Flora Johnson of Atwater, Ohio brought Christopher Pop-In-Kins to life in 1985. Christopher Pop-In-Kins, now celebrating its 24th year, is a beloved holiday story and family tradition for thousands of families across the country.
Flora wanted to create an elf that would be loved by everyone, so she turned to her young grandson, Shawn, for inspiration. With Shawn’s red hair, sweet innocent face and sparkling eyes, Shawn had every attribute of the perfect holiday elf. So, Flora modeled her elf after Shawn, and then named the little elf after her beloved grandfather, Christopher.
Christopher Pop-In-Kins is the story of an elf that longs to visit real boys and girls. Santa grants his wish by allowing him to arrive in a child’s home just after Thanksgiving and stay until just before Christmas Eve. Flora created a one-of-a-kind Christmas story by including a special game of hide and seek that never grows old. She wanted Christopher’s story to bring a new surprise and sense of wonder each day during the holiday season, and heart-warming holiday memories with each passing year. With Christopher, families read together, play together, learn, laugh and share in daily holiday fun as one of Santa’s elves comes to visit for the season.
Flora established Imaginatives™, and for many years, she and her family painstakingly made each book and each Christopher Pop-In-Kins elf doll by hand working at the kitchen table. Over the years, Flora and her family made tens of thousands of book sets. In 2004, Flora’s son Rick Johnson took Christopher Pop-In-Kins to the Chicago Gift & Home Market Show where Christopher received the 2004 Chicago’s Choice Award.
After the passing of Flora and her husband in 2005, the torch passed to Rick Johnson to carry on the family business and Flora’s dream of bringing Christopher to children of all ages, everywhere. Rick organized a new-generation Imaginatives team that has worked together to reintroduce Christopher Pop-In-Kins for 2008 with a beautiful hardbound book, newly illustrated by award-winning illustrator Brian Bradway, and an adorable, nine-inch tall, pose-able Christopher Pop-In-Kins doll.
Copyright 1985, 2002, 2007 and 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission of Imaginatives, Ltd.