Have your-elf a merry little Christmas
Have a grotto time with this Waldport treasure hunt
Story and photos by Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
When Rhonda D’Amico left Idaho, she fairy quickly found her elf in Waldport. The reception she received dwarfed the sadness she felt after leaving the home she had gnome for so long.
Part of the positive reception came because when she arrived, she was not alone. Her baggage included tiny passengers with tons of personality, and she was prepared to share them with her new neighbors.
“I learned as a navy brat that if you want to become part of a new place, you have to involve yourself in the community,” she said. “That has worked really well for me here.”
This Christmas marks the second year that D’Amico’s collection of characters from “The Elves Themselves” line was put on display at the Historic Alsea Bay Bridge Visitor Center. One of the elves was gifted to a lucky raffle winner on the evening of the Waldport tree-lighting ceremony and party earlier this month.
After the party, the remaining elves went into witness protection, and got jobs behind the scenes at 26 local businesses. Go into the business, find the true identity of each elf, mark it on your score sheet, and you might find your elf a lucky winner of another of D'Amico's treasures.
“They are the only thing I own that my kids are interested in inheriting,” she said, covering the ears of elf Karl, who was sitting in pride of place on her lap. “It’s hard to let some of them go, but I can't keep them all.”
Karl is one of the “real” elves, according to D’Amico.
“They were manufactured by a company that went out of business, then they started selling for a lot of money on eBay so another company started making them,” she said. “Most of mine are the original, some are new. Even some of the brand-new ones are selling for $100.”
The line includes kissing couples, working stiffs and impish elves, all in costume and some with accessories.
“I first saw them in a store in Salt Lake City where there were two of them for sale,” D’Amico said. “They were $30 a piece which wasn’t cheap at the time, but their faces won me over. That’s what got me started on collecting them. I think if I had to pick favorites it would be little Georgie and little Fritz. They are new ones but they are really cute and they capture the spirit of Christmas.”
The elf that will go to the winner of the city-wide hunt is “Reggie,” complete with a candy cane pole and paintbrush.
“I know most of their names,” D’Amico said. “I used to set them up in different scenarios every Christmas: decorating a tree, playing cards, baking. They were something that brought my kids a lot of joy. Now that I am widowed and my kids are out of the house, I don’t do it as much but I do still occasionally talk to them.”
D’Amico was excited to integrate the elves and her family traditions with the Waldport community and also to support the local businesses.
“You have to figure out the name of each elf by interacting with the store owner or worker,” she said. “My goal is to use my elves to add joy during the holiday, which is what they do for me, and to also drive more business to Waldport.”
For those unfamiliar, the city motto for Waldport is “Find Yourself in Waldport,” but thanks to D’Amico, people will be able to find them-elves in Waldport every Holiday season instead.
“My goal is to have a ‘Find your Elf in Waldport’ contest every year,” she said. “I would love to take credit for the name, but it was Reda Eckerman who came up with it and I thought it was absolutely perfect.”
The hunt will be available until Jan. 6 at 2:30 pm. The winner will be the person that correctly identifies the most elves. In the event of ties, there will be a raffle. Scoresheets can be picked up and returned to the Historic Alsea Bay Bridge Visitor Center at 320 NW Hwy. 101 in Waldport.
For more information or to print a scoresheet, go to findyourselfinwaldport.com.