FEATURED NEWS

The Lumistella Company Celebrates 20 Years of The Elf on the Shelf with New Games, Products and Experiences

Santaverse characters and friends Join the Hallmark Christmas Experience, along with new video game, novels and more.

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The 20th Anniversary logo centered on a red diamond pattern background. The logo has the number 20 spelled out in gold ribbon and a Scout Elf is sitting inside the 0. Underneath the 20 is another gold ribbon that says 20 Years of Elftastical Stories on it.

In the News

2025 Inc. Female Founders 500 Award Winner
This Holiday Elf Gets a Fashion Makeover
Dominates Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller List
The Lumistella Company expands Santaverse
Santaverse Expanded Ahead of Anniversary
It All Begins With a Character

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Press Releases

Launching Today: The Elf on the Shelf® Santaverse® Expands with Epic Middle-Grade Novel, ‘The Rise of Nicholas the Noble’
The Lumistella Company Unveils Additional Brand Partnerships to Power 20th Anniversary Milestone Ahead of Licensing Expo 2025
The Lumistella Company Kicks off Celebrations for the 20th Anniversary of The Elf on the Shelf® at New York Toy Fair
The Lumistella Company’s The Elf on the Shelf®: A Christmas Tradition Dominates Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller Lists with 4 Titles in the Top 10
Inc. Names Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of The Lumistella Company, to Its 2025 Female Founders 500 List
The Lumistella Company Celebrates 20 Years of the Elf on the Shelf® With a Flurry of New Games, Products and Experiences

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31 million+ Scout Elf®, Elf Pets® and Elf Mates®

have been adopted globally since 2005

Global sales, January 2025

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition ranked by Publishers Weekly among the top-selling titles of the last 25 years across all genres

“25 Years of Bestselling Authors and Books.” Publishers Weekly, April 19, 2022

Ranked #1 out of all toys on the
Amazon Best Sellers List in November 2023

Amazon Best Seller, Toys & Games, 11.29.23-Current

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Our Owners and Co-CEOs

Imagine being applauded for “revolutionizing Christmas.” This is precisely what twin sisters and trailblazing entrepreneurs Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell have been celebrated for.

As The Lumistella Company’s co-founders, owners and co-CEOs, their complementary skill set is one of the leading factors for the brand’s global reach and impact.  Chanda Bell is lovingly referred to as “Santa’s Chief Storyteller” and Christa Pitts is considered an expert in brand building, growth and operations. Together, they’ve built a thriving company and a perennial universe around the beloved characters that inhabit the North Pole.

Winners of some of the most prestigious awards and honors in the publishing, toy and entertainment industries, these dynamic, engaging entrepreneurs are some of today’s most sought-after thought leaders.

