One Hue Challenge - Albiona Whittaker

After all that work on the Elle series this year, I was pretty wiped out! There was still one more day set for blog content so I decided I would do something simple; a winter themed illustration using just one hue.

Wanting to do a wintery illustration, Albiona Whittaker was instantly the character I wanted to draw. Despite being a character who is completely white, she has two colours for tints, these are grey and blue. I chose to use blue as my colour since it would be a nicer turnout than grey.

I got Albiona sitting on some snow and having her faced towards the horizon below while she looks back at us. I wanted to convey her shy personality but make her look welcoming of our company. She's got some wintery accessories; the woolly hat and fluffy boots.

I call this the one hue challenge and not one colour challenge because I used three blues to put this together. Sketching and shading with the lightest blue, followed by refinement and additional shading by the mid-toned blue. I am thrilled with the shading in this piece, it felt so authentic! Even the snow looks really good, and I was able to add a sun in the illustration, to which the shading successfully aligned with.

The third blue, cerulean, was used to add contrast to the outermost lines of Albiona, which would stop her blending in too much with the background. Then I added a thick border with all three blues which I chose for Albiona's hat to break out of, adds interest to have little fragments of an illustration break free from it's borders.

I actually got this done in a matter of two hours, which is pretty quick for me! I was only doing this as a warm up for some more drawing as well so it was nice to get a finished piece like this done in so little time. If you ever want to get started on some drawing but don't feel ready for a bigger or more challenging piece, why not grab a colour and just see what you create with it? It's an exercise that can encourage creativity, resource and improve your speed if you don't take too long working on it!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 25

Elle is Happy

Elle gave one final push, had there been any glass windows in the stable they would probably have smashed! It was dark outside and the stars were twinkling beautifully, you could even see the northern lights from the stable! But it was nothing compared to the sight of what was being handed to Elle by the medical elves.

'Congratulations, Santa. It's a boy.' Elle held the new born baby so she and Eldon could both see. People had joked that their baby would be born on the toy lines and set straight to work, but it turns out he was born in the workplace after all!

'I don't think we'll give him a job yet, shall we?' Elle quietly joked.

'No, I don't think so.' Eldon chuckled. 'Hello little fella!'

Rudolph came over to see the baby, it was one of the rare occasions in which he was genuinely smiling!

'Congratulations, you two.' he said calmly. 'So, what his name?'

'Rudolph, meet Nick Griggs Ellingham.' Rudolph had never met a baby elf before, he was most intrigued by the sight. It's probably what was making him smile so genuinely like he rarely did.

'Another Nick in the North, huh? It's nice to meet you, Nick.' And Rudolph's nose glowed a little, making little Nick smile. Nick tried to reach out to grab the nose but Rudolph backed away a couple of steps, he didn't like his nose being touched.

'We finally have our own little Nick,' Elle spoke softly to Eldon. 'And guess what, Nick. One day you might be doing my thing, making everyone's Christmas!'

It had been a wild ride for Elle in her new job as Santa. She had overcome the difficulties of her job, the loss of her hero and brought a new Nick into the world. She started out as Elle Ellison the little helper and now she was Elle Ellingham, Santa and a mother. And in exactly six months' time, it would be Christmas day!

THE END

Thank you for reading this series, and huge thanks to those who also read the first series last year! Will there be a third and final run next year? Only time will tell!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 24

Elle is Fierce

It was the twenty-fifth of June and Elle was working as hard as she could. She was doing incredibly well, but everyone was getting even more concerned about her. Eldon had been through several rows with her trying to insist on maternity leave. But try as they might, nobody could convince Elle that she was going to take any time off.

Elle was down at the stables that morning to see the Reindeer. Donner was singing to herself as usual while Dancer was bopping in tune. Comet and Cupid were nuzzling their noses together, they had been a couple for nearly five decades now! Blitzen was playing hide and seek with Vixen and Olive, neither of which he could find so easily. He had already found Rudolph, he's never so good at hiding so he got the grumps and quit the game.

'Morning Santa.' greeted Rudolph who tried to be cheery.

'Hello Rudolph, how are we all this morning?'

'Same old, same old.' Rudolph explained. 'I'm surprised you're still at work.'

'Oh, don't!' groaned Elle. 'I've been having it from everyone lately, I can't afford to stop working. The workshop needs a Santa.'

'Oh well it's not my business so I'll keep my nose out of it.' Rudolph rolled his eyes. As Rudolph walked away, Olive peeked her head out from a giant pile of hay close by.

'Santa?' whispered Olive.

'What are you doing in there?'

'Charades- no, hide and seek. How's the baby?'

'The baby's doing fine, thank you.'

'Have you done the scan yet?' Olive asked excitedly.

'Yeah that was a while ago, we're expecting a boy.'

'Ooh I can't wait!' Olive whispered with delight, she was still trying to win her game of hide and seek. 'Have you and Eldon thought about names for the baby, yet?'

'Oh we've decided on a name already. We're calling him-' Elle paused for a moment.

Meanwhile Eldon was working in the warehouses, making toys. He had just stopped for a moment to get himself a coffee when running down the corridor to his surprise was Dasher. Dasher was followed by a medical team but skidded to a stop just after the doorway when he saw Eldon.

'I think I saw him!' he exclaimed to the medical elves and they all rushed up to the door. Eldon was confused and approached them.

'What's going on?' he asked.

'Eldon?' Dasher asked.

'Yeah that's right?' Eldon answered, still confused and concerned.

'No time, your wife's in labour!'

Eldon followed everyone back to the stable where Elle was laid down with a hay-bail as a pillow and a blanket to cover herself while the reindeer were making sure that she was okay, to the best of their ability. Luckily Hoho had been close by and so had been there to assist until the medical team's arrival.

'And my parents said I couldn't be a mid-wife!' gloated Hoho to himself just as everyone else arrived.

'Thank you, Hoho.' the actual midwife patted him on the shoulder. 'Give us some space please.' Hoho moved out of the way and everyone started to gather around Elle to assure all was well. Eldon sat beside Elle and grabbed hold of her hand. It was a matter of seconds before Eldon was in extreme pain from the fierce grip Elle had on him! And it obviously wasn't a walk in the park for Elle either, she had been through sleigh rides, toy making, loss and so much since she started out at the workshops, but nothing compared to this!

Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of this story and second series!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 23

Elle is Ill

It had been several months since Elle was confirmed to be pregnant. More was being done to help her while she was keeping on top of her work and Elle found herself struggling more, perhaps it was time to take maternity leave? Elle refused to take it, she was determined to remain working at the North Pole as Santa, what would happen if the other Santas took months off? Granted Elle would have a legitimately excusable reason to do so but she didn't fancy taking her chances.

By not taking the chance of putting a Santa on their first ever maternity leave, Elle was taking different chances, such as working in such a busy environment while prone to morning sickness! It was one particular morning when her luck seemed to draw the short straw.  Elle found that she was going to be sick, but the nearest toilets to her were marked disabled.

'Oh what the hell, I'm Santa!' Elle thought to herself and rushed in. When Elle came back out, feeling relived but still not at her best, she was greeted by Wendy. Wendy had been waiting outside the toilet and was looking at Elle sternly.

'Um, Santa, you do realize this picture has a wheelchair, right?' Elle felt quite shocked in her position to be criticized the way she was but shrugged it off.

'Oh yeah, sorry Wendy.' Wendy didn't seem to kick up a fuss about the incident but Elle found out a few days later that Wendy was campaigning to have the disabled toilets issued with security passes! Elle was not at all pleased about this and hoped it was just a rumor. A couple of weeks later, Wendy came into Elle's office and handed her a petition.

