Excelsior Springs, Mo.– The annual Elf Factory returned to the Excelsior Springs Community Center on Nov. 22, offering families a fun, steady holiday tradition during Christmas Kickoff weekend. The gym was filled with craft tables, families, and tokens being exchanged with holiday elves for handmade Christmas projects.
Val Linnenburger has overseen the event for about 15 years, and she remembers how small it once was. “When it started, it was probably just a few (stations),” she said of the original setup at the Excelsior Springs Museum. After two years it moved to Lewis Elementary. Now, at the community center, the event takes over the full gym.
This year’s Elf Factory featured about 20 craft stations, with some requiring multiple tables and volunteers to handle the crowds. Kids and volunteers make holiday decor, such as Grinch ornaments, sand art, light-up houses and other easy keepsakes. Linnenburger estimates they create over 2,000 crafts each year.
Many families return every year, collecting the ornaments and crafts their children have made since toddlerhood. “Parents come up and say, ‘I can’t wait to put our tree up and put up all the memories,’” she said.
The Elf Factory raises money for the Christmas Committee, which operates under the Downtown Excelsior Partnership. This helps to ensure events like the Christmas Parade are offered each year through fun, family-friendly fundraising events.
For now, Linnenburger is content to keep the tradition going, and she insisted its success is all due to the dedicated Christmas Committee, volunteers, and the community for showing up.
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