Before the elf arrives - Santa sends a letter letting the kids know that the Elf is coming soon.
And.... plan for the month ahead by printing a calendar of these Elf on the Shelf activities. You can download and print one (for free)... here.
December 1 - Elf on the Shelf brings a "Welcome Breakfast". (Click on the link for the free printables.)
Or, he can just arrive in a cereal box!
December 2 - The Elf on the Shelf wraps books and movies for a countdown to Christmas.
December 3 - Elf on the Shelf gets his own key.
**Elf on the Shelf can also bring other magical items like: a magic elf glove or magic elf dust.**
December 6 - Elf on the Shelf hides in the light fixture (far away from the bulb that could burn him/her) or he covers all the family photos with pictures of himself.
December 8 - Elf on the Shelf hides in a Christmas wreath or Elf on the Shelf makes a sugary shopping list.
December 9 - Elf on the Shelf brings a gingerbread house for the kids to build and decorate.
December 10 - Elf on the Shelf brings hot chocolate from the North Pole.
December 11 - Elf on the Shelf takes a nap in a tissue box or in the butter compartment of the fridge.
December 12 - Elf on the Shelf brings "Elf Kisses" or he could build his own Elf on the Shelf Kissing Booth.
December 13 - Elf on the Shelf plays with blocks or Star Wars toys.
Or he could host his own Elf on the Shelf bake sale for charity.
December 15 - Elf on the Shelf builds a chair out of LEGO.
December 17 - Elf on the Shelf brings a letter from Santa, or he lets you know that Santa has sent you a special video message.
December 18 - Elf on the Shelf takes a marshmallow bath or plays in a bubble gum ball pit.
December 19 - Elf on the Shelf makes snowman donuts from mini donuts, mini chocolate chips and candy corn.
Or he makes a "sweet" spaghetti breakfast.
December 20 - Elf on the Shelf hides in the Christmas tree.
December 21 - Elf on the Shelf hangs from the cupboard doors.
December 22 - Elf on the Shelf brings a Christmas movie.
December 23 - Elf on the Shelf builds a snowman out of marshmallows or toilet paper, and brings a tiny note answering questions the kids have been asking about him.
He can also bring seeds for a candy cane garden. You can get the free printable tags for the seeds here.
December 25 - Elf on the Shelf leaves a good bye note and a special movie.
Or he can write a goodbye message with spray snow.
I hope you try some of these ideas with your little ones, and you if you have some other fun ideas, I'd love to hear about them. Feel free to share some of your Elf on the Shelf adventures in the comments below.
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
PS (If you are looking for some more Elf on the Shelf inspiration, you can check out my Pinterest board here.)
Some fabulous ideas here. Where I struggle with the ideas is because of the 'don't touch the elf' rule. I see some of your pictures you would have to move the elf to get the treats, how do you deal with this?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Good question. When my boys were small, the elf was always out of their reach... but now that they are older, I have a little more flexibility. However... some of these pictures were taken for the blog, then I moved the elf a little bit before the boys found him. ;-)
DeleteI know its spending more money but there is a pet reindeer tied to the elf story with his own book explaining that hes there so kids dont touch the elf instead they can touch hug and love the reindeer as much as they want
DeleteMy 6 year old saw that reindeer at the book store yesterday and really wanted to buy it. Maybe our "Elfie" will bring it as a little surprise! :-)
DeleteSome parents I know have said that adults are allowed to move the elf as long as they use a cloth or pull their sleeves over their hands just incase.
ReplyDeleteI let mine play with him for the day. Then they put him in front of the magic fireplace before they go to bed.
ReplyDeleteIn our house an adult uses a pair of cooking tongs to move our Elves Judy and Randall.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great ideas! I've also had Elf on the Shelf write notes or draw pictures with black eyeliner on his bedroom window or mirror. He also has left paper snowflakes covering him on his bed, hung a paper chain from the ceiling and held red & green balloons. Have fun (^:
ReplyDeleteWe let our daughter carry her elf around on Christmas Eve since Santa will be picking him up Christmas morning and no flying will be required. She loves taking him with us to family dinners and spending the day with him.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great help! Thanks for sharing your fantastic ideas - so fun!
ReplyDeleteMy son in law strung a line (string) from a curtain rod to a ceiling light fixture and put "Billy" in a plastic Shopping basket as if he were in a Gondola...granddaughter loved it!
ReplyDeleteWhen we need to touch our elf we email Santa to an email we set up asking for permission.
ReplyDeleteHe has a special shelf in our house. So once we find him in the morning mom or dad move him to his shelf. We tell her that he can't go anywhere else or the magic is lost
ReplyDeleteHere's some ideas our elf on the shelf has done:
ReplyDelete1. Gone fishing in our fish tank
2. Ate the left over thanksgiving dinner
3. Drank syrup out of the cabinets
4. Swung from the ceiling fan.
5. Read the toy story gang a book
6. Rode the train around the bottom of the tree
7. Put his picture in with our family picture
8. Replaced all the picture frames with his picture
9. Spelt their names in cheerios
Tons of other fun stuff
Our elves loves to toilet paper the tree, and one year they all got together and wrapped one in wrapping paper like a present. (We have 4 elves). They also like riding dinosaurs and having marshmallow fights in the den! :-)
ReplyDeleteFour elves sounds fun! I have considered getting another two so that each of my boys have one.
DeleteOur elf has iced a cake that mom was letting cool, brought special North Pole milk for cookies (draw on the milk jug with sharpies, and use food color to turn the Milk red or green), left messages on the mirrors with dry erase markers, formed a conga line with stuffed animals and a strand of lights, made a ladder of hangers from the ceiling fan, got homesick and had a pajama party in the freezer, made popcorn and snuggled with stuffed animal friends while watching a Christmas movie, and he also took mom's car for gas and parked it in the front yard (he got scolded for that one!) He also made a necklace from fruitloops and brought a box of donuts for breakfast. We have such a sweet elf!
ReplyDeleteOurs made snow angels in flour and then climbed the cupboards after to get out of reach. Sure was a pain cleaning up his hand and foot prints from the flour. Our elf is very naughty and my oldest (9) is hoping that Santa has put him in a year long time out for his bad behavior last year.
ReplyDeleteFunny!
DeleteCALLING ALL ELFERS! I'm looking for elf antics, photographs, stories and scandals to feature at work throughout December. If your elf is King or Queen of the pranks then please drop me a line via the comments section at https://mcxv.com/wanted-elf-fun-families-for-features-in-december/ or by emailing Dee.MCXV@gmail.com . I'd be really grateful for any shares if you too have elf mad mates. All ideas used will be credit to source and traffic generating links will appear throughout my December Elf Articles. Thanks. #MCXV #elfontheshelf #elfontheshelfideas #elfideas #christmasfun #christmas #family
ReplyDelete