The Top Ten Christmas Elves

In our continuing search to find lists for all -things Christmas, I figured I'd be remiss not to include St. Nick' very own personal assistants: Elves! While not always stealing the limelight from the big man in red, a few, over time, have indeed done just that. Here are ten Elves who, for the most part, are just a little funnier and sweeter than Santa.

10. The Elves (Santa Claus Conquers the Martians)

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (also titled Santa Claus Defeats the Aliens) is a 1964 Sci-Fi film that regularly appears on lists of the worst movies ever made. It is regularly featured in the "bottom 100" list on the IMDB. It was directed by Nicholas Webster, and it stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also includes an 8-year-old Pia Zadora playing the role of one of the Martian children.

9. Eubie (The Happy Elf)

Highlighted by Harry Connick, Jr. as the animated narrator, "The Happy Elf" tells the story of Eubie the Elf, one of Santa's helpers whose overly enthusiastic, rose-colored view of the holiday season is put to the test when he sets out to bring Christmas joy to a dreary town called Bluesville.

8. Stan (Santa Jr.)

The title character in this made-for-cable comedy is a youthful slacker (Nick Stabile) who has long been a source of disappointment and embarrassment for his famous jolly-old-elf father. Anxious to prove his worth, Nick (as our hero is known) decides to clamber down a few chimneys just prior to Christmas Eve. Alas, his efforts coincide with a string of burglaries, and Nick is promptly arrested by cops. Of course, the best part is the little fellow who plays Stan, the 'elf'.

7. Patch (Santa Claus: The Movie)

The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world. The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the head elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.

6. Marcus (Bad Santa)

The film begins in a bar on a December night in Milwaukee, where the viewer is introduced to Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), a bitter, lonely alcoholic. Willie works the holiday seasons as a mall Santa along with his dwarf friend Marcus (Tony Cox), who works as the Santa elf. Every Christmas Eve, the duo disables the security alarm after the mall closes and they then rob the mall safe. Afterwards, Marcus lives with his wife Lois while Willie goes to Miami and wastes all his money on booze.

5. Jingle and Jangle (The Year Without A Santa Claus)

Two of Santa's elves, Jingle Bells and Jangle Bells decided to go out (with Vixen) to find children to convince Santa that the Christmas spirit is still important to everybody else. But they have to get past Heat Miser and Snow Miser, first, before they land in Southtown, USA, where it never snows for Christmas.

4. Hermey (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)

Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his beaming honker, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudoph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea!

3. Bernard (The Santa Claus)

While Scott Calvin is being argumentative and peevish about the responsibilities of becoming Santa he seems to have inherited, the head elf, Bernard (David Krumholtz), shows him a microscopic inscription on the card found in the suit which says that upon the death of the previous occupant, whoever dons the suit assumes the identity of Santa Claus and all the responsibilities that go with it, giving up his previous identity in the process. This is, in fact, the "Santa Clause," as summarized by Bernard: "You put on the suit, you're the big guy."

2. Buddy (Elf)

Buddy (Will Ferrell) was a baby in an orphanage who stowed away in Santa's sack and ended up at the North Pole. Later, as an adult human who happened to be raised by elves, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan). Hobbs, on Santa's naughty list for being a heartless jerk, had no idea that Buddy was even born. Buddy, meanwhile, experiences the delights of New York City (and human culture) as only an elf can.

1. Santa Himself

Yes sir, you'd better believe it, Santa is considered an elf! Sure his visage has 'grown' over the years, but if you take a look at the classic Moore poem, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas', he is described as a , 'Right jolly old ELF.' So, with that, Santa had to be number one.