Front Line, Photo Elf, Droopy Hat

Shortcake was five minutes late to work because the train decided to stop about 3 times between stations. Shortcake does not like being late.

She started work immediately on the front line. There was a special event today called "Happy Child" where underprivileged kids are brought in, fed breakfast, get to see Santa and get toys. Groups of kids were being led to see Santa in addition to the normal school groups and families. Happy Child was supposed to be over by 10am; instead it didn't end until noon. Around 10a, the line exploded and there was a minor stantion disaster. Because the stantions were not set up properly, Shortcake was frantically trying to pull them together to make a line, and then were were only two lanes instead of the usual three, and a school group leader decided to pick a fight with a family about who was in line first, while Shortcake was stretched between stantions... It was a mess, but by 11a it had calmed down again.

In answer to a question posed by ELF's mom, the line to see Santa during the day is usually about 20-30 minutes, and most of that is inside the display, so there's stuff to look at. On really busy days (weekends, Black Friday etc.) it can be an hour to two hours.

After a break, Shortcake was sent to Photo elf, where she saw a lot of school groups, and some pushy moms, but mostly good kids. After lunch, she Photo elfed again, and managed to get 11 teenage girls into a picture, and it turned out really cute. She also discovered a silly dance for babies, that sometimes makes them smile. Sometimes they just stare at her in awe. But they always look at her, and mostly stop crying.

Shortcake worked with Santa today, and he decided that every time there was a new batch of elves in, they would come together for a cheer. They all put their hands in the middle and on the count of three shouted "Merry Christmas" and threw their hands in the air. Very inspiring.

Shortcake has a very droopy hat. It makes her look like a jester instead of an elf. People say it looks cute, but it doesn't change the fact that it is droopy. She's changed hats, and that didn't help. The current theory is that Shortcake's head is too small and round. It doesn't help that she wears her hat down around her ears, and it moves around all over the place while she does her silly dance and shakes her head to make the bells jingle. Shortcake has a special cowlick at the end of the day on her left temple, all from wearing her elf hat.