Today’s recipient is a truly beautiful nominee submitted by the lovely Elisabeth, who was so eloquent that I don’t need to add a single word:
Hi there!
I am nominating the most incredible, selfless person I have ever met. Dr G. is a naturopathic physician licensed by the state of Connecticut. She is a true [...]

I won the elf draw a few weeks ago now and have been looking for my first chance to gift.  Last weekend my husband popped out early sunday morning to the local shop, he was a little short and the owner told him not to worry and drop it in when he could.  Even though [...]

When I received the elf give-away money I only knew that I wanted to divide into equal portions and hand it out to random people.  I had no idea who.  Then I had a bright idea!
Every day on my way to work in the morning, there is a guy.  He sells newspapers.  Now what is [...]

Did anyone happen to catch the article in the New York Times yesterday titled Seeing How Far $100 Can Go? It was about a writer who received a six-figure advance for a book, and decided to do something decidedly fun with a chunk of it: She gave $100 to each of nine friends, with [...]

I just adore nice people. I love knowing about them, I love hearing about them, I love reading about them, and I just love, love, LOVE gifting them.
Today’s recipient is Sabrina Gilchrist. She is a dancer. She’s energetic and fun. She’s open and bubbly and filled with optimism. She’s also [...]

I was so excited to be gifted the $50 prize a few weeks ago. I spent some time thinking about what I could do with the money and was, frankly, overwhelmed by the possibilities. Should I give it all at once or split it up? Should I hand a stranger something or stick it in [...]

Hello dear Elves!
It’s lots of fun to give anonymous gifts to strangers but I also LOVE to give gifts to people I know and love – especially when it is not for any “special” occasion but just because my heart feels filled-to-bursting and I want to make some attempt to convey my love and gratitude.
I’ve [...]

Hello all!
I’m delighted to report that I made my first gift as a bona fide elf today! I woke knowing the day was going to be extra-special because of the gift I planned to make.
I completed my usual morning routines with a sense of happy excitement. As I drove into the parking lot of my [...]

I’m finding myself strangely apprehensive, beginning this post. I had intended to tackle it first thing this morning, but instead, I’ve been finding every excuse to put it off. First I took a long walk (even though the streets are covered in black ice, and I slid more than I strode). Then [...]

I just love the Holiday season. I love the carols, the cookies, and even the cold. I love sweaters and scarves and having to scrape frost off my windshield in the mornings, and I love coming back inside with red cheeks to drink hot chocolate with marshmallows and candy canes. I love [...]

This week’s recipient is inspired by MamaElf, who has been Elf-giving like crazy (hooray for MamaElf!). She shared in Elf Chat that for one of her recipients, she wrote a poem. We all agreed that it was a simply fantastic idea, and that there are few things as lovely as receiving a heartfelt, [...]

I have a wonderful new development to announce: I have been SO inspired and excited by all of the wonderful Elf giving stories, that I am planning to introduce the ability for Elves to post their own giving stories, as guest Elf posters! My inspiration, as usual, is the wonderful myeverydaymagic.com. I’m hoping [...]

This will be a quick post because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but I had to write (fast!) to tell you about this week’s recipient.  I have no idea how or if this one will ever work, but wow, I REALLY hope it does!
She goes by the name “MaryC”, and her blog is so simple [...]

It’s another Elf Tuesday, and you know what that means: Another $50 of giving money to a randomly selected Elf. WOO-HOO!!!!
But first, I want to celebrate something even more wonderful: Elves officially began Elf-giving last week, and already we received our very first (and very lovely) Elf thank you. How awesome is that? [...]

How fun is this: I’m gifting sisters today! And what an honor it is, to gift these two. Naturally, I can’t say how I came across them, but you can get a sense of one of the sisters from her website and blog, Pony Tail Acres.  Her website makes my job easy: I [...]

First, I have to tell you, I’m still flying high from the absolutely amazing experience I had with my third recipient, who is without a doubt the single most gracious human being I have ever encountered.  (Shell: You warmed my heart to no end.  I would tell you that you made my day, but the [...]

Whew, I’ve had a hectic morning! But I think I may have managed, somehow, to add a “Leave Thanks” page to the site. I had gotten some advice yesterday that a form like this would help lend legitimacy to the site (assuming recipients use it, that is!). I’m still working out the [...]

I am so excited.  Today I reveal (drumroll…) my second recipient!
And I am going to need an Elf (FAST!) to help get her information.
Here’s the back-story:
Way back in August, I was reading some threads on the Mothering.com discussion board. (This is a board I posted on for just a little while, many years ago. [...]

Oh you guys I am SO excited. This is the post I’ve been waiting for. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this post! I am just bursting to tell you about my first recipient. He is going to blow you away.
Now, I know I said I was [...]

First off: a big, huge, GIANT “thank you” to every single one of you. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to have so many beautiful comments from so many amazing people!
You all have inspired me to make this a true collaborative effort. I was already so jazzed about this whole idea, [...]