'There's been too many occasions when the illegitimately disabled have been using disabled access facilities and it has to stop!' declared Wendy.

'Is this because of the other day?' Elle asked. 'When you saw me coming out of the toilets?' Elle was prepared to have a heated discussion with Wendy about the matter. But Wendy looked sympathetic instead of stern.

'Not exactly. I wasn't impressed but come on, you're pregnant!' Wendy explained. 'I'm talking about the dozens of elves I see on other occasions using these toilets, not even going through incoming motherhood!' Elle was relieved and so calmly had a chat with Wendy about the proposal.

'Well thank you for coming to talk to me about this.' Elle said as she concluded the meeting. 'I'll have it seen to and let's say in about a couple to four months time, everything should be sorted.'

'Thank you, Santa.' And with a contented smile on her face, Wendy wheeled herself out of the office. Elle laid back in her seat with relief.

'The sooner I have this baby, the better!' she thought to herself.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 22

Elle is Incredulous

Shout out to DrawingWiffWaffles for creating the Yeti design featured in this illustration!

There was a business camping trip going on and Elle would be taking some of the elves into the snowy landscapes. Already the young elves were making up stories about the fabled Yetis but Elle was having none of it.

'I remember when I took the trip, it's just snow, trees and bonding. This is an exercise of team building, not a horror story!' she would say. Indeed Elle had been on this trip before, it was many years ago and while she was one of the elves keen to meet a Yeti she would discover that it was not going to happen. As time went on Elle grew out of the idea and began to agree to fear the idea of real Yetis.

Four the elves that were attending the trip this year were Hoho, Wendy, Thomas Elfison and Emily. It was a trying experience for them but Elle most of all. Thomas Elfison genuinley believed in Yetis and Wendy was hoping if one was real she's get to give it a beating!

When it was time to set up camp, things got worse. Hoho, being his friendly self, only wanted to help and trying to do more than he was capable of, much to the annoyance of the other elves but Emily the most.

'Hoho, I've got this!' she snapped. 'Can't you let a girl be strong?'

'Oh greif, not the again!' groaned Wendy, who was sick of Emily's feminist preaching.

'I'm just being a little helper!' insisted Hoho, but Emily wouldn't listen.

'Being a little inconsiderate!' Emily pouted.

'Oh, oh, oh, stop it!' shouted Elle, that shut the both of them up. They continued setting up camp with not another word. Hoho didn't speak until Thomas Elfison nearly touched the bonfire and Emily didn't speak until camp was fully set up.

The evening was more pleasant and soon it was time for the elves to go into their tents and sleep. Elle was just making sure that all of the elves were doing so without any trouble, but then she saw one of the tents close by the forest, it was shaking! Elle approached it with concern.

'Everything alright in there?' there was no response, but more shaking. Elle was becoming suspicious and so approached the tent. 'Anyone in there?' Elle asked. There were a couple of shrieks from inside the tent and Elle quickly unzipped the door to find Emily and Hoho inside! 'What on Earth is going on?'

'It's the Yeti!' Emily cried. 'We saw one!'

'Oh good greif!' signed Elle. 'There's no such thing as a Yeti.'

'Behind you, Santa!' Hoho cried.

Elle didn't look behind her as a Yeti walked out from the trees and sat down on her knees behind Elle.

'You two have been particularly troublesome, tonight.' grumbled Elle. 'If I were to turn around now, I be able to tell you with full confidence that there is no such thing-' Elle had turned around. Only her confidence had taken a beating to the surprise of a real Yeti sat before her.

'Hey.' said the Yeti calmly. Elle jumped back in surprise. Then the Yeti got our her phone and took a picture of the surprised Elle. Elle was still dazed and surprised as the Yeti got up and walked back into the trees, seconds later her voice was heard. 'There, told you I could scare Santa! You owe me!'

'What?' was the only thing Elle could muster to justify the events that had just happened. No more Yetis were seen throughout the trip and afterwards, Elle decided it would be best for the time being to send campers elsewhere until more could be learned about Yetis, whih apparently exist now!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 21

Elle feels Fear

The big day had arrived, Santa was going to get married! Lots of time and money had gone towards this wedding and it was the biggest event at the North Pole right now. Have you ever seen a royal wedding? Imagine that, but elves- lots and lots of elves. It's one of the few occasions in which all of the elves at Santa's workshops get the day off. There were parties in the streets, commemorative merchandise selling like hot cakes and films crews gathering all around St. Mary's church, where Elle and Eldon were destined to be wed.

Everything was set for the grand event to commence, all except Elle's mental stability. She was trembling in fear whilst surrounded by her bridesmaids.

'Oh gosh, I'm scared...' Elle managed to say.

'You okay, Elle?' Wendy asked. Elle was becoming almost too nervous to speak. At least, she managed to make a sound.

'Meap!' she quietly yelped. Poor Elle had become overwhelmed by the occasion and was struggling to keep herself together. Elaine, Wendy and the other bridesmaids gathered around supportingly to calm Elle down. It was only a matter of time before Elle calmed down enough to be ready for the wedding.

Eventually Elle and the bridesmaids turned up at the chapel and Elle was taken inside where at the altar stood Eldon. He looked nervous, but happy to see Elle. The chapel was full of Elle and Eldon's families, their close friends and important figures around the North Pole. There were even some significant people from across the world that had come to attend the wedding in order to honour Santa.

The Relfverend, the same one who had done Nicholas' funeral, was there to marry the happy couple. But before they were to be married, there was a long and tedious ceremony performed by the Relfverend and a number of the important figures that had attended. At last it came to the all important moment.

'Do you, Eldon Kringle Ellingham-' a few of the less than well behaved relatives from both families started snickering. The Relfverend paused and glared before continuing. 'Take this woman, Elle Eleisha Ellison, to be your lawfully wedded wife?'

'I do.' Eldon replied.

'Do you, Elle Eleisha Ellison, take this man, Eldon Ellingham, to be your lawfully wedded husband?'

'I do.' Elle answered. The declarations had been made and by law, Elle was no longer Elle Ellison. Elle Ellingham kissed her husband and there was applause.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 20

Elle is Sad

One day Elle wasn't feeling so well.  Her health was fine, the fact that she wasn't feeling so well was down to her emotions. Elle had been overcome by a sudden misery, whether or not it was a hormonal matter or not wasn't confirmed. Most of the elves assumed it was down to hormones and maybe it could have been, but there was one elf had other ideas and was determined to cheer up his boss.

Hoho went into Elle's office that morning as he was given the duty of delivering refreshments to the elves. He wasn't supposed to be doing this job but he had begged enough to annoy the interns into letting him do it for them. He brought Elle a coffee in her favourite mug.

'Morning, Santa. How are you today?'

'Hello, Hoho.' sighed Elle. 'Things have been better I'm afraid. I wouldn't worry about it though.'

'Oh but as a fellow little helper I insist that I must worry about it!' Hoho insisted. 'You're Santa, the merriest of them all! We can't have you moping around the office all day now, can we?'

'That's just it though, am I Santa?' Hoho was confused.

'I wear the suit, I own the title but I'm hardly as good as Santa as Nicholas was.' Elle explained, leaning back further into her chair. 'I'm just an elf in Santa clothing, trying to make Christmas the most wonderful time of the year but all I'm doing is letting Santa's reputation fall. People seem to treat Santa like a joke and hate me for sitting where he once did. I get the feeling that Santa made the wrong choice choosing me.'

