An elf wedding, part 1

I have been out of town for a few days, so I have not been able to write.

The reason I have been away is the marriage of Alegas – the nephew of the head ice cream elf Peri - to Lotina.

Several months ago the two announced that they were getting married. Then Lotina surprised me by asking me to give her away. Her own mother and father died several years ago.

I was honored.

I had given away my own daughters when they were married, but it’s been years since I’d had a chance to do it.

Lotina is a special elf. She works in the doll factory designing clothes – she is so skilled. She also makes clothes for herself and others (I have a few gifts in my closet from her.)

She even made her own wedding dress. It was beautiful.

But what makes her even more special is the love and care she shows for others. Any time an elf is sick, she visits with soup and homemade bread, and maybe a scarf or embroidered handkerchief. Her handkerchiefs are so beautiful you hate to use them!

When I sprained my ankle a few years ago, she knitted me extra-large socks to go over my brace.

Then she and Alegas announced their next surprise.

They wanted to get married in Bavaria!

Here at the North Pole, we have elves from all around the world. There are Irish elves, Russian elves, French elves, Chinese elves – oh, more kinds than I can remember.

But the biggest group of elves is the Bavarian elves. Bavaria is where I first met elves many years ago when I built my first workshop there. When I moved to the North Pole, many of the elves came with me.

Lotina and Alegas’ families were among the Bavarian elves who had come with me.

The couple wanted to show their love of their families’ homeland. Many of the other elves were excited about a visit there. I liked the idea, too.

Now, my old home is still in Bavaria. It is deep in the forest. Some elves still live there. So we called them. They were excited and began preparing for the wedding.

The one problem was how we were all going to get from the North Pole to Bavaria.

We had thousands of elves, gnomes, dwarves and other little people who were invited. So were the snow giants and some trolls, and many of Alegas and Lotina’s animal friends.

Our research elves came up with a wonderful idea. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.