Did you know that baby elves are some of the most magical and mischievous little beings at the North Pole? While most people only see the tall, pointy-eared helpers in Santa’s workshop, very few have heard the giggles and coos of the tiniest elves in their cozy nursery cottage just beyond the peppermint forest.

Quick Facts About Baby Elves

• Christmas Elves live much longer than humans thanks to the powerful Christmas magic at the North Pole. Some believe that Elves may live hundreds to even thousands of years! Because of their long lifespans, Elf stages of growth happen at a much slower pace than in human years. As a result, Elves stay youthful-looking for hundreds of years. The stages of the Elf lifespan are:

Elf Stage               Human Equivalent             Elf Age Range

Baby Elf                      0-2 years old                  0-10 elf years

Toddler Elf                  2-4 years old                10-30 elf years

Child Elf                     5-12 years old              30-100 elf years

Teen Elf                    13-19 years old             100-200 elf years

Young Adult                    20s-30s                  200–300 elf years

Adult Elf                          30s-60s                     300 + elf years

Elder Elf                             70 +                        1000 + elf years

• A baby elf will eat about 3,600 jars of baby food – a favorite is plum pudding with rice.
• Baby elves are very hard on pacifiers. The average number of pacifiers a baby will use is 300.
• A baby elf will need to endure around 1,200 playful pinches on the cheeks and will hear “What a CUTE baby!” about 1,750 times.
• Baby elves will hear nearly 2,000 Christmas songs sung by Mrs. Claus, their mom and dad, and other elves that just happen to walk by!

The Elf Nursery

While Mom and Dad elf go about their duties at Santa’s Village, baby elves often stay at the Elf Nursery. The Elf Nursery is a warm, twinkling cottage nestled beneath a blanket of soft snow. Icicles hang like crystal bells from the roof. The inside smells like cinnamon, hot cocoa, and candy canes. It’s where all baby elves are cared for until they’re old enough to begin their first magical lessons.

Mrs. Claus along with the Head Nursery Elf, Tinsel, makes sure that baby elves are safe, happy, and wrapped in the softest red-and-green blankets stitched with stardust thread.

How Baby Elves Are Born

Baby elves aren’t born like human babies. Elf families seem to mysteriously know when it’s time for a baby to join their family. Mom and Dad elf begin by preparing the nursery and picking out baby names. When the magical time arrives, baby elves appear in a puff of shimmering snowflakes. A tiny golden star falls from the sky and lands on the Snow Spruce Tree. The next morning, a cradle holds a baby elf wrapped in a glowing blanket. Mom and Dad elf arrive to welcome the new addition to their family. The North Pole knows it’s time to celebrate a new arrival!

Each baby elf gets a name chosen by Mom and Dad elf — names like Gigglepop, Twinkletoes, Sugarplum Mary, or Nutmeg.

What Baby Elves Do All Day

Baby elves are curious and love to explore. They giggle when they see snowflakes for the first time and try to catch them on their tiny mittened hands. They crawl across peppermint rugs and chase glowing sugarplum fireflies.

They drink warm sweet milk from candy-striped bottles and take naps in marshmallow pillows shaped like stars and sleigh bells. When they’re sleepy, they hum to the sounds of the wind playing through the icicles.

Every day, the elder elves come in to sing lullabies that sound like sleigh bells ringing over snowy hills.

Their First Magical Moments

Around their first birthday (which is really more like their first Frostday), baby elves begin to show signs of their future talents. One might sneeze and suddenly light up the tree with fairy lights. Another might giggle and cause glitter to burst into the air.

Santa and Mrs. Claus love to watch the babies discover their powers. “That one will be a wrapping wizard,” Santa chuckles. “And this little one might be a future reindeer whisperer!”

Growing Up Elf

As they grow older, baby elves graduate to the Little Helpers’ School where they learn how to:

• Decorate cookies without eating them all
• Sew tiny bells into hats
• Feed flying reindeer
• Write jolly jokes for Christmas crackers

But no matter how big they get, they always remember their first snuggles in the nursery, the warmth of Mrs. Claus’s hugs, and the sparkle of the first snowflake they ever caught.