We have hundreds of volunteer positions to fill before Christmas, on Christmas Eve and after our program ends. No matter your interests or your schedule, we’re sure there’s a role for you!
Take a moment to read through this year’s positions, which have been organized to match your availability. Some positions may be impacted by COVID.
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve (December 24th) our elves and Santas visit families around Calgary to bring gifts and cheer. There’s a number of positions you can volunteer for. Buses go out on morning and afternoon shifts (AM/PM)
Bus elves
Donning a handmade elf costume and glittered cheeks, these elves ride with Santa and make home visits on Christmas Eve. It’s their job to spread The Magic of Christmas’ motto of “Loving, Caring, and Sharing.” Teams of elves ride each reindeer bus for 6.5 hours, in the morning or in the afternoon (schedule shown below). They help Santa prepare for each visit by stuffing toy sacks, singing carols and bringing smiles to families’ faces.
It is strongly recommended that all elves attend our annual Elf Rally orientation in early December, as it gives plenty of useful information for your success on Christmas Eve. We also encourage you to get familiarized with common Christmas carols. Download our songbook here.
“Little elves” must be at least 8 years of age and must ride with a parent or guardian. Only those 16 years and older are eligible for night bus shifts.
Bus Santas
“Once you’re in the costume, you’re in the role.” Becoming Santa is an immense responsibility, but a rewarding one. Santas visit every family on their bus route, lead elves to each home, deliver gifts and encourage carol singing. A visit from Santa is like nothing else—every home visit should be magical, genuine and jolly!
While Santas come in all sizes and shapes, all share common qualities: they have a caring disposition, an upbeat personality, good listening skills, are non-judgmental of those they visit and keep their elves smiling and singing.
It’s a big job, but you don’t have to go it alone. We help Santas prepare for the big day at our mandatory Santa training, which is available online in mid-December. Watch your emails, or our event page for more information.
Chief Elfs On-board – CEOs
Chief Elfs On-board (CEOs) are the “captains” on any reindeer bus that leaves our workshop. CEOs organize special gifts, help bus drivers plan their route, prepare Santa and the elves for each visit, and act as primary contact for the workshop. Returning volunteers should consider applying as CEO.
CEO training is mandatory and will be available online in mid-December. We will communicate the virtual meeting details to you via email. If you cannot attend the training, please email Courtney. We will arrange a copy of the recording to you.
Bus Drivers (Calgary Transit)
Our bus driving volunteers must be active Calgary Transit staff. Drivers will drive the buses loaded with gifts and elves around the city to visit all our families.
Bus loaders
This role is exactly how it sounds! Without the help of our bus loader elves, there would be no toys or gifts on our reindeer buses. This cheery team is what keeps our shop running all day! We encourage all bus loaders to dress appropriately and be prepared to work in cold weather. They must also be able to stand on their feet for long periods, and be able to lift at least 50 lbs.
Hot shot drivers (Christmas Eve)
We like to think of our Hot Shot Drivers as Santa’s “secret” reindeer—their sleighs may not be stuffed with elves, but hot shot drivers do play an important role by ensuring that large gifts (mattresses, Christmas trees, bikes, etc.) are delivered to the doors of Calgary families. Simply put, any item that can’t fit on a Calgary Transit bus will be delivered by a Hot Shot Driver. Role requirements include: A ½ ton truck or trailer, valid drivers license, and the ability to lift at least 50 lbs.
Hospital Santa and elves (December 22nd or 23rd)
Santas and elves visit nursing homes, hospitals and care homes during day hours. These volunteers hand out hundreds of teddy bears, rather than gifts. You must be at least 16 years old to sign up for this role. Visits can last 5+ hours, so please come prepared and dress accordingly with comfortable shoes.
Most hospital or care centre visits will only require a Santa and 3-4 elves.
Depending on the day of the week that Christmas Eve falls, the hospital shifts may not be on Christmas Eve.
Before Christmas
To prep for Christmas Eve, we need a lot of volunteers to help get everything ready!