'Are you kidding?' Hoho replied. 'You're the best Santa I've ever known! You may not be the legendary fat man with a fluffy white beard but you're full of ideas, always encouraging us to be merry and doing what the old Santa would've wanted, keeping Christmas going!' Elle had her doubts. 'You idolize the old Santa, I get that. It's the same as how we idolize you. But you can't be the same Santa he was, otherwise what was the point in you taking over? You're doing a marvelous job as Santa and I'm sure the old one is smiling down on you with pride! Your coffee mug has labelled you wrong, you're not the number two Santa, you're number one!'

Elle was quite inspired by Hoho's kind words.

'Do you really think so?'

'Of course I do! I wouldn't say so if it wasn't the truth! Things were certain to be different once you sat on his seat, and maybe he was feeling the same way at some point. This is all just a part of the cycle, and it's you whose been chosen to keep it in motion. Hopefully for a long, merry while.' Elle was silent for a moment, taking in the kind words she had been told.

'Thank you, Hoho.' Elle finally spoke. 'I really appreciate what you've said. It means a lot to me.'

'Anytime, Santa.' Hoho smiled. 'I should get back to work not, I'm not even supposed to be in here!' Elle gave a stern look at Hoho, almost as if to intimidate him and then she spoke again in a kind voice.

'I think we can overlook that today.' Elle winked at Hoho and then escorted him back to his workplace. After that, Elle felt better about herself and more confident as Santa. It had been a rollercoaster of an experience and Elle was happy to continue the ride in the seat of Santa.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 19

Elle is Blank

It had been about six months since Elle found out she was going to be having a baby and she was still working hard at the North Pole. Despite this, changes in Elle's behaviour were noticeable. Everyone knew these quirks Elle was going through would be temporary but some were still concerned about her.

This was particularly the case during one lunch break, when Elle was on one of her cravings. Elle had been through some pretty strange cravings lately, including the likes of tuna stuffed turkeys, chocolate on sprouts and strawberry ice cream seasoned with cinnamon! Hoho and Thomas Elfison found themselves talking about Elle's cravings one lunch break.

'I'm on the chicken legs for a while, after Elle there's no way I can eat a turkey; at least not for a while.' Hoho explained. 'Can you imagine the smell of a cooked turkey stuffed with tuna?'

'Oh don't, mate! That sounds disgusting!'

'It is though, so disgusting!'

'You seen the stuff she had last week? I don't even know how she could combine Yorkshire pudding with candy canes!' Thomas gagged at the thought.

'That one doesn't sound so bad.'

'Hoho, don't!' Thomas snapped. Before the conversation could continue, Elle approached with her dinner.

'Afternoon, elves.' Elle sat down between Thomas Elfison and Hoho. They were both surprised since it appeared that Elle was eating something normal, pigs in blankets. However upon closer inspection the pigs in blankets turned out to be something more in blankets.

'Santa, what's that you're eating?' Thomas Elfison asked, trying not to sound rude.

'This? Ah well we're got sausage, stuffing and sprout leaves wrapped in bacon.' Thomas and Hoho's eyes widened in disbelief. 'Stuffed with caramel.' Hoho couldn't hide his disgust and Thomas Elfison was unable to fathom a reaction that would justify what he could see Elle eating. She didn't have a clue why everyone was acting up about it, but then against she was never ashamed of anything she ate.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 18

Elle is Drunk

Before Nicholas retired as Santa, there had been a great deal of controversy with one of the annual celebrations, the Christmas Cracker. Elle was supposedly a part of these events however she doesn't talk about it and answers to none of the theories. With Nicholas passed away and everyone else aware being silenced, it seemed the secrets of what happened had been taken to Nicholas' grave.

One morning, Elle got a letter from an anonymous source, made out of newspaper cuttings. The letter read:

Dear Santa,

We have met before but I shall skip the introductions. All you need to know is that I have something that may be of interest to you. I will be waiting for you, contact me to arrange a get together. If I do not receive a response within the next fortnight, I shall expose you. There is a phone number on the back of this letter.

Yours sincerely,

You'll find out soon enough

Elle was extremely nervous and was going to call security, if not for the threat of exposure. Whatever was going on was something that she must have been keeping a secret from the public. Elle discussed it with Eldon and went to a public phone box to make the call. The voice was modulated, it was impossible to tell who it could have been. But a meeting had now been arranged, though Elle was instructed to come alone.

'No.' demanded Eldon to his fiance. 'Take security with you, just keep them hidden enough for this Krampus not to get suspicious.' Elle agreed and so the arrangements were made.

Elle met with a hooded figure in a small building. In the building was a room with just a table and two seats, not very well kept but stable enough to trust. There was no armory, no ventilation or weapons, thus no chance of any surprise attacks that Elle couldn't defend herself from. Elle sat where she was instructed and the hooded figure sat opposite, his face still hidden despite the dim light shining above them.

'So you're having a kid.' The elf said, to break the ice.

'Yes.' Elle replied hesitantly. 'What it's got to do with you I have no idea.'

'Nothing at all, just taking an interest. Congratulations.' There was an awkward silence.

'So are we going to talk or did you invite me here just to stare?'

'Yeah, fair enough. Might as well get it over with, eh?' the mysterious elf removed his hooded disguise and instantly Elle recognized him. It was Elias, an elf who used to work at the North Pole until he was arrested, caught in the act of stealing a mass supply of toys from the workshop.

'You!' Elle exclaimed in surprise.

'Remember this face?' grinned Elias menacingly.

'The foulest elf I've laid eyes on, how can I forget?'

'Now, now, no need to be rude. I made up for my crimes, remember? You even got a present out of me.'

'Yeah, how can I forget someone posting Santa a bomb?'

'Oh is that what it was?' Elias asked, pretending to be innocent. 'Well I did say to make it a big surprise.'

'No kidding.' pouted Elle. 'So, why did you call me here?'

'Christmas Cracker.' Elias replied. Then he grinned a sinister grin. Elle was worried, if Elias was implying that he knew about the controversy, then how did he find out?

'What about them?'

'I'm talking about the party, one particular party.' Elias leaned forward to increase the intimidation. 'I know what you did, Elle Ellison.' Elle looked afraid, this was bad, very bad.

'How do you know?'

'Pictures. I have several.' then Elias showed one of the photos, it was a drunken Elle being thrown into the air whilst in a Santa hat, a bra and wearing a fake mustache. It was an embarrassing photo. Elle looked at it nervously but then realized something.

'You haven't a clue what happened.' Elle replied confidently.

'What makes you think that?' grumbled Elias.

'First of all, that is an old photo of a much younger me. Secondly, I got rid of that Santa hat and fake mustache at least a decade before Nicholas retired, before this celebration you're talking about.' Elias' attempt to remain calm was failing, his grumble was becoming more obvious. 'Thirdly, this picture was included in the annual Christmas Cracker Memoir that we sell, I have a copy of that one myself. There never was a Christmas Cracker Memoir for the year that everyone's calling controversial.' Elle stood up confidently while Elias glared at her hatefully. 'So all you have proof of is that this is a scam with an empty threat. What were you hoping to gain from this, money, a job?' Elias didn't reply, he just sulked.

Elle left the table and walked around it past Elias, who just glared.

'Well it's been lovely Elias but there's work to be done. Good honest work that doesn't require cheating and threatening.' Elias snapped and leaped out of his chair to attack Elle, but unfortunately for him, Elle had seen it coming. Elle swung a fist at Elias and it went straight into his face, knocking him back into the chair. Elle immediately opened the door and marched out. By the time Elias had recovered and was going to find her, Elle's security came in to restrain Elias and take him away.