Chanda Bell headshot

Chanda Bell

Co-Founder,
Co-Chief Executive Officer
& Chief Marketing Officer

News About Chanda
Christa Pitts headshot

Christa Pitts

Co-Founder
& Co-Chief Executive Officer

News About Christa

Our Awards

List of 2025 Q1 Awards. Inc. Magazine awarded Christa Pitts & Chanda Bell the Inc. Female Founders 500 Award.
List of 2024 Awards. AVA Digital Awards Platinum Winner for This Christmas Wish (Noorah’s Song) and SantasNorthPole.com, Gold Winner for The Elf on the Shelf Snowball Fight – Yeti Avalanche! Roblox Game and an Honorable Mention for the Elf Pets Feeding Frenzy app. Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell were the Women’s History Month Leadership Award Winners presented by the Women’s History Month Committee. The Lumistella Company was awarded the 2024 IMPACT Corporate Skills-Based Award by the Corporate Volunteer Council of AtlantaIMPACT Awards.
List of 2023 Awards. Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell were named the Entrepreneur Of The Year Southeast award winners by the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The Lumistella Company was given the Georgia Corporate Champion Award by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The Elf on the Shelf was named the #1 Selling Toy in the U.S. in the Large Dolls and Accessories category by the Circana Performance Awards.
List of 2022 Awards. AVA Digital Awards Platinum Winner for the Scout Elf Ideas App, Gold Winner for The Elf on the Shelf Snowball Fight Roblox Game and an Honorable Mention for SantasNorthPole.com. SantasNorthPole.com was given an Award of Excellence by The Communicator Awards.
List of 2015 Awards, part 2 of 2. At the Webby Awards the Elf Ideas Social Media Campaign was named an Honoree. At the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards the Elf Pets: A Reindeer Tradition took home a Silver in the Book with Merchandise category. At The Stevie Awards the Elf Pets A Reindeer Tradition took home the Gold for Best New Product of the Year, The Elf Pets Reindeer App took home the Gold for Game Apps, Elfontheshelf.com received a Silver for Best Overall Web Design and the Ideas for Scout Elves App received a Finalist designation.
List of 2015 Awards, part 1 of 2. The Elf Pets Reindeer App was given an Award of Excellence, and the Ideas for Scout Elves App was given an Award of Distinction by The Communicator Awards. Elfontheshelf.com was given a Best Family Fun award, and the Elf Pets Reindeer tradition was given a Brain Child award at the Tillywig Awards. Elfontheshelf.com was named Best in Class at the Interactive Media Awards. At the Hermes Creative Awards the Elf Pets Reindeer App was given a Platinum Award, and the Ideas for Scout Elves App was given a Gold Award.
List of 2014 Awards. The Cobb Chamber of Commerce awarded Carol Aebersold, Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell with the Citizen of the Year Award. Artworks! Gwinnett gave Chanda Bell the Community Impact award in the Literary Artist category.
List of 2012 Awards. Georgia Trend Magazine placed Christa Pitts in their 40 Under 40 list. Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies ranked The Lumistella Company as #1,440 overall and #71 in the retail category. The Cobb Chamber of Commerce awarded The Lumistella Company as a Top 25 Small Business of the Year.
List of 2011 Awards. Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies ranked The Lumistella Company as #1,322 overall. University of West Georgia gave Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell a Spotlight Award. Reinhardt University also gave Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell a Spotlight Award.
List of 2010 Awards. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards gave Carol Aebersold, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts a Finalist designation. The Cox Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University named The Lumistella Company a Finalist in the Georgia Family Business of the Year category. U.S. Small Business Administration named Carol Aebersold, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts as Georgia Small Business Persons of the Year. Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies ranked The Lumistella Company as #222 in the retail category.
List of 2009 Awards, part 1 of 2. At the Communicator Awards elfontheshelf.com received the award for Websites – Animation, Home Page, Visual Appeal, Branded Content – Business to Consumer, and Interactive Multimedia – Children’s Audience. The Cobb Chamber of Commerce named The Lumistella Company as a Top 25 Small Business of the Year, and bestowed their Marketing Award. Toy Directory Monthly awarded the Top Seller Award.
List of 2009 Awards, part 2 of 2. The Creative Child Awards gave The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition the Book of the Year award. Learning Express Toys named The Lumistella Company as the Best New Vendor. At the Hermes Creative Awards elfontheshelf.com was given Platinum awards for Web Animation and Design/Website, Home Page categories. Elfontheshelf.com was given Best Web Animation by The Stevie Awards.
List of 2008 Awards. The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition was given a Best Books 2008 designation in the Children’s Activity Book category by the National Best Books Awards. The Creative Child Awards gave The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition the Book of the Year award. The Learning Express Toys gave The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition the Best Toy Award. iParenting Media bestowed us as an Award Winner.
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Media Inquiries

If you need more information or would like to schedule an interview, please contact us as follows:

For UNITED STATES media, blogger,
and asset support inquiries:
42WEST at lumistella@42west.com

For INTERNATIONAL media and blogger inquiries:
Inga Tharandt-Hoffmeister at inga.tharandt-hoffmeister@lumistella.com

Chanda Bell with a microphone and Christa Pitts at a podium

Speaking Inquiries

Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell take audiences on captivating and inspiring journeys on topics including women in business, entrepreneurship, storytelling; creativity, business innovation, and more. Learn more about inviting them to speak at your next event.

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