Elf Welcome Back Letter

Six reasons that hold up

• Called back to the workshop because an order went wrong and needed checking.
• Stuck helping with the reindeer after one of them went lame.
• Sent to another family who needed an extra elf for a week.
• Caught in bad weather over the Atlantic and had to wait it out.
• Doing a training week, because new elves need teaching and this one is experienced.
• Lost, briefly, which is the honest option and the one children find funniest.

Match the number of days

Children count. If the elf was gone for nine days and the letter says a couple, that is noticed. The template takes the number of days and works it into the text, which sounds trivial and is the single detail that makes the letter believable.

If you genuinely do not know how long it has been, the lost option covers it, because being lost does not require a timeline.

The restart

A return letter is a good moment to reset the tradition at a level you can sustain. The letter has an optional line saying the elf will be moving less often from now on because it has extra work this year. Children accept that readily, and it buys you the rest of December.

Questions

What do I say when the elf has been missing for days?

Pick one of the six reasons in the template, from being called back to the workshop to simply having got lost, and enter the number of days so the letter matches what the children noticed.

Does it matter how long the elf was gone?

Yes. Children count the days, and a letter saying a couple of days when it was nine gets challenged. The template works the actual number into the text.

Can I use the letter to make the tradition less work?

Yes. There is an optional line explaining the elf will move less often from now on because of extra work this year, which children accept and which takes the pressure off the rest of December.

Is it editable?

Yes. Child names, the elf name, the number of days and the reason are all fields, and you can replace the reason text with your own.