So you've decided to do Elf on the Shelf and you need ideas to keep the fun going all month long, because we all know December can sometimes feel like it drags on forever when you have an Elf visitor in the house! Don't worry we've all had that panic moment of what will the Elf do tonight?!, usually mid way through December when you've just climbed into bed.
I've got you covered though with 30 different easy Elf on the Shelf ideas and tips to make the Elf on the Shelf run smoothly {although if you're reading this post mid December in a state of panic you'll just want to skip ahead to the ideas list}.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR ELF ON THE SHELF
I personally love the fun of Elf on the Shelf and coming up with interesting and new ideas each night, however I totally understand that it can be stressful for some parents and by the end of December it can even feel like a chore. My biggest tip for a fun filled and stress free month with your Elf is to start preparing before December. Follow these tips to make sure your Elf antics are as stress free as possible.
- Research Pinterest or blog posts ahead of time
- Make a secret Pinterest board of ideas.
- Join our Elf Facebook group Elfing Around
- Organise any Elf accessories you want to use ahead of time.
- Use an Elf planner to plan the month ahead.
- Set an alarm on you phone for each night in December {use a secret alarm name just in case}
- Plan your Elf arrival idea before December 1st
- If it's your first year don't forget to pick the perfect Elf name.
- Keep these easy elf hiding spots saved for nights you have no motivation.
- Print out these free elf quote cards to use with your elf ideas.
- Plan ahead if you want to do elaborate over the top elf ideas
- If you forget to move the Elf check out this post for excuses why the Elf didn't move.
- Bookmark this list of excuses to use if you're ever caught moving the Elf
- Plan how the Elf will leave once the fun is over.
ELF PROP IDEAS
I love using mini props with our Elf and I find the more years you do Elf on the Shelf the more you get into using cute little props. It can be as easy as using other toys the kids already have like mini figurines or Barbie accessories. I've also put together a post of the best elf prop shops. There's also dedicated Elf accessories like the Claus Couture and Elves at Play sets.
30 EASY ELF ON THE SHELF IDEAS
ELF ARRIVAL SPECIAL DELIVERY ENVELOPE
Have your elf arrive in style in their own special delivery envelope personalised with your child's name. Get this printable elf envelope from Etsy and add your child's or children's names before printing. It also comes with a special Elf arrival card.
ELF ARRIVAL LETTER
The Elf can bring a special personalised arrival letter when they come back to your house. Get this one pictured from Tiny Mint Shop on Etsy. There's plenty of other Elf arrival letters on Etsy if this one doesn't take your fancy.
ELF QUARANTINE KIT
One of the most popular elf ideas for 2020 was Elf quarantine and it's still relevant for 2021. All you'll need is a clear jar, or upside down glass, then either draw or print off quarantine props. You can include items like a 14 day countdown, printable masks, hand sanitiser, medical certificate, toilet paper and sign boards to change. If you want an easy ride for 14 days of December this is definitely the way to go.
ELF BUBBLE BATH
Even elves have to have a bath, but obviously you don't want them to really get wet, so make a bubble bath using cotton balls or white packing peanuts. We added a mini rubber ducky to ours and some Coles mini shampoos. Barbie pools also make great baths, or you could put the elf in a real bath tub filled with white balloons.
ELF COLOURING IN
Set up the Elf with a colouring book and some crayons or pencils. We used the That's not my Christmas colouring book as it was a good one for the Elf and girls to copy the already coloured picture {you can get an updated version of the book here}. There's also Elf colour by number sheets available here.
ELF NAME IN FLOUR
Some elves love to get up to mischief in the kitchen, including writing their name on the bench in flour. Another favourite is making snow angels in flour. Just make sure they don't do it where you need to prep food though as you won't be able to move them all day.
ELF TWISTER WITH TOYS
When the kids are asleep the toys will play. Set up a game of twister with the Elf and any other mini figurines the kids have using this free printable elf twister game. You'll also need a split pin and paper clip to create the spinner for the game.
ELF JENGA
If you have two elves {or one elf and another toy like a Barbie doll} set up a game of Jenga using kit kat pieces, wafers or even Tim Tams. To create a Jenga tower make alternating rows of 3 with each row facing a different direction to create a tower, like James and Holly did above. It will be a huge test of patience for the kids to not eat the tower during the day.
ELF ON THE SHELF MINI BOOK
Print out an Elf on the Shelf mini book so your Elf can read their story to all the other toys. Get the mini Elf on the Shelf printable book here {there's also mini versions of all the other Elf on the Shelf books included in the file}.
ELF MINI SNOWBALL CATAPULT
Your Elf can have a snowball fight with this awesome mini elf snowball catapult. To build one you'll need green and red paddlepop sticks, a plastic teaspoon, rubber bands and some mini marshmallows. Grab the instructions and printable here.
ELF LEAVES MAGIC SKITTLES SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
If your kids love science experiments or magic, the Elf {or elves} can leave some skittles to create a magic rainbow, like James and Holly did above. All the instructions to do the Skittles science experiment are here. The best part is it only takes a minute or two for the whole rainbow to appear.
