Santa’s sneaky elves donned in red suits with crisp white collars have been making chocolaty messes on kitchen counters and dangling dangerously from Christmas tree branches — all while unsuspecting children are sleeping.
“Families and kids look to us to be the voice of the North Pole,” Christa Pitts, founder and co-CEO of the Lumistella Co., maker of The Elf on the Shelf, told FOX Business.
“They write us, they call us, they send us letters, they contact us through social media — any way they feel that they will have that one-on-one reference to the North Pole,” Pitts said.
Greater than 25.5 million The Elf on the Shelf scout elves have been causing mischief and magic in homes across the country and the world.
And the tradition grew in 2023 with a latest character, Noorah the Arctic Fox, and a latest TV series, “The Elf on the Shelf: Sweets Showdown,” currently airing on Food Network.
Since 2005, the worldwide sensation with elf prints in 24 countries has grown out of one family tradition that began in Atlanta.
“My mom had a small elf in her childhood and her mother, my grandmother, used to say, ‘You realize, you guys higher cut it out because that elf is watching.’ It worked for Santa, and it was just living within the Christmas tree,” Pitts said.
Lumistella Co. founder and co-CEO Christa Pitts spoke with FOX Business concerning the successful The Elf on the Shelf franchise that’s been made a vacation tradition in households all internationally. The Lumistella Company
When Pitts’ mother, Carol Aebersold, had children, she continued the tradition and added to the thrill by giving the elf a reputation: Fisbee.
She also created stories around its appearances every day leading as much as Christmas.
“We’d race away from bed every morning to go find him,” Pitts said.
She also created stories around its appearances every day leading as much as Christmas.
“We’d race away from bed every morning to go find him,” Pitts said.
“The 2 of them together were an actual dream team, by way of knowing how kids wish to interact with their materials.”
Under Pitts’ leadership, 25.5 million The Elf on the Shelf scout elves, pets and mates have been sold in 24 countries.
Pitts, a former QVC program host and branding expert, teamed up together with her mom and sister to develop The Elf on the Shelf right into a book and character combo — a journey that wasn’t all magic because it took grit, determination and lots of rejection.
“We had been turned down by everybody,” Pitts said. “We had the book and we had it illustrated, but no one wanted it. Nobody saw value in it.”
“We were rejection central,” she added. “We heard all the things from, ‘Kids don’t like rhyming’ to, ‘It’s destined for the damaged goods bin’ and all the things in between.”
The team decided to self-publish.
“We actually understood this idea from the mind of a baby and we believed in it. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, it’s certainly one of the things that sets you apart, which is you will have to consider in what you are promoting or your idea because nobody else goes to do it for you.”
The sisters are pictured above. WireImage
Pitts said she and her family had to seek out the money to get the thought off the bottom.
They turned to proceeds from the sale of her house, money from her parents’ 401(k) — (d)and the remaining was charged to bank cards.
“And that’s how we got our first The Elf on the Shelf units,” she said.
The minimum order was 5,000 and by the autumn of 2005 they’d their first book signing.
“We began very small at a number of local Christmas markets,” Pitts said. “We had to inform each person who passed by what this was because there was no frame of reference for this concept.”
A general view of an Elf on the Shelf doll as seen in Hawthorne, NJ on December 25, 2022. Christopher Sadowski
Pitts said they sold all 5,000 units that 12 months, but it surely wasn’t easy.
“It was waking up on the morning time after which not going to bed until late and getting the web site together,” Pitts said.
“The more we sold, the more we continued to consider.”
Every penny they made went immediately back into the corporate to support the subsequent 12 months and the subsequent, Pitts said.
They didn’t make any money for 3 years — but that didn’t stop them.
“I believe there’s at all times going to be a component of optimism in any successful entrepreneur story,” Pitts said.
“In the event you took everyone who told you ‘no,’ or was a naysayer or doubter and believed them, you’ll never conquer your barriers,” she said.
“The obstacle is type of the way in which entrepreneurial mindsets work. There’s at all times going to be a component of optimism. That said, the challenges are enormous.”
From a business perspective, Pitts said a growth mindset and a willingness to evolve are key.
“One in all the nice opportunities for any entrepreneur is that you would be able to move faster and be more nimble than any established brand or company on the market,” Pitts said.
The Elf on the Shelf brand now includes latest clothes, characters, movies, TV shows and more. Christopher Sadowski
“The larger they turn out to be, the harder it’s to be a disruptor or a change maker,” she added.
“I had an expensive friend of mine say to me one time, ‘You guys improved Christmas. You made it higher. You’ve improved a vacation.”
The Lumistella Co. has about 115 full-time employees, scaling up with part-time and temporary staff in the course of the Christmas season.
The corporate continues to be based in Atlanta — and Pitts and the team aren’t resting on their snow drifts.
Latest characters and content proceed to attach Santa and the North Pole to children in all places.
From a business perspective, Pitts said a growth mindset and a willingness to evolve are key. The Lumistella Company
Pitts’ advice for budding entrepreneurs is easy.
“Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams,” she said.
“We’re the classic example of how for those who work hard enough and also you focus and you’re very clear about what you’re wanting to perform and why, with persistence and optimism, you’ll be able to do it.”
Relationships, Pitts added, are a key component to constructing a business.
“Get on a plane, get in your automobile, go travel, meet people — because typically individuals are willing to enable you to out,” she said.
“You only should be willing to spend time with them and to discuss what it’s you’re attempting to do.”
The book, “Extraordinary Noorah,” reached No. 1 on Amazon in the primary week of its release. The Lumistella Company
That features family relationships, Pitts said.
“Now we have a family that’s wild on trust and love and an incredible mom who told us we could do anything,” Pitts said.
“We knew from the start of our existence just how magical this imagination and the magic of the season could be for those who lean into it. And it’s not about Santa per se, but it surely’s concerning the spirit of the season,” she said.
“Kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness, giving. Those are the things that drive us. Those are the things that I believe make this time of 12 months so special. I believe Santa’s pleased with us.”