Hey there Hoppereenoos!!
Looks like Phase 2 of the TSTO Christmas 2014 Event has brought back another favorite of mine (though minus SEEING the electrocution I giggled so much at). This is in the form of the Elf Bottler.
The main currency for Phase 2 is Bells. To get Bells, you gotta fire bottled Elves out of the Cannon. To get Elves Bottled you have to find them and tap on them…or…collect 3,700 Bells and get the Elf Bottler.
First things first, activate the Elf Bottler. This is quick. Just tap on the Elf Bottler Icon in the top right corner of the game.
It will trigger the Pop Up explaining the Elf Bottler. Just tap the screen anywhere to clear this message. 
Now that it is ready to get…let’s give it a try…
HOW DO I MAKE IT WORK? HOW DO YOU GET THE SPARKS? HELP!!
Now comes the part that trips people up. So a few pointers first. Myself, I have the touch screen sensitivity turned down low AND a screen protector. What does this mean? It senses my fingers enough to play the game with a simple tap, but the device may have a lil harder time picking up on the amount of sensitivity needed for the Bottler/Zapper. So this will be a lil trial and error til you get down just how soft or hard to push to get it to pick up. You may have to adjust YOUR device sensitivity.
Next suggestion, try and tap when you are really close to at least one Elf. Just be careful, it is also best to try and tap on areas WITHOUT anything around. This is so you do not activate a task or a building nearby instead with your tap.
Press one finger to your game and hold it there. If it picks up on your finger, you will see lightning bolts start to shoot out from underneath. On my phone, it was a softer tap to get it to trigger. On my tablet, a harder tap. Again, just try until you figure out your device sensativity.
Once you see those sparks…DO NOT LET GO!! (Once you let got the Bottler/Zapper will stop.)
As the lightning bolts continue to shoot out…drag your finger across the screen continuing to hold down and not let go. Now you do not really need to see the Elves to Bottle them. Just make slow passes in areas that you can’t really see around. Like highly decorated, forest type, lots of tall buildings around, essentially locations you wouldn’t be able to see the Elves by just a quick look. 
Once you pass by them, you will see the Elf in a Bottle pop out and, if you have the Cannon Control Building placed, random Cogwheels too.
It is interesting to see them pop out of areas you didn’t even realize an Elf was hiding out in.
WHAT IF I JUST CAN’T GET IT TO WORK?
You are welcome to contact EA if you feel there is an issue with the Zapper. Some devices just really do not like the feature. Outside of that, just stick to “hide and seek” with the Elves.
So let’s play Hide and Seek. To do the “Hide” portion, tap on your Movement Menu icon in the lower right corner in your game.
This will take you to the screen to move items around. It is also the screen you can use the “Eyes” to “Hide” Objects. In this case, Buildings and Decorations the Elves may be hiding behind. Just tap the “Eye” to close it and the object will be hidden. For the Elves, they are a “Character” so close all but the Characters icon.
Now for the “Seek”. Start to scroll around town to see if some Elves are hidden in areas you just could not see. Once you locate them you can back out of the Movement Screen and tap on them as soon as you get a chance. (This is where that Bottler/Zapper comes in handy. Getting ones you can’t see.)
To give you an idea, here are a few areas in regular viewing mode vs hidden mode. 
Here is an image of what seemed like one Elf in the area is actually THREE Elves. 
That should give you a few options to locate the Elves not matter whether you use the Bottler/Zapper or not.
Now go give it a try and see what you figure out. Let me know if this post helped you out. Need more information? Have more questions? Having fun yet? Lol. Sound off in the comments below.
~Bunny