Donation Box Elves
It takes more than a jolly man in red to gather all of our donations. Starting in October and November, we need help to deliver donation boxes to companies around the city. Then in December, we need extra hands to pick up them up again. If you have time to pick up a box or two in your neighbourhood, you’ll be our hero!
Party Santa’s & Party Elves
Party Santa’s and Party Elves (formerly “Santa Show Santas” and “Santa Show Elves”) attend various community and cooperate Christmas parties throughout November and December. These Santas and Elves are upbeat and can engage with families, help take pictures, sing songs, and spread some Christmas cheer! Santa Parties are a great source of donations for The Magic of Christmas
Warehouse elves
These incredible elves help us sort, organize, pack and fill Santa’s reindeer buses with donations. This group keeps us organized right up to our busiest day of the year. Want to help? Watch the Volunteer Opportunities page for dates and times we’ll need help. Because we operate out of a giant warehouse, we require 100+ workshop elves throughout the week before Christmas Eve.
“Little workshop elves” who want to sort gifts will require adult supervision.
Volunteer Committee Positions
Our core committees need volunteers to help us organizing everything behind the scenes. Some of these teams are active well before Christmas and some after.
Marketing & Communications
On the Marketing & Communications team, volunteers help with our website, social media, graphic design and support all departments in communicating to the world about the Magic of Christmas
Graphic design elves
This elf would provide graphic support for social media content, fundraising programs, event signage, and more.
Required Skills:
- Advanced experience in Adobe illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.
- Experience working with brand graphic standards and guidelines
- Knowledge in digital/print publication, social content and website imagery best practices
Estimated time commitment:
- 1-3 hours per week throughout November
- 5+ hours per week throughout December leading up to and possibly including the 24th (Christmas Eve)
Contact: volunteer@themagicofchristmas.org for more details.
Publicity elves
Are you an elf with crafty video or photography skills? Want to help us spread the word that Santa’s coming to town? If you or anyone you know would like to help produce promotional videos or photography, we want to hear from you. We need all the help we can get to tell people about the work we do!
IT Team
The Information Technology team looks after the computer systems used by the charity including Salesforce, Office 365, websites, telephone and network systems. Volunteers are needed to help with maintaining and building these systems to support the charity functions.
Warehouse Team
This team of volunteers coordinates the activities of our warehouse, including donation sorting, organizing donations and toys for families we visit.
Procurement & Shoppers
While the charity receives most of what it needs from drop-off donations, our procurement team works with local retailers to acquire what we need to fill in the gaps by shopping and arranging for deals and donations.
Contact: volunteer@themagicofchristmas.org for more details.
Bookkeeping
The finance team of volunteers ensures that our transactions are recorded and reported properly.
Fundraising
Are you eager with new fundraising ideas? We are looking to expand our fundraising team! These elves will work together to help come up with new fundraising ideas, and work with our community donors!
Corporate and sponsor elves
We couldn’t help thousands of Calgarians each year without our corporate and sponsor elves! If your company is eager to support us, there are lots of ways to help: donation boxes for your workplace, sponsor us, run an internal campaign, or invite us to host a fundraiser for you and your colleagues. We’re open to hear your creative ideas!
Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities.
Costume Team
We are looking for volunteers to be in the costume room. Helping coordinate try-on days, ensuring every elf and Santa has a fitting costume assigned to them. Sewing experience is an asset but not necessary!
Referrals team
We are looking for volunteers to help with calling our families to confirm our Christmas delivery. This team of volunteers calls each of the families that are referred to The Magic of Christmas.
Event planners
Periodically, the charity hosts fundraising and other events like our Elf Rally. Volunteers with event planning experience are always appreciated.
Admin team
The charity needs volunteers who can help with organizing skills to help the charity run smoothly.
Magical story finder elves
Do you enjoy Reading? Are you creative and love story telling? Sign up to be a Story Finder Elf!
We are looking for elves to go through our bus journals from years past to pick out the most heart-warming stories and to transcribe them into a digital format so we can share these magical moments with our volunteers and donors.
Contact: volunteer@themagicofchristmas.org for more details.
Register to volunteer
When you’re ready, sign up for a role on our volunteer registration page.
Have questions? Visit our FAQ page.