Elias was arrested, again, and that was the end of the matter. Elle returned to Eldon feeling relieved, it had certainly been a close shave!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 17

Elle is Sarcastic

It had been a couple of months since Elle found out she was pregnant. Despite this, she continued to work just as normal, she was very reluctant to stop working. There were elves questioning how and why Elle was continuing to work to the extent that she was.

'Seriously, Santa.' Began Thomas Elfison. 'How are you managing to keep on top of everything?'

'It runs in the family I suppose.' Elle replied. 'My mother was always a hard worker and actually managed to work to the point of giving birth.' Thomas Elfison was speechless! 'And so that's how I was born, in the nurse's office here.'

This story sparked theories about Elle seemingly being destined to become the next Santa, just by being born on the company property. Elle was amused but not convinced by the theory; besides, Santa didn't have any descendants, that wasn't Elle's doing!

One day, Elle was going around the workshops to do her usual checks and arrived at the packing department. Elaine was working there, shifting boxes from trolleys and onto shelves. Elle came by the check on her.

'Morning Elaine, you alright?'

'Hello Elle, still working are you?'

'No I've gone home for maternity leave.' Elle replied in amusement. 'How's work been lately?'

'Oh it's been quite alright. I get the feeling Elton might be getting on our nerves, well, the women particularly.' Elle rolled her eyes, while Elton wasn't exactly the best behaved elf, Elaine always found something to moan about. 'And there's the company radio station playing nearly nothing but Christmas songs lately, but I needn't worry you with all that. Not now that you have a child on the way.'

'Excuse me, I'm quite capable of managing, thank you.'

'Oh I have no doubt in you, its just I think you're bump is starting to show.'

'Is it really?' Elle sarcastically replied, getting quite annoyed with Elaine as she always used to.

'Yes, not very good for the figure. Good tip by the way, when you've had the baby, I'd sign yourself up for some private gym sessions with that Ben. His methods may be questionable but he'll get your figure back in no time, you'd never know you had a baby!' Elle was speechless, but let Elaine get on with her work.

That evening Elle told Eldon all about it and they had a good laugh about it as they exchanged insulting remarks about Elaine between themselves.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 16

Elle feels WTF?!

It had been a few weeks since Elle's conditions had been affecting her work. She was still having the same struggles, but now she knew why thanks to her doctor. She was managing to keep on top of things and other elves were helping out where and when they could. Though Eldon has been strangely secretive since Elle found out what was going on with her. That is until the third week later.

'Elle, you know how Michow Mooble only comes here to sing around Christmas time?'

'Yeah?'

'And how you love his music?'

'Yeah?'

'Well we're going out to see him live, front row seats!'

'Ohmigosh, yes!' Elle squeaked. If there were any music stars Elle loved as much as the Backstreet Elves, it was Michow Mooble. Her family used to play Michow's festive songs when Christmas came around, so he always gave Elle sense of nostalgia.

It was a brilliant concert, Michow was a little tired since he had only recently performed at his home stadium but was giving it his all anyway. He knew his Christmas concerts were a big deal at the North Pole and wouldn't dare disappoint, especially knowing Santa herself would be there. The music was amazing, the singing as smooth as ever and Elle was enjoying herself. She hadn't noticed how Eldon had slipped quietly away to go to the toilet... fifteen minutes ago.

Elle was in her element when all of the sudden Michow had a little helper come onto the stage, he was large but merry looking and carried a small box about the size of a palm.

'And now, ladies and gentle-elves, this lucky fella's got a very big question to ask someone. Take it away, Eldon.' Michow Mooble passed the microphone over to Eldon and Elle was left confused.

'For the longest time I never thought I'd be saying this, but Santa, will you marry me?' All of the elves in the audience were cheering, some were jealous that they had not received such as a proposal prompted by the Michow Mooble. Elle's mind was blown, she was not expecting this in the slightest! At last Eldon's secretive behavior made sense, he had been going out to find the ring and then keeping it from her while arranging the concert.

It's hardly going to surprise you, Elle said yes to the proposal and was then encouraged to join Michow and Eldon on stage, they even got to feature in his next song! Elle was delighted, it had been a rough few months for her recently but her future was looking brighter than ever. First she became Santa, then she found out she was going to become a mother and now she was going to become a wife!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 15

Elle is Confident

Every year the North Pole's workshops hold a part which gained the nickname 'Christmas Cracker'. However towards the end of Nicholas' career, there had been some severe controversy that saw the business facing potential lawsuits! Elle doesn't admit how she was one of the guilty party and to this day is reluctant to talk about the events of that fateful celebration!

Ever since this happened, the Christmas Cracker was forced to restrict the alcohol consumption and there would even be visits from the police to see that all was well. After a few years of Elle being in charge, another Christmas Cracker was coming up, though nowadays everyone was calling it the Christmas Cop-out.

There is a speaker system that it hooked up to Elle's office so that if urgent announcements need to be made, it can be done without consuming too much time on spreading the word. One afternoon an announcement was made through these speakers.

'Merry afternoon ladies and gentle-elves. As you all know the Christmas Cracker is just a month away, a time when we can all let loose and have fun.'

'Huh!' grunted Elton, one of many elves to give the same sort of reaction.

'I'd love to have been at a Cracker like the ones you used to have.' remarked Thomas Elfison. The younger elves who had joined since Elle became Santa were enthusiastic about the event but curious as to how it used to be.

'And this year we're really going to do it! I'm arranging extra shipments of refreshments all to your liking, I think we can be trusted to have some real fun again at last!' Most of the elves were excited and delighted! This was going to be the best celebration ever! 'On one condition!' Elle demanded, silence fell and everyone began to worry. 'The police are not to know.' Everyone was relieved, except from a few of the newer elves.

Maybe it's the work of these newer elves that had the police coming around to make checks earlier than usual. But Elle was prepared for this luckily and so confronted the police.

'Good morning, Santa. We're here to make sure the Christmas Cracker preparations are going okay.'

'Yes, of course! We're trying out something a little different this year, an alcohol free party! I was thinking how the chances of over-saturated consumption were still possible so long as we had enough drink stored for any elf to do so. The solution? Switch to alcohol free drinks!'

Elle showed the officer a document on the clipboard, it was a written list of the drinks Elle intended to order and the prices that they would cost if bought in suck bulk. While the officer was distracted by this document, Wendy and Hoho were able to sneak past with crates of drink, actually alcoholic, to be stored away elsewhere for the celebration! The officer didn't notice and approved of the activity that had been going on.

'Well without further ado I'll leave you to your preparations. I understand it must be a busy month for you.'

'Yes indeed, must get back to work. Same as you I suppose.' Elle remarked, trying not to let her witty sarcasm shine through. The officer tipped his hat and left. A few minutes after he left, Elle gave a huge sigh of relief and went back to work. There was a great celebration ahead of them!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 14

Elle is Shocked

Things between Elle and Eldon had been very well recently. They spent more time together and were getting along a lot better after the drama they created about Ben the beefy elf. The duo were even spending nights around each other's homes quite often. Oh yes, things between Elle and Eldon had been very well indeed.

Elle was starting to act differently, and this was noticed. Elle was becoming rather tired, she was being sick in the mornings and Elle was getting concerned about a pain in her lower back. Rumours were starting to go around.

'You think Elle's up to the job of Santa?' Elton questioned.

'Could this be my time? You watch, Santa's gonna call me in and promote me to wear the hat!' Wendy the wheelchair elf exclaimed.

'She should've had more of my private sessions.' sympathized Ben the beefy elf.