ELF AND TOYS CONGA LINE
A really simple idea to throw together in a few minutes is a toy conga line with the Elf. You can use any toys you like and just line them up in a row as if they're all following each other and conga dancing. I used our animal figurines as the dinosaur was the perfect height for the Elf to ride on it's back.
ELF CLIMBING MAGIC MAGNETIC TILE WALL
Did you know you can make magnetic tiles magically stick to the wall? If you have an outward facing corner where two walls join, magnetic tiles will stick to the wall due to the metal bracing inside the wall frame. To make a magic magnetic tile wall stick a row of tiles either side of the corner and place the Elf as if it's climbing up the corner of the wall. I used clear sticky tape to keep ours in place, however if you have wired your elf it may stick to the magnetic tiles enough due to the metal wire inside.
DIY ELF SWING
Create your own DIY elf swing. Hang it from a fan, doorway, the ceiling or attach it to a paper lantern to create a hot air balloon swing. The Elf can swing upright or hang upside down like an acrobat.
ELF HELD CAPTIVE BY TOYS
This is a super quick idea to put together, just grab a few toys - animal figurines or Barbie dolls work well, then trap the Elf in a magnetic jail. When I did this the elf was held captive by dinosaurs. If you don't have magnetic tiles you could tie the Elf up with string or even tape them to the wall.
ELF CANDY CANE JAIL
If you want to go all out and send the Elf to a real jail, download this candy cane elf jail printable from This Mama Loves. It's up to you how long the elf spends in lock up!
ELF STUCK IN THE TV
If you don't want to set up an actual scene with the Elf then set up this YouTube video on the TV. Somehow the elf managed to get himself stuck inside the TV! There's four different YouTube videos, one for each type of scout elf, find links to all of them here. The Elf may need to make a stealthy escape from the TV though or it could be out of action for the day.
ELF ADVENT ACTIVITY CARDS
If you don't want to set up scenes with your Elf, or you want to mix it up then print off these free elf advent activity cards. There's 30 cards in the set including 10 blank cards where you can write your own activities. Some of the activities included on the cards are go visit Santa, make cookie, go look at Christmas lights and watch a Christmas movie.
WRAP THE CHRISTMAS TREE WITH TOILET PAPER
If you have a cheeky Elf they could wrap the Christmas tree with toilet paper. Who needs tinsel when you have toilet paper?
ELF ROLLING DOWN THE STAIRS IN TOILET PAPER
I always leave this one for a night where I'm just not motivated to come up with anything exciting. Or the night I realise at midnight after crawling into bed that the Elf didn't move! Simply put the Elf inside a roll of toilet paper and roll it down the stairs. Check out these easy elf toilet paper roll ideas for even more ways to use toilet paper with your elf.
ELF WITH WRAPPING PAPER LEGS
This one is another super quick idea to put together. You'll need a pair of shoes and two Christmas wrapping paper rolls {matching works better, but as you can see I threw this together last minute one night with whatever paper was left over}. Put the wrapping paper rolls inside the shoes and lean them up against a wall so they stay upright, then put the elf in the top so it looks like it has really long legs.
ELF HIDE AND SEEK
Another super simple idea is to hide the Elf in the cutlery drawer for the kids to find in the morning. If they're having trouble finding them, ask them to help set the table for breakfast. There's more easy elf hiding spots here.
DECORATE FAMILY PHOTOS WITH ELF HATS
The Elf might be lonely without his friends, but it's easy to turn all the family into elves with these free printable elf hats. Simply blu-tac the hats onto photo frames and voila, instant elf family.
ELF PHOTO BOOTH + PROPS
Set up your own Elf photo booth with the free printable here. The printable includes the booth, photo props {you'll need to attach to a toothpick} and photo reels in all four scout elf options.
ELF BAUBLE ZIP LINE
If your tree is near a window or door frame create a zip line with fishing line or string and hang baubles off it. The Elf will love abseiling down the zip line towards the tree.
ELF IN HOSPITAL
If you have a toy hospital set, a dolls house and some Dr peg dolls, or a Barbie nurse, you can easily set up the Elf as a patient at hospital. Use some masking tape to plaster it's hurt leg or arm etc and set it up on a bed with a Dr or nurse looking after it. This can also be used as an idea if the kids touch the Elf and it loses it's magic and needs to get better.
ELF CHANGES THE MILK COLOUR
The Elf can make a fancy milkshake with just a few drops of food colouring. 3L milk bottles are especially great for this as they're the perfect size for the Elf to hang out on in the fridge all day.
ELF OREO TOOTHPASTE PRANK
Mini Oreos are the perfect biscuit for this elf prank as the white cream can easily be substituted with white toothpaste. You could also use other mini cream biscuits. Find out how to set up the Elf Oreo prank here.
ELF KINDER SURPRISE MAGIC TRICK
To do this Kinder Surprise magic trick firstly leave the Elf with an egg for each child, a bowl of glitter or sprinkles and a note to sprinkle the egg and wait to see what happens. Then overnight swap out the eggs for Kinder Surprise eggs, voila magic! We do this one every year because the girls love it {and it also takes up two nights haha}.
ELF GOODBYE LETTER
When it's time for the elf to say goodbye, leave a special goodbye letter for the kids. You can download the one in the photo from the Elf on the Shelf website here, or there are plenty of personalised Elf goodbye letters available on Etsy.
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