80,0000 sign up to Sunderland elf project aiming to keep children busy and creative in run-up to Christmas

Sunderland firm ARTventurers has launched an elf-based project on social media and nearly 80,000 people have already signed up.

It is called The Big Neighbourhood Elf Hunt and the Facebook community group encourages children and their parents to do everything from elf challenges to making elf calendars.

It is the brainchild of ARTventurers boss Fiona Simpson who said: “Up and down the country in December, millions of households welcome the arrival of an ‘Elf on the Shelf’, a mischievous character who gets up to all sorts of escapades while the children are asleep in bed. It's an idea that came over the pond from America and is now increasingly popular amongst families in the UK.

"We love elf on the shelf at ARTventurers! Back in 2017 we designed a special Elf on the Shelf planning calendar to help parents out by providing them with easy elf-inspiration each night and it proved massively popular.

"This year we decided to launch The Big Neighbourhood Elf Hunt in order to take the elf magic even further – we're sharing lots of elf inspiration, Christmas activity ideas and running an Elf Challenge too!"

ARTventurers run award-winning art and creative play classes for babies, toddlers and children throughout the UK with branches across Sunderland and the North East.

The company has run numerous challenges during the pandemic.

In October 2020, it organised The Big Neighbourhood Pumpkin Trail which encouraged people to put pumpkin artwork in their windows for people to spot.

In April last year, it held a VE Day celebration initiative.

The Big Neighbourhood VE Day 75 Family Festival at Home asked people to make their own VE Day props and decorations to celebrate at home and 12,000 people joined in.

Other themed events have been held around Easter eggs and The Big Neighbourhood Lockdown project where people were encouraged to hold indoor sports days, ice candles, snow art and upcycling in January last year.

Now comes the elf challenge and Fiona said it was designed to ‘spread a bit of extra kindness and festive cheer after the couple of years we all have had’.

"In the run up to Christmas, we have got ten elf challenges for children to complete.”

Those challenges range from donating to a local food bank or taking toys to a charity shop.

Others involve making homemade cards to surprising family and friends and checking up on someone who might be feeling a bit lonely.

"If they complete the ten Elf Challenges then they have graduated as a fully fledged Kindness Elf and there's a free certificate for them to download as a reward,” said Fiona.

The Big Neighbourhood Elf Hunt can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/695682491244696

It was back in 2011 that Fiona formed ARTventurers as a way for children to enjoy creative play.

And in 2019, Fiona was rewarded with the Women In Business trophy at the first ever Wearside Women In Business competition run by the Sunderland Echo.

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