Jacqueline's Journal

Elf on the Shelf Emergency

(NEWSER) – 'Tis the season for adorable emergencies. NBC New York reports a 7-year-old New Jersey girl called 911 after unintentionally disturbing her family's Elf on the Shelf. And as any Elf on the Shelf owner knows, Elves on the Shelf only have one rule: "Please do not touch me. My magic might go, and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know." Well, little Isabelle LaPeruta (also reported as Isabella) didn't have a choice when she threw a ball in the house and turned hers into an Elf on the Floor. One police officer would later say Isabelle was terrified she was "going to ruin Christmas." So Isabelle called 911. Isabelle begged the 911 operator not to send anyone to her Old Bridge home—she said she was trying to call her dad to tell him what happened—but police are required to respond to every 911 call, NBC reports. An officer arrived and attempted to comfort the crying girl. Isabelle's mom woke up from a nap to find her "hysterical" and "panicking" daughter trying to get rid of the officer. "I didn't want to get in trouble," Isabelle later explained to NBC. Eventually she realized Santa knew she wasn't "going to do that again" and Christmas was saved. "Isabella apologized," the officer informed his precinct. "She touched the Elf on a Shelf. She won't call 911 again."

Jacqueline's Journal

Music

If you've already begun to hear Christmas music pop up in retail stores this year, you aren't alone. The start date for Christmas music season has been pushed back over the years, according to Magnus Rydén, who heads up content for Spotify-backed Soundtrack Your Brand, a startup that provides music for businesses. Rydén says a few years ago, the season began in earnest the first week of December, but now some businesses are rolling out the Christmas tunes even before Thanksgiving. This might work to get the Christmas — and gift-shopping — spirit going earlier, but it can be grating for retail employees. "We s tart to get complaints [from employees] the first and second week of December," Sven Grundberg, SYB's VP of communications, explains. Their professional advice for retailers: mix it up a bit, don't just have the same exact covers. "Think about your employees," Grundberg adds. (Here's an "Indie Christmas" playlist SYB recommends). As to which artists rule Christmas, SYB looked at data from over 30 million song streams from six countries last year, and found that Michael Bublé was the undisputed winner. He was followed by Justin Bieber and Mary J. Blige, though old favorites Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby made the top bunch. Grundberg says that while newer artists record Christmas music, producing an original Christmas hit that isn't a cover is extremely difficult. He considers the last big one to be Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which was released in 1994.

About Jacqueline

Jacqueline is a web design student. To visit her website, click here.