a contract in place for selling them – I would never have believed they were going to get as big as they now are!

And I must admit back then I was a little reluctant to add this to our Christmas build up … but I am so pleased I did.

I LOVE our Elf. Rapunzel.

So much so that I now have two! Rapunzel & Bella (see them below – insert love heart!).

I can’t wait for them to come back.

If you found yourself with an offical Elf on the Shelf you would have been given the book explaining in a lovely rhyming story the reason he / she has visited you, the rules for the duration of his stay and the consequence of them not being followed. It was a handy book for my young children to help them really grasp the concept. There are lots of other lovely Elves out there now too, some really beautiful ones!

To recap .. the basic premise of the Elf is:

Santa has sent you an elf for the Dec 1st to 24th period

You are to name, love and look after your elf

He watches your family during the day to make sure that everyone is behaving

He flys back to Santa (magically) every night to report his findings

When he comes back each night, he is found somewhere new. Because Elves are renown for being rather cheeky they can often be found doing mischievous things in your house

You must NOT touch the Elf or his magic disappears … so whilst he looks like a doll during the day, that is in fact purposeful, touching him will ruin his ability to turn back into an Elf that can travel back to Santa at night time (as I’ve already had to explain in detail to my daughter this year)

Your Elf will leave you on the 24th of Dec, regrouping with all the other Elves. But fear not, hold back the tears, he / she will be back on 1st December the next year!

The best bits about having an Elf

Children just LOVE it

It really creates a different feeling in the house for December, and the whole family gets onboard

Their is huge anticipation for the Elf to come back. Even the oldest of Kids can’t wait for the Elf to come back!

The Elf reports bad behaviour … he’s always watching. Meaning you are guaranteed a few days of good behaviour at least 🙂

The worst bits about having an Elf

Remembering to move the Elf every night!! Those of us with elves in our houses in the past, I can guarantee, have all had at least one late night moving on the elf! And many having woken in the middle of the night to have to go and do it! And I am sure there are some equally good tales that have been told about why he /she actually didn’t move at all last night (ha).

Saying goodbye on the 24th of December! There have been some very broken little hearts when the Elves leave. Luckily all that wrapping paper and present filled frenzy of Christmas Day is a good distraction!

Some great suggestions for Elf Activity

Just following the hashtag #elfontheshelfideas will give you a good selection!

I’ve also pasted below a clever list from @misskyreeloves Adore Christmas guide which had a good list too, although my Elf is gone on Christmas Day, he’s more than had his time in the sun by then!

I always try to keep my Elves out of touching height – because resisting temptation is not a strong characteristic of many children!

Happy Elfing 🙂