Santa and his helpers at NDCAS are already busy preparing for the coming holiday season.

With lockdown restrictions lifted and local stores back up and running, Santa has come up with a great idea to encourage the children of Narrabri to explore businesses around the town.

A cheeky elf is currently hiding out in Narrabri, waiting to be spied as part of NDCAS’s Elf on the Shelf campaign.

He will travel between local businesses, Monterey Café, MJ’s Newsagency, McKechnie Bros, Toyworld, Crazy Sams, Barrakets, CAMstart Pharmacy and Thomas’ corner store, collecting the names of local children for Santa’s nice list.

The special helper will visit each location for a week at a time from Monday, October 25.

Children from across Narrabri Shire can take part in the elf hunt by marking each time they spot the elf hiding out in a business.

Elf passports are available for free via a contactless pick-up station just inside the front door of the service’s Maitland Street office.

Once you spot the elf, you can request a stamp from a staff member of the shop you found him in.

A minimum of five of the eight spots must be filled in order for the participant to officially enter the competition, with the finalised passports to be returned to NDCAS by Thursday, December 16.

On Friday, December 17, Santa’s helpers at NDCAS will sort the entries into age groups and draw a random winner from the following categories: 0-2 years-old, 3-4 years-old, 5-6 years-old, 7-8 years-old, 9-10 years old, 11-12 years-old, 13-14 years-old and 15-18 years-old.

The victor of the 0-2 years-old category will win a $50 CAMstart voucher, while the lucky winners from every other age group will take home a $50 Why Leave Town voucher, to be spent at participating local businesses.

And in keeping with the local theme, Narrabri residents have picked the name for this sneaky elf.

NDCAS put a call out on its Facebook page last month, asking for name suggestions that relate to the local area.

There were two dozen unique ideas put forward, including Dawson (after Dawsons Spring at Mt Kaputar), Cotton Seed (given the area’s reputation as cotton country), Nandewar (after the mountain range), Yowie (referencing the Pilliga’s mythical creature), Little Wheat (another nod to the region’s farmers) and more.

Bri-an, named after Narrabri’s slang abbreviation ‘Bri’, was selected as the winning name earlier this month.

For hints and clues as to Bri-an’s whereabouts over the next two months, follow NDCAS on Facebook and Instagram.

Santa is excited to see just how good the children across the Narrabri Shire are when it comes to elf spying.

NDCAS thanks Santa, Bri-an and the participating businesses for their help in organising the 2021 Elf on the Shelf competition.

Meanwhile, the eight local stores are welcoming young elf hunters with open arms.

“This competition is a positive addition to the area, with kids and the community excited to get into the Christmas spirit,” Crazy Sams said.

“We think it’s a great idea.”

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