Santa Claus found himself in need of some skilled assistants right before Christmas, so he called upon the librarians at the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library to recruit the best elf candidates from the area. The Times attended the Dec. 10 Elf Academy to check it out.

Children’s librarian and Elf Academy instructor Michelle DeSarbo greeted the 16 recruits as they entered the training facility.

“Welcome, welcome to the first ever Elf Academy!” she said. “You are our very first elves ever in the history of the library.”

After she took attendance, DeSarbo gave the recruits a quick run-down of the training sessions they would have to pass in order to graduate and become one of Santa’s elves. All elves must have a pom-pom-topped hat, pointed ears and a jingle bell bracelet. They were also tested on their ability to decorate sugar cookies, color a scratch art ornament and whip up a batch of reindeer food for the sleigh team.

Once they completed their orientation, the recruits divided into groups of four to complete their courses. They took great care in making sure every square inch of their cookies were frosted and sprinkled to elfish perfection, complete with a sugary likeness of Santa or Rudolph. They meticulously carved their designs into their scratch art ornaments to reveal a festive pattern. And a few particularly creative elf candidates upped their jingle bell bracelet game by threading the bells onto one pipe cleaner and twisting it with two others to create a swirled bracelet.

DeSarbo and a few parents were on hand to assist younger recruits in any particularly tricky tasks such as tying the strings on their ornaments.

For the last part of their training, the recruits had to sit patiently as DeSarbo performed a dramatic reading of Rubin Pingk’s “Samurai Santa.” They listened as she told the tale of Yukio, a young ninja who wants to start a snowball fight but can’t because his friends don’t want to be on Santa’s naughty list.

At the end of the grueling hour-long course, DeSarbo was happy to reward all 16 recruits with their certificates, certifying them as eligible to become part of Santa’s squadron of elves.

“They did a pretty sterling job in a short amount of time. I think that’s part of the test, the time crunch, but they all did quite well, and I’m surprised by their creativity,” she said. “The spirit of the season is definitely alive and well in them.”

DeSarbo hopes to work with Santa again next year to host Elf Academy. Possible changes include expanding to a training program with multiple sessions to introduce recruits to more tasks that Santa might need them to do at the North Pole and give recruits with tight schedules the chance to participate in training.

a.hutchinson@theday.com

Twitter: @ahutch411