The identity of the mother who was nicknamed the ‘Elmswell Elf’ after being secretly Christmas Gifts have appeared at the doorsteps of 220 houses.
Tanya Utting, 37, of Elmswell in Suffolk, bought presents and distributed them to ‘spread love and a little bit of joy’ in random acts of Christmas kindness.
She would go out after 10 p.m. almost every night during December and leave flowers, plant bulbs and chocolates at the door with pictures of unsigned Christmas cards.
Tesco Activist Tanya kept her identity a secret, while residents were left to guess who was leaving the gifts in her home village of Elmswell.
Tanya Utting, 37, of Elmswell in Suffolk, posed with her seven-year-old daughter Tilly, bought gifts and distributed them to ‘spread love and a little joy’ in random acts of Christmas kindness.
When a resident saw footage of her on a doorbell camera and posted it on a local Facebook page, she almost went gaga.
But Tanya could not be identified in the video apart from a few close friends who agreed to share her secret.
Last week, she also appeared on ITV’s This Morning, where she was interviewed by Vernon Kay and Rochelle Humes wearing wigs and putting them back on camera so that no one would know who she was.
At first, the idea was to leave gifts for elderly residents in sheltered bungalows near their home, after hearing that they were plagued by anti-social behaviour.
And on December 1, pensioners were happy to receive their amazing gifts of bulbs and potted plants.
Since then, the idea snowballed and Tanya hooked up with her supervisor at Tesco, who helped her donate items to hand out anonymously.
When a resident obtained this footage of her from the doorbell camera and posted it on the village’s Facebook page, she was almost stunned.
He was also helped by his seven-year-old daughter Tilly.
Tanya, who completed her delivery on 23 December, said: ‘I would just pick a street and park it in a spot that I couldn’t see.
‘I choose the house at random and they will get a gift.
‘I started at the beginning of the village and worked my way into every street.
‘I went in as chocolates for the kids, and some of my friends who were in it would tell me which houses had kids so I could visit them.
‘I came to the local co-op a couple of times and I could hear people talking about Elmswell Elf and wondering who he was, so I kept my mouth shut.
‘Some footage from the doorbell showed me in my typical bobble hat, so I had to stop wearing it while driving to school, in case anyone recognized it.
Fortunately, Tanya could not be identified in the video, except for a few close friends who agreed to share her secret, so her identity remained a secret.
‘I just wanted to illuminate the people, especially the elderly residents.
‘I wanted to make him feel special.
‘Great to read all the feedback on the village’s Facebook page.
‘People felt so touched that they had received a gift and didn’t know where it came from.
‘I decided to get myself out in time for Christmas, and I hope to gift again next year, although it will no longer be a secret.
‘If I could give a gift to every house in the village, but it is impossible – there are so many houses in the village now.’
The 37-year-old said her daughter Tilly has been ‘amazing’: ‘What a little helper.
‘She never said a word to anyone, even when I was waiting to leave school and people were questioning me.
The 37-year-old mother pictured with her seven-year-old daughter, Tilly, is depicted as the ‘Elmswell Elf’, and during her stint as Santa’s younger assistant, she was asked to appear on ITV’s This Morning.
‘She just stood there fully poker faced and didn’t let anything happen.’
Tanya’s welder husband, Richard, 43, said: ‘I just told Tanya that if she wants to do it she should go for it.’
Surprise gifts included ceramic houses with poinsettias, amaryllis, hyacinth bulbs, potted plants, and plants inside.
Tanya’s chocolate gifts included Kit Kat Santa, Malteser reindeer and Dairy Milk snowmen.
She said she was shocked to receive a call inviting her to ITV’s This Morning programme, and thought it was a villager shutting her down.
But she added: ‘They agreed that I could wear a silver wig, turn my back to the camera, and hide my voice.
‘I never thought it would reach that level and was a little overwhelmed.
After that there was a lot of discussion in the village about who is the Yogini. People at work also wondered why I was buying so many things.’
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