'She's pregnant.' assumed Elaine.

'Poor Santa. You know, sometimes I get back pain.' said Hoho the hunchback elf.

Elle was quite fed up with the rumors and so decided it was time to pay a visit to her doctor, Eldon went with her to give his support. One of the perks of being Santa is getting private medical care.

'Good afternoon, Santa. What seems to be the trouble?' The doctor asked. Then Elle went on the explain everything that she had been suffering from, while the doctor listened. It wasn't long before the doctor came to a conclusion. 'I'd like you to take one of these.' Elle was shocked at what she had been recommended, a pregnancy test!

Elle took the test just as she had been asked and Eldon came to stay over, awaiting on the news. Elle returned and showed her test to Eldon, blushing. Elle didn't say what the result was, she just showed it to Eldon. On the test there was...

But I shan't say anymore, you'll have to stick around to know how things turned out!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 13

Elle feels Bereft

!WARNING!

This particular entry should be read and viewed with caution, may cause distress to viewers.

'Here lies Nicholas Claus. He was a merry man, a jolly man. Children across the world will remember this man for the many years of dedicated donation that he has endured.' The eulogy went on as friends and family of the former Santa stood around his grave. Among these people, of course, were Elle the current Santa and her partner Eldon.

Elle had been working hard for Christmas preparations and it was a hot summer's day, at least as hot as it gets at the North Pole. Elle was a few minuets short of her lunch break and was in her office when she got the call. Elle wasn't the first to be told, but was the first in the workplace to find out. Elle left work early that day, didn't have any lunch either. Then Eldon was the next to find out and soon the news was made public to the elves.

The funeral had not been made available for everyone, simply for the sake of security, though Santa otherwise would have allowed anyone and everyone to come along. Mrs. Claus was there, Frosty was, all nine reindeer attended and then some of Santa's family that Elle has never met before as well as a few business associates who Nicholas worked with.

The snow fall settled as the service ended and everyone started to leave. Gradually less people were around until it was just Mrs. Claus, Elle and Eldon. Eldon decided it was time he and Elle should leave so they could let Mrs. Claus have a moment alone. They left the grave but didn't leave the yard, so as to see that Mrs. Claus left safely. That's just what she did, the vicar gave her a lift and so that just left Elle and Eldon. Elle took one last look at the gravestone before she turned away and left.

And so that was it, the Santa who had inspired her, made her the elf she was and even allowed her to replace him was gone. Never have three Santas been alive at one time but Elle was now the only Santa, for however long her time in charge may take. After a couple of weeks Elle returned to work and gradually became motivated by the death of Nicholas, as a means to be more determined to become the best Santa she could ever be.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 12

Elle is Pouty

For the past couple of months, Elle had been attending frequent sessions at the gym, having private lessons with Ben the beefy elf. Eldon has been noticing these sessions and was becoming worried. The worry soon turned into frustration. It didn't help that Elle was also frustrated about something, but she wouldn't talk to Eldon about it. Eldon's frustration was further fueled by the fact that Elle would not tell him about whatever it was that was making her frustrated and so the two elves started to grow bitter to each other, until one day.

Eldon was in the workshops shifting wooden blocks that would be cut into toy parts. Elle came in to do one of her inspections, Santa always has to make time to check how the elves are doing in their working environments. Usually the elves eagerly await Santa's approach but today, they were not looking forward to the visit. This was because they knew she would most probably be grumbling at Eldon... again.

'Morning everyone.' Elle called, less than enthusiastically, she also knew what was coming. As Elle went around checking on the elves, Eldon and Elle would occasionally exchange glances and roll eyes at each other. Eventually Elle came to Eldon, saving him for last just to prolong the wait.

'Eldon.' Elle began, breaking the awkward ice.

'Elle.'

'You mean, Santa?'

'Oh, sorry, Santa. I forgot, it's whatever you want.'

'Within reason.'

'And the gym.'

'What are you going on about now?'

'Not my business, why don't you ask Ben?' Elle was confused when Ben had been brought up.

'What's Ben got to do with it?'

'Oh don't give me that!'

'Give you what? You're the one who's got a problem but you won't say anything!' Eldon had quite enough and was ready to burst but in doing so, he slammed the wooden box he was carrying onto the worktop and trapped his fingers beneath them! Eldon yelped in pain and Hoho, who was working close by, immediately sent for medics. As sympathetic as everyone was for Eldon, they felt relieved that the row had come to an end.

Later that day, Eldon had been sent home on account of being unable to work until his hands were better, which would only be a few days at most. That very evening Elle came to visit Eldon, though she was still feeling bitterly towards him. It was very awkward between the two until Elle couldn't resist bringing up the argument they had earlier.

'So what's all this about Ben and the gym?'

'Are you trying to pretend I don't know?' grumbled Eldon. 'I see you and him in there, always having your private sessions.'

'Yeah, and?'

'You and him, what else can I say?' Elle was still confused for a moment and then rolled her eyes in realization.

'Eldon, I am not having an affair. I book the gym private because I get embarrassed, I'm useless in the gym! And Ben's not my type, he's like Elton on steroids!' Eldon snorted, trying not to laugh. Then he came to a realization.

'So what have you been grumbling about lately?'

'Besides your grumbling I've been stressed over the publicity the change of Santa is getting. Apparently the world isn't ready to accept a female Santa and we've been having several meetings about it. Long story short, even though I'm Santa, everyone's going to pretend Nicholas is still Santa.' Eldon raised his hand to place his hand on Elle's shoulder but hesitated due to his sore fingers.

'Elle, I'm sorry.'

'No I'm sorry, I should've been telling you but I just couldn't accept it.'

'I was stupid, letting myself get jealous of beefy Ben.' Elle and Eldon shared a little chuckle and it seemed that once again all was well. After that, Elle ended her private sessions so as to put Eldon's mind at ease and then started attending the gym while it was open to the rest of the employees. Elle was nervous at first but Eldon came along to a few sessions to help with her confidence. Elle is no longer ashamed to attend the gym on her own and Eldon doesn't let jealousy get the better of him so easily anymore.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 11

Elle is Confused

Being Santa is hard work, very hard work. It is very important that Santa's body is kept in good health which means good exercise. Recently the Santas have been getting larger so the importance of having a gym was realized and allowed one to be constructed at the North Pole as a private gym. Since Nicholas' retirement, the gym has been made open for staff use but Elle still has to attend every now and then to keep herself in good health.

Elle had never used a gym before and so it was all very new to her. She had been to the gym with Nicholas but had never done anything herself and was only there just to keep an eye on him. Today was her first session in the gym and it had been closed for her to use privately. Elle felt this was just as well as she didn't want to chance making herself look foolish in front of other exercising elves. When Elle arrived, she was greeted by a very muscular elf with perhaps the broadest elf shoulders Elle has known!

'Morning Santa, I'm Ben and I'll be your private tutor for the duration of this session.'

'Good to meet you Ben, don't recall seeing you before, joined recently?' Elle asked as she shook Ben by the hand, nearly crushing her own by his sheer strength.

'Started about a year ago. If you'd like to come this way I'll show you what we're going to be working with today.' Elle was given a runthrough of the equipment and where things were. After the tour Elle was given a pair of handles connected with a number of spiraled wires. 'Okay, you ever used a chest expander before?'

'I beg your pardon?'

