With the chief responsibility of overseeing biweekly open houses, elves also help with other events such as holiday parties, junior parents weekend receptions and Commencement events.

In the five Houses that don't employ elves, students are paid to help with House events.

Experience in elves, however, is not required.

In one case, according to North, an elf was hired who did not know how to cook. Soon after being hired, however, he astounded the attendees at an open house with an array of wonderful cream puffs.

North says the elf later confided to her the secret to his success: long phone calls to his mother, who guided him through the recipe step-by-step.

With his ear at the phone, North says, he later went on to bake jelly and cocoa rolls.

In another instance, North says, a doctoral student accepted a job as an elf despite the fact that she had "no idea how to boil water, open a bottle of wine, plan for a party, water plants, walk a dog or any other household activity."

But by the end of her experience, she had mastered the job, North says.