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One of Santa’s helpers is ditching the sleigh for a delivery truck, bringing Christmas a little early to those in Maumelle.

Typically, this time of year, elves are in the North Pole working on toys to put under the tree. This year, Santa sent his best elf Rosie down South to help UPS get packages to the front door step.

“The loads get so heavy at UPS so I said ‘I’ll sign up and help,’” Amanda Price aka Rosie the Christmas Elf said.

While dashing through the neighborhoods, she is getting to know all the kids.

When he came on board as UPS’s chief marketing officer in June 2018 after a 34-year career at Xerox, Kevin Warren was only the second outsider in the company’s 113-year history to join in at the C-suite level.

Now, in a business that has long prided itself on promoting from within, Warren brings to the package delivery industry a new set of eyes and a mandate to drive the company’s success in the world of e-commerce.

Warren’s selection reflects a “major uptick in the number of CMOs with ethnically and/or racially diverse backgrounds; positive signs that companies are taking seriously the importance of increasing diversity at the most senior levels of leadership,” according to a report released in May by leadership advisory firm Spencer Stuart.

Delivery drivers typically bring people joy by delivering their desired packages, but some bring joy in a much different way.

“Antonio’s actually been coming to work with me since he’s been about four weeks old. A lot of my customers have seen him grow up, as well as Barb, our amazing UPS driver, so he looks forward to her coming in every day,” said Desirae Earl, Owner of Desirae’s Makeup and Beauty Lounge, and Antonio’s mother.

It isn’t just Antonio whose day is made when Barb arrives.

“I could have the worst day ever and I’d walk in here and see that smiling little face and it just lights up your day you know, just changes your whole mood,” said UPS driver Barb Gesellchen.

Steven James said his wife, Nashandra, orders so many things over the holidays, that she leaves snacks for delivery drivers. The reaction from one driver was recorded by a doorbell camera.

The video shows the driver, who is in the holiday spirit, wearing reindeer antlers. She walks up, does a little shimmy when she sees the note and snacks, then says “thank you” to the camera.

As the driver ran away, she clicked her heels twice before getting back in the UPS truck.