'That's what it's called.' Ben explained. 'This'll help give you a stronger chest, good for breathing.' Elle didn't know much about fitness so accepted the advice without hesitation and let Ben teach her how to use the chest expander. It wasn't very easy, it seemed like the wires were reluctant to retract. It confused Elle how something that looked so simple was turning out to be so challenging. Just as Elle was struggling to work the chest expander, Eldon was walking past the gym and was able to see Elle's exercise through the window.

'Don't worry, your chest will be the strongest in the North Pole given time!'

'By the looks for your's I doubt that!' Elle thought to herself. Eldon however was more focused on the big muscular elf complimenting his partner, with who he was tutoring in a private session. Eldon didn't feel comfortable about this, in fact he suspected that no good could come out of this arrangement.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 10

Elle is Angry

It was an exciting time for Elle, Christmas Eve had come and she was about to do her first trip around the world! This is what the Santa before her was known for, this is what made the very concept of a Santa so legendary and now it was her turn at last to continue this tradition.

Elle has experienced the sleigh ride before as she got the opportunity to be one of Nicholas' co-drivers, she has even gotten to drive the sleigh herself because Nicholas had drank one too many Sherrys. Elle was pretty proud of herself for doing that and had full confidence that she could fly the sleigh, this would also be her chance to prove herself.

It is believed that all nine reindeer pull the sleigh together but the truth is only one does, but the trip is divided so that no one reindeer does a whole trip. The one reindeer most likely to get overworked is Rudolph, whose nose is the only one that glows enough to light the way. While this becomes a blessing on foggy nights, it is generally a curse for Rudolph who can't focus on what he is seeing whenever his nose lights up. So when it came to his turn for pulling the sleigh and his nose had to be lit up, his vision was compromised.

'Okay Rudolph, just keep going straight!' called Elle who could see where they were going. But instead, Rudolph started to swerve towards the left, much to Elle's confusion. 'Rudolph? We're going straight!'

'No we're supposed to go left!' insisted Rudolph.

'Rudolph I've revised the route, I know which way we're meant to go!'

'Yeah well I'm the one who's done the route countless times, I know better!' Rudolph insisted. Elle has never been given this problem with Rudolph when she had been Nicholas' co-driver, but she had heard tale of Rudolph's stubbornness, he had been this way since the second Santa.

'Rudolph, as your superior I insist that you return to our intended route!' Elle demanded but Rudolph didn't, he just kept going his way. 'Elton!' Elle snapped. Elton nearly jumped out of his skin! 'Show us the map!' Elton didn't have to be asked twice. After taking another look at the map, it turned out that way were going off course.

Suddenly there was a call coming from the North Pole. 'November Papa to Sierra, you are steering off course! Over!'

'Ha! See?' Elle cried. 'You hear that, Rudolph? Elton, you're a witness too!'

'Shouldn't you respond-?'

'Not now, Elton! Rudolph, do as I say and turn back to the right!'

'November Papa to Sierra, is everything okay? Over!'

'Elton will you reply already?' snapped Elle, leaving poor Elton speechless! 'Rudloph, turn right!'

'Stop your shouting, what did H.Q. say?'

'Turn, right!' Cried Elle, leaning forward and almost out of the sleigh, Elton grabbed on to her uniform to stop her from falling out of the sleigh!

'Alright, alright!' grumbled Rudolph. But just as he was about to, there was another call from H.Q.

'November Papa to Sierra, you have turned a full circle, you are back on course!' Elle facepalmed and Elton groaned. He could tell there would now be a whole new argument just to stop Rudolph turning right! But before that, the brief silence of dismay was broken by an angry Elle.

'Elton, talk to the man!'

25 Elle Expressions | Day 9

Elle was Flirty

One day Elle seemed more of an air head than usual, her mind was on other things. It was just a few days before her anniversary with Eldon and she was feeling reminiscent of the past they had shared together. They had known each other since Elle's career as a helper was more recent but that was by now over thirty years ago.

They hadn't always been dating, in fact it took them a while before anything happened between them. It had always been that Elle and Eldon were good friends, though a lot of the elves could tell that Eldon soon developed feelings for his current partner. Elle was too occupied with her obsession over Santa to notice that anyone had the hots for her, not that it hadn't been discussed with other elves such as Elaine.

As it happens, Elle was the elf to make the first move! Why this was the case, nobody knows but Elle had suddenly taken an interest in Eldon. She approached him one afternoon and broke the ice.

'Hey Eldon, what you doing later?' Eldon was caught off guard by this forward approach but tried his hardest to appear confident.

'N-n-nothing yet, depends if-f y-you're asking.'

'Well there's a pretty good film on down at Pole Pictures and just thought it'd be nice to have someone to go with.'

'Yeah, alright, sure!' Eldon replied, trying not to sound excited. Elle put her arm around Eldon and leaned towards him seductively, Eldon is one of the more innocent elves but his eyes couldn't help but bulge!

'And maybe we do something after like- sorry did you say yes?'

'Yeah.'

'Oh! Great, well, yeah!' Elle was slightly surprised but happy to have secured her date. 'I'll see you about seven then, at your place, yeah?' Eldon agreed to Elle's arrangements and so they met as agreed. Coincidentally Santa and his wife had been celebrating their anniversary at that very same cinema, watching the very same movie! It had made Elle giggle like a little girl, though in the end was did not remain so distracted as normal.

Years later Elle and Eldon, though very busy, are still a happy couple who are making time for each other. Elle has no regrets about asking Eldon out and Eldon has no regrets about going.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 8

Elle is Silly

Elle was incredibly motivated to work hard today. Everything was running smoothly and there was a good chance to get things done ahead of schedule! It had been a productive week so far and Elle was determined to keep it that way.

'Backstreet Elves are in town!' Elaine gossiped to the other elves. Immediately Elle made a run for it and left work early. She rushed home and got changed so she was wearing her Backstreet Elves shirt, what a relief that it was still a good fit on her. Putting on her new red hat and making sure she looked her absolute best, Elle went out into the town to find the Backstreet Elves.

Elle had always wanted to meet the Backstreet Elves and had even been to one of their performances before, though she had never gotten the chance to meet them. This time it would be different, if anything Elle was the bigger celebrity now for being Santa! This was a problem however, just because the locals got to see Santa a lot that didn't mean they wouldn't get excited every time they saw her. It took about ten minutes for paparazzi to be chasing after Elle, who because she has snuck away from work and forgotten to arrange for bodyguards, was helpless against the might of her fans!

'Santa, can I get your autograph?' or 'Santa, I'm your biggest fan!' or 'When am I back on the good list?' as well as other things were being called out at Elle who was easily overwhelmed by the crowd and regretting her decision to leave work. She was about to call the police for help when a guard grabbed her by the arm and ran. Elle had no idea what was going on, not that she did before, but it resulted in her being huddled by some bodyguards who happened to be looking after the Backstreet Elves!

'Oh my gosh, I've been looking everywhere for you!' Elle exploded with excitement, but tried her best to prevent being chucked back into the paparazzi. Luckily everyone was understanding and Elle was escorted to safety from the crowds as well as the Backstreet Elves. 'Thanks guys, I thought I was done for!'

'Tell me why,' began one of the group 'You're going around without any security, you're like A list famous!'

'Ain't nothing but a mistake,' Elle explained. 'I was rushing to get out into town, so I could meet you five.' Elle blushed as the group exchanged looks. It turns out they were perfectly fine with Elle's story and they even ate out together! It was a pleasant afternoon and rounded off with a selfie of the whole group, Elle couldn't help but make a silly face!

