SANDPOINT — No disrespect, but elves sitting on shelves have nothing on Mortimer.

A constant presence in our home, Mortimer, an elf from the North Pole, was assigned to our family by ol’ St. Nick himself to watch over us to make sure the six of us behaved — or at least as much as six rambunctious kids can who are sharing one bathroom. (None of us wanted to use the downstairs bathroom because of the spiders, but I digress.)

Able to cloak himself in invisibility, hear plots of misdeeds from across the known universe and keep track of each and every one of us — at the same time, without skipping a beat, Mortimer was a legend.

It’s no wonder, then, that more often than not, the sounds of “Moooooooooom” or “Daaaaaa-aaaaaad” would vanish from the airwaves — sometimes even without THAT look from either parental unit — as the word “Mortimer” drifted into the suddenly silent house and we snapped back to good behavior.

Well, most of the time.

Mortimer made frequent reports to Santa, letting him know whether we were eating our vegetables, getting along with our siblings, doing our homework, and more. There seemed to be little that Mortimer didn’t tell his boss at the North Pole. And the reports didn’t happen just at Christmastime. It was year-round — Mortimer was on permanent loan to the Lobsinger household and we wore that pore elf ragged, I am sure.

Come to think of it, since this before smartphones, Facebook and social media, Mortimer must have had the ability to transport himself to and from the North Pole in the blink of an eye.

He never seemed to miss a trick or be out of our house when he was needed — which was often (see the above and aforementioned, six kids.)

It’s any wonder that Mortimer had any time to himself, much less eat, sleep or hang with his fellow elves. I’m sure the poor elf was overworked and kept busy around the clock — at least my siblings did. I was a perfect angel — something I frequently told my parents.

(Ignore my siblings if they try to bring up the time I opened up ALL of the Christmas presents. We had two trees and I was 3 years old. Besides, Santa sent a list to my parents of what he dropped off so everyone got what he’d left for them. No harm, no foul.)

I still think about Mortimer and wonder how he’s enjoying his retirement or if Santa assigned him to another family — hopefully one with fewer children who give him a few moments of peace and relaxation.

Kids who don't need the permanent addition of a magical member of Santa's work crew are the teens at Sandpoint High School. For the past few years or more, these amazing people have raised thousands of dollars to help others have a merry Christmas. It is a point of pride for them to collect as much money as they can from whomever they can. They make Toys for Tots their official charity during spirit competitions so that all money raised not only counts toward the competition but helps the Lions' annual Christmas campaign.

This year, SHS students raised an amazing $8,529.36, bringing the total amount of donations received to date to $39,249.14 of the $50,000 goal set by the Lions for the annual Christmas campaign.

The Toys for Tots program provides free new toys for children living in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, from Sandpoint to Clark Fork and all points in-between. A Christmas dinner for the family is also provided. If you know someone, or need help yourself, the Lions are taking applications for the 2020 Toys for Tots program.

Applications are available at the Lions Den, 609 S. Ella St., Sandpoint, on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; online at the Sandpoint Lions Facebook page, facebook.com/SandpointLionsClub; or at Bonner Community Food Bank, 1707 Culvers Drive, Sandpoint. The deadline to submit an application is Monday, Dec. 14.

Masks are required to enter the Lions Den building or those dropping them off may also place them into the red box next to the door.

Toys may be dropped off at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., Sandpoint; Farmhouse Restaurant, 477227 U.S. 95, Ponderay; Columbia Bank — Sandpoint branch, 414 Church St.; and Ponderay branch, 300 Kootenai Cutoff Road; Walmart, 476999 U.S. 95, Ponderay; and North 40, 477181 U.S. 95, Ponderay.

There are a host of coin jars around the community where spare change can be donated. In addition, monetary donations may be dropped off at both branches of Columbia Bank and the Bonner County Daily Bee during normal business hours. Donations may be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please include a note. If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.

Information: Sandpoint Lions Club, 208-263-4118

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.