Melissa McMeekin had an idea.
“So she asked me, the doer, to put her idea actually into play,” said Melissa’s husband Aaron Suoja.
It wasn’t exactly a Christmas miracle to make it happen but it did take imagination.
“He is made of PVC pipe, a bucket, bubble wrap, and then like a wig’s head,” said McMeekin.
And soon their very own life-size elf on the shelf was enchanting neighbors in Rockport.
“It’s totally wonderful,” said Carolyn Buckley-Cooper, who lives in the neighborhood. “It’s adorable, it makes people happy.”
Each morning they wake up to find the elf somewhere else in the yard.
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They’ve found him throwing snowballs, meditating, even riding a bicycle.
“We had a hammock up,” said McMeekin. “He was in the hammock, and the next day he got stuck in the hammock…you know how hard it is to get out of a hammock sometimes.”
Neighbors look forward to where they’ll find him next.
“This was a surprise,” said Buckley-Cooper. “This is a very sweet surprise, it just adds to the community and the spirit.”
Decorations are serious business here.
The family goes all out at Halloween, and this year wanted to try something special for Christmas.
“You know we’ve had so many people just drop by and tell us they stop, they take pictures, I call them ‘elfies’, so they’ll stop and take elfies with him,” said McMeekin.
While this may be the first year for this elf on the shelf, it won’t be the last. They’re planning on Santa sending him back next Christmas season.
“If you want to follow him you can follow me on Instagram, Melissa McMeekin, and you can see where he goes next,” said McMeekin. “I can’t tell you the next two nights of what’s going to happen.”