When Nicholas found out, he was not best pleased about Elle's stunt, but knew how nothing could come between Elle and the Backstreet Elves.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 7

Elle is Pleased

Despite the busy life of being Santa, Elle is still able to take days off work. Whenever she gets time off there are two people she always tries to arrange to meet. There's her boyfriend Eldon, who she sees more of generally and then here's the former Santa, Nicholas. Nicholas retired and is enjoying the much more relaxed lifestyle, though as the years have passed his elderly body has gradually become weaker. Sometimes when Elle comes over she'll help Nicholas with tasks or chores he can't manage alone.

One day Elle arrived in November to see that Nicholas was having a hard time trying to climb his ladder into the attic.

'Morning, Nicholas! Need something from upstairs?'

'Hello, Elle. Holly wants the Christmas tree up, though I think the attic is beyond my reach now.'

'No sweat, I'll get the tree down.' Elle climbed up into the attic, which she had never seen before. To Elle it was like stepping into a Santa's grotto, she would've stayed longer if she could but she had found the Christmas tree in it's box and so she brought it down.

After offering to shift the Christmas tree's box into the lounge, she and Nicholas got started with putting the tree together. In his later years Nicholas didn't like to use real trees since they made too much mess for him to clean up; the tree he had now been using for five years came in three sections with the branches all in little pieces.

As Nicholas and Elle put the tree together, they talked about how things were at the North Pole and what had been happening there since their last meet up. They also talked about all the little things Nicholas had been up to in his retirement and how his health was. Once the tree itself was put together, Elle found herself going back into the attic for the tree's decorations.

It was a time consuming but pleasant task to decorate the tree. There were candy canes, baubles, fairy lights and tinsel covering the tree, as well as a star wearing a hat to top it off. The tree looked beautiful by the time it was done and Elle stood back to admire the tree just as Nicholas was adjusting the last decoration.

'Thank you for your help, Elle. The tree's looking wonderful!'

'Think nothing of it!' replied Elle.

Nicholas and Elle sat down and continued to chat about recent events over a few cups of hot chocolate and some mince pies. Elle told Nicholas about how she got her new hat from Eldon as a gift. Their talk couldn't last for too long however as Elle was due to go on a date with Eldon that evening. It had been a pleasant day for both Elle and Nicholas, who parted ways feeling merry and bright.

25 Elle Expressions | Day 6

Elle is Disgusted

It had been a tough morning. The toy construction costs were going up, yet it seemed no extra toys had been made. Elle had been making calls and checking with suppliers but they all explained that extra orders had been placed, hence the higher costs. Elle couldn't work out why it was costing them more to make the usual amount of toys, so she decided to head down to the workshops and see for herself what was going on.

On her way, Elle was informed from the packaging department that they had to order more boxes; Elle was becoming very confused! This felt quite similar to a case years ago when one of the elves had been robbing toys, but that couldn't be the case this time surely.

When Elle arrived at the workshops, she was met by Quazihoho, the hunchback elf. He was eager to see Elle.

'Santa, what a jolly surprise! I've been wanting to see you!' Elle has forgotten that Quazihoho had wanted to speak to her, what with all of the work she had to take care of as well as the recent mystery.

'Afternoon Hoho,' Everyone calls him by his shortened name. 'I know you want to speak to me but I've got to take care of something at the moment.'

'Can I help at all?' Hoho offered.

'I'm just curious about what's happening to our resources. We're ordering more materials than usual and there's even boxes being taken from-'

'Ah well search no further, I have your answers!' declared Hoho. 'Come right this way!' Elle was intrigued, at last the questions that had been bugging her most of the morning were going to be answered. Hoho took Elle to a storage room where any rejected toy designs or toys of poor quality are kept. Elle was concerned, this is usually a sign that the elves making toys had been under-performing. Hoho took Elle to a group of boxes and opened one of them, pulling out one of the most hideous plush toys she had ever seen!

'Hoho, what on Earth is that?'

'This is my design, I'm thinking of calling it Patchyhoho. The other elves say it's hideous and traumatic but you're Santa so I know your word will be better than theirs! So what do you think, eh?' Elle took a moment to think about her response, and tried her hardest not to gag at the thought of the toy.

'I don't think it's going to be popular with the children so much, but I know there is an audience that will love this toy and we can focus on distributing it to them maybe?'

'Sounds lovely, I'm interested! Shall I see you in your office about this?'

'Yeah, speak to my secretary about it.' Truthfully, Elle wanted nothing more to do with the nightmarish toy! And Elle still hasn't made the time to discuss the toy any further, hoping that everyone will forget about it. One question lingers in Elle's mind, was there an audience happy to buy that toy?

25 Elle Expressions | Day 5

Elle is Tired

It had been a busy winter day. The reindeer has been assigned their Christmas Eve duties, presents were being packed onto the sleigh and Elle had attended a meeting to discuss the company's finances; it was only mid day as well! All of the work had Elle exhausted as she went back to her office to continue working. Just as Elle was approaching her office, she saw an elf carrying two mugs of coffee. Elle was too tired to recognize the elf.

'You got time for a cuppa?' asked the blurry elf. The voice was also familiar but Elle didn't have the strength to think about where she'd heard it before. 'You alright, Sugarplum?' There was only one elf that called her Sugarplum, it had to be her boyfriend Eldon.

'Eldon, what are you doing here?' asked Elle before she was overcome by a big yawn.

'Don't you want a coffee to keep you going?' chuckled Eldon, showing one of the mugs which was actually Elle's favourite mug that she had gotten herself when she became Santa. Elle accepted Eldon's coffee and invited him into her office for a chat, she decided to be naughty and take a break.

Elle and Eldon had been dating for a while now, in fact one of their first dates was to the cinema where they saw Nicholas celebrating his anniversary! But ever since Elle got promoted to Santa, the amount of work had started to separate them and while they still got on with each other well and there had been no tension between them, they had begun to feel rather distant from each other. This would be the first time this month that they had been able to just chat together.

Eldon made sure that Elle was caught up on all of the social activity going on in the workshops, including how Elton had been rejected by Elaine. Elle then told Eldon how things were from Santa's perspective, the amount of stuff she had to be dealing with recently and that she was nearly ready for her first Christmas Eve run. After they had caught up on the important things, they realized just how much they missed each other.

'I'm seeing family at Christmas,' Elle began. 'But maybe we can do something for New Year's Day?' Eldon agreed and so that evening he bought tickets to the Northern Light Show, a special display that is presented every new year. I'm sure Elle won't be too tired to go to that!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 4

Elle is Irritated

Elle started out working at the North Pole as a Little Helper, the title given to the elves who would work in varied parts of the workshop depending on where they were needed. As time goes on the world becomes more populated, so there is always room for employment at the North Pole. One day it was time for Elle to welcome some new recruits.

Most of the new elves were as enthusiastic as Elle when she started out, so Elle could understand how they felt. But all the same, now Elle was able to relate to Nicholas on her first days, she realized how annoying she must have been! Elle remembered how Nicholas had been such an inspiration to her and that she idolized him throughout her career, but this time it was a different case. For the first time Santa was one of the elves, so now all of them were given that extra bit of inspiration and motivation, hoping one day they too could become Santa.

As is necessary when taking on new staff, Elle would have to make occasional checks to make sure they were up to the jobs they were being assigned. On her first check, rather than finding out how the elves were doing with their work, she was bombarded by a pack of elves out to get her approval.

'Miss Santa, I think it's great that there's girl power under that hat now!' called one elf who must have been a feminist.

'Santa, you've done well for yourself, I heard you used to be rather large!' said a not so bright elf named Thomas Elfison.

'Santa, Santa, I've been working really hard and some day I'm gonna ride that sleigh just like you!' bragged an elf in a wheelchair.

