December wouldn’t feel complete at OSCAR without a little mischief, and for the third year running, Elf on the Shelf has returned to our Hamilton programmes, bringing plenty of excitement, anticipation and laughter along with it.

This year, 10 Hamilton sites are taking part, making it our biggest and most creative season yet. Each centre receives its own elf, delivered secretly just before December. Staff keep the elf hidden until 1 December, when it makes its grand entrance, often with a dramatic arrival that sets the tone for the weeks ahead. From crash-landings into windows to handwritten “I’m here!” notes perched on counters, no two arrivals are ever the same.

From there, the magic continues daily. Each morning, tamariki arrive eager to discover where their elf has moved overnight and what mischief it’s been up to. There are a few important rules, of course: elves can’t be touched, or they lose their magic, they never move when children are around, and each night they return to the North Pole to report back to Santa. If magic is ever lost, staff are on hand to restore it, with a sprinkle of magic dust and a spirited singalong of Jingle Bells.

This year, staff have taken creativity to the next level. Centres were given goody bags filled with tiny Christmas hats, jingle bells, slime hands and other props to spark ideas, and the results have been some of our best yet. Elves have been spotted sneaking into fruit bowls, hiding inside toilet-paper snowmen, playing mini golf, sliding under doors, and even building tiny beds from toilet rolls.

Each morning, photos of the elves’ antics are shared across teams, creating a ripple of joy well beyond each individual programme. The tradition has become something staff and children genuinely look forward to, bringing imagination, connection and festive fun into the everyday rhythm of OSCAR.

With such a positive response once again, we’re already planning to expand Elf on the Shelf to Auckland centres next year, spreading the magic even further.