The Ultimate Elf on the Shelf Idea Cheat Sheet for Busy Moms – LIKE YOU!!
The holiday season is here, and so is the return of everyone’s favorite mischievous little visitor—your family’s Elf on the Shelf! If you’ve ever found yourself scrambling late at night for a clever idea, don’t worry—I’ve got you covered. Over the years, I’ve tried it all, from simple setups to elaborate antics, and I’ve compiled all my tried-and-true favorites into this easy-to-follow cheat sheet. Whether you’re a first-time Elf host or a seasoned pro, these ideas are sure to bring big smiles (and maybe a little extra magic) to your holiday season. Let’s make this year’s elf adventures stress-free and unforgettable!
I have such a love for this elf tradition—the magic it brings, the laughter, and the smiles make all the late-night setups completely worth it. Let’s be real, though, it does feel like a second job sometimes! At this point in our elf journey, Snowflake—and our newest addition, Sprinkle—have their very own handwriting, stationery, and even specific pens. Why? Because I’m absolutely TERRIFIED of getting caught! LOL. I never want the magic to end, so I do everything I can to disguise my handwriting so my genius kids don’t notice.
As someone who hand letters for a living, this is no small task. My handwriting is everywhere in our home, so I have to try extra hard to switch it up. Fingers crossed they haven’t figured me out yet!
Anyway, let’s dive in! Here are ___ creative and fun ideas you can try with your elf this holiday season.
Toilet Paper the House!!
I can usually find cutesy toilet paper around the holidays so I pick it up for this reason!
The Floor is Lava!
All you need is some painters tape and a sharpie for this one. The Kids love it!
Christmas tree farm
Letters to Santa!
Have the elf write their own letters to Santa to get the kids excited about writing their letters! – we have a fun local drop off so we write our letters and then take them over that night!
Ornament/ Gift Making
This is one we do EVERY single year. We love to give homemade gifts so our elves bring us all the supplies to make them for our friends and family each year.
I grab all kinds of materials from the craft store make and example or two and then let the imagination run wild!
Some of our favorite makes are christmas cards, photo ornaments, handprint artwork and salt dough ornaments
Baking Cookies
checkout the Doll House miniatures section next time you’re at the craft store. I find so many good elf props there including these teeny gingerbread cookies, cookie cutters and rolling pin!
Mr Grinch
Just a fun way for the grinch elf to come play, I made swings out of TP rolls and hung them from the mantel
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Breakfast with Buddy!
I used construction paper to create a “Buddy The Elf” outfit – we made buddy’s spaghetti out of pancakes – I put the batter in a squeeze bottle and made small lines of pancakes to resemble spaghetti and of course CANDY – this one is still talked about years later!! Highly recommend doing this one
Can pair this with an ELF movie night!
Time for a Hair Cut!!
Dad will have to take one for the team if you decide to try this – I promise the reactions are totally worth it LOL
Toilet Paper Igloo
Game Night!
Print out some tiny pictures of your kids favorite game and have the elf get the excitement going for game night
Gymnastics
have barbie gymnastics set? or anything at all? they work great as props for the elves!
Spelling Bee!
Practice those spelling words and have some fun along the way!
You’re A Wizard Harry!
Made a Griffindor outfit out of some felt and a glue gun and printed out photos of the great hall and glued them into a cardboard box!
This one is sure to be a hit if you are HP Fans
Eye See You!
Use googley eyes everywhere!!
Hide & Seek
Sleepover!
I made some sleeping bags out of scrap fabric for each of our elves when my daughter went for a sleepover so they could go