'Three cheers for Santa!' declared the hunchback elf. And just like that all of the elves stared cheering for Elle, who afterwards realized she was suffering from a headache. Sure the elves of her time were impressed when they saw Santa visiting them at work for the first time, but things had never been this crazy! This went on for a couple of weeks until Elle had to start threatening her employees with the potential loss of their jobs.

After this most of the new elves would focus on their work and being the hard working elves Nicholas would have wanted in his company, Elle was quite proud of herself for being able to increase the size of this Christmas armada, even if she had to go through a terrible annoyance in order to achieve it. In fact, having been on both ends of the spectrum, Elle decided to put together a special presentation new employees would get to watch in the future about their behaviour around Santa.

But no matter how hard Elle tried, some elves are still proving to be a bit of a handful; it looks like Elle's got her work cut out with these newcomers!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 3

Elle feels Rage

She goes on about it enough, but in case you didn't already know, Elle is Santa now! Nicholas, the former Santa, is retired and spends most of his days at home. On some occasions however he does like to go out and play golf like he used to, with his best friend Frosty. Nicholas and Frosty used to play golf alone with a caddy each but this time Nicholas had the idea to bring the current Santa into their game. Elle was given her invitation and it took a bit of convincing from Eldon, as well he Elle's eagerness to please Nicholas, to get her to accept the invite.

Elle had been to one of these golf games before and she did not enjoy her experience. This time however she would be playing the game, so maybe there was some enjoyment that she had been missing while carrying golf clubs around. When it came to playing the game, Elle found that her unmatched enthusiasm would be her greatest flaw in this game. She took a swing at the ball and struck it first time, but it went beyond the first hole!

'I don't think the driver was necessary for this hole!' Frosty suggested after Elle had taken her shot. On the second hole, Elle didn't use the driver. She didn't know what she was using, all the golf clubs looked too similar to be of any difference! Despite using a different club, Elle's shot was still quite powerful and enough to send the ball off course!

'Maybe don't hit the ball so hard next time.' Nicholas advised. While the advice was all in good faith, Elle was starting to get annoyed.

Several holes later, Elle had already decided this wasn't the sport for her, even playing it herself was boring! Nicholas had been keeping scores and Elle was losing by a mile, she never seemed to be using the right club or hitting the ball the right way and the wind wasn't helping much either.

By the time they'd reached the thirteenth hole, Elle finally snapped. It looked like she was going to make a good shot for the first time but the wind interfered and her ball rolled just an inch away from the hole. Elle threw her club into the air and tugged at her hat. Frosty was amazed at the show of bad luck while Nicholas was surprised at Elle's outburst.

Surprisingly, Elle continued to play the game afterwards and finished it; she was much calmer afterwards but it was quite clear inviting Elle to any golf games in future would be a bad idea!

25 Elle Expressions | Day 2

Elle is Serious

Every year, the North Pole is visited by inspectors to make sure everything is running smoothly. These include a pair of Health and Safety inspectors, Caine and Flake, who have attended every year for almost as long as Elle has been working at the North Pole! Caine and Flake were concerned when they discovered the former Santa, Nicholas, was retiring.

'You say his position has been filled by Miss Ellison?'

'Unfortunately so, Caine. Perhaps Santa's name is on the brink of it's downfall.'

'Hmm, yes quite possibly.'

Caine and Flake remembered Elle from their very first inspection. Back in those days Elle had been incredibly overenthusiastic and it was during her first month that the inspection took place. They had been going around the North Pole and whenever they saw Elle, there was a ringing sound. This sound was causing disturbance and annoyance to the other elves; it turned out that Elle had been keeping an alarm clock on her person!

While the matter was seen to that very day, after Caine and Flake recommended so, it seemed every time they saw Elle each visit after she still stood out. On a few occasions, Elle would be involved with the violation of safety regulations, so for someone who seemed such a troublesome elf, Caine and Flake were surprised and unimpressed to know Elle would be in charge of the entire business from here on.

But to Caine and Flake's surprise, when they turned up for the inspection, they were greeted by a very calm looking, professionally mannered Elle. Her expression was almost lifeless as she gave it her all to portray herself as the kind of manager that wouldn't disappoint her visitors. The inspectors were relieved to see that Elle was trying to take her role seriously, but were concerned that this was not her normal behaviour.

Everyone else around the North Pole seemed to be working as usual, no change of character and no irregularities. The only difference from the normal was Elle's serious manner. But with nothing health and safety for them to flaw, their inspection resulted in being a success. It was a massive relief for Elle who had been putting on an act the whole time and with her least favourite inspectors out of the way, she could finally go back to enjoying herself as Santa. She does intend to take the role seriously, she just wants to be able to enjoy it first.

25 Eelle Expressions | Day 1

Elle is Triumphant

Welcome back to this 25 day marathon! Last year we focused on Santa, but this year there's a new Santa in town so we're focusing on former helper, Elle Ellison!

It had been a week since Elle had been given her promotion and by now, all of the her stuff had been moved into her new office, including a brand new mug which she had given to herself as a present. Looking around the office, Elle was taken on a trip down memory lane. One of her first memories was made in this room, her interview with Nicholas, the Santa before her. She remembered how Elle claimed to be doing his job in a matter of years; it was only a response she has been taught to give so she would sound confident in job interviews, but she never expected it would actually happen!

A few things had to be changed about the office, since this was the first time the role of Santa had been passed on to someone not of relation to the heir, let alone an elf. There were extra steps placed either side of the chair behind the desk and a metallic staircase on wheels had been brought in from one of the warehouses. At last everything was ready for Elle to be working in her new office and she couldn't contain her excitement.

Nobody else was in the room, the entire office was in view from where Elle sat at the desk. Deciding it was time to vent out her joy, Elle leaped onto the desk and stretched out her arms like a star. Elle couldn't help but cry out for joy! 'Oh, ho, yes! I'm Santa!'

It was a moment afterwards that Elle's receptionist entered the room in a hurry. Elle had not time to get off the desk and so she exchanged an awkward glance with the receptionist. Without saying a word, the receptionist slowly backed away and closed the door. Elle recovered from the awkward moment and got back into her seat. The novelty of being Santa's nice, but she had a job now and it's time to get down to business!

John Has A Cake-Up!

Baking a cake can be quite fun! And the results are rewarding, a cake more delicious than can be bought. Droey and Co have tried their hand at baking a cake. With Ida's skills, Droey's precision and Tenvad's intellect, little can go wrong. Or so they thought.

John, ironically the most culinary experienced, is the one who had to rain on their parade, accidentally. The problem with John is that he tends to rush some things and that includes icing the cake. In fact he shot the icing right at the cake, causing the icing to ricochet all over them!

This piece was so delightfully fun to put together! Originally Anne wasn't going to be included but I decided that she might as well and so the awesome five came together for the first time in ages. Additionally the intended result would be everyone working to make the cake, rather than living with the regret of putting John in charge of icing the cake. It just seemed like the perfect idea and gave me an oppurtunity to try something new.

The colouring for this piece is where I got experimental. Rather than outline the perimeters of the icing I would colour outside of the icing and use dot patterns to create a splattered effect. I tried initially for pastel colours but broke away from this, hence some areas being two colours like Ida's hair and Droey's shirt.

You may have noticed that Anne and Ida are not in their usual attire, this is because they are in DIY attire, plus an apron for Anne, which is just as well given the mess that has been made!

Are you a culinary artist or have you drawn any culinary antics yourself? Maybe give either of those a shot, you'll end up with either something delicious or a bit of development for your characters!