At the southern branch of the North Pole, Emily Sharrer writes about Santa, elves and reindeer all year long. In August 2014, Sharrer moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she began her career with Elf on the Shelf, a Christmas company.

“I work at the Elf on the Shelf, which is known as Creatively Classic Activities and Books,” Sharrer said. “I’m a marketing specialist who runs content and digital programs, so I run our blog and our email program. I started out with them as their copywriter, so I wrote their catalog and all of their packaging; basically anything that had writing on it.”

Sharrer has had mainly two jobs, and while both centered around writing, they hold few similarities.

“Before this job, I’ve really only worked at the Daily News Record in Harrisonburg. [My job now] is very different because with journalism, I was covering local news and education. The biggest difference and challenge [with the transition] has been going from news and article writing to a much more whimsical writing style,” Sharrer said.

Although she knew early on that writing was her passion, Sharrer’s current position was not something that she anticipated.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to be a writer, and I started out in journalism, but when I moved to Atlanta it took a different turn,” Sharrer said, ”I had an opportunity to work for a publishing company on a temporary basis. I told them I really love to write, and asked if there was anything I could write for them, which is when I started writing for our marketing department, [writing] some of the blogs. They really liked what I was writing, and it just worked out that they brought me on full-time.”

While Elf on the Shelf is a company focused on Christmas, Sharrer and her coworkers are working on the product throughout the year.

“As our company has grown, it has become busy year-round,” Sharrer said, “There used to be a much bigger Christmas rush, but since [the elves] have become so popular with families, we’re constantly getting ready for the Christmas season. From January to October, we’re mainly planning and getting everything prepared. After that, we just work on executing our programs during the peak season.”

At the office, there is a large effort to keep the Christmas spirit alive, even in the cubicles.

“We work at the southern branch of the North Pole, so they’ve done a lot to make the office [reflect that]. There are elves, quite literally, everywhere. In everyone’s cubicle, all of the conference rooms and in the break room. There is a touch of fun throughout the office,” Sharrer said.

As one may be able to imagine, a typical day at the North Pole is likely much different than it would be at other offices.

“There are times when we literally have conversations talking about the difference between Christmas spirit and Christmas magic, how those help Santa’s sleigh fly and which jobs are done by the elves versus Santa. It’s very difficult to nail down because there are a lot of things that happen at the North Pole,” Sharrer said.

Upon discovering where she works, Sharrer says that many people have a similar reaction.

“[When I tell people where I work], I’ve found that most everybody has an elf story. People always talk about how their [their families elf], and how much their kids love it. They just want to tell you everything that they’ve experienced or seen about the elves and the company,” Sharrer said.

Overall, Sharrer’s favorite part of working for Elf on the Shelf is the joy that she helps to provide to families everywhere.

“My favorite part is getting to see the joy that it brings to families throughout the year,” Sharrer said, “When the elves start coming back [in November and December], it is just such a joy to see the kids get so excited about their elves coming back. [Sometimes they] send us messages asking about what Santa is up to and what we’re doing at the North Pole. Just being a part of that magical Christmas moment for kids is so awesome to see.”