Principal Plays ‘Elf on the Shelf’ at School by Sitting on Roof to Surprise His Students, Inspire Christmas Wonder

A fun-loving principal has been bringing smiles to his students’ faces by posing as an “elf on the shelf” ahead of Christmas, appearing in various nooks and crannies, and inspiring wonder and curiosity around the school.

Approaching his seventh year as principal at John Quincy Adams Primary School in Deer Park, New Jersey, Christopher Molinelli, 43, from Long Island, heads up a school with students from Pre-K to grade two.

He misses the student-teacher connection he used to foster in the classroom, so Molinelli was all ears when a parent came to him with an idea.

“How much convincing would it take for you to be an elf on the shelf?” the parent asked the principal.

“I said, ‘Not much!’ And about a week later, they had the elf on the shelf at the school,” Molinelli said.

A parent bequeathed the elf costume to Molinelli and, with help from staff, the principal got the ball rolling on a new Christmas “tradition.”

The “elf” soon started popping up in various spots around the school.

This year, the elf was spotted in the best spot so far: on the school’s roof, waving to kids coming off the bus and into school.

“I was just trying to find a spot for every single child to see me as they entered,” Molinelli said. “We have students who are 4- and 5-year-olds, and we have students that are seven-year-olds.

“Some students were just amazed at how an elf could be on the roof, then others were staring at me, waiting for me to blink and saying, ‘It’s the principal up there!’

“To be able to put a smile on their face to begin their day, as soon as they walk into the school, was obviously a joy for me,” he said.

Molinelli’s “elf on the shelf” antics have also delighted parents, who are pleased that the principal is encouraging their kids to associate learning with fun.

“We all do the elf on the shelf at home, so being able to translate that for the kids that are at school—they spend most of their day there,” said Alida Giannini, whose 5-year-old son attends kindergarten at John Quincy Adams.

“As a parent, I’m thankful to the administration for really doing something that brings a smile to the kids’ faces. It definitely keeps the magic alive for us.”

Molinelli is “always down to do anything to make the kids smile,” said Giannini, who has seen the principal dressed up for Halloween in the past, and looks forward to his embracing other holidays.

Her kids find it fun to learn, be nice, and be kind at school because that behavior is being reiterated there.

The principal is more than just “the principal;” if Molinelli hoped to make a connection with the kids, he has succeeded.

“Always, every morning, we say to be kind. That’s one of our mottos,” the elf himself told The Epoch Times.

“I think you can never underestimate a very small act of kindness, how it will be received by parents, by children. So never underestimate the small, little things that you can do to put a smile on someone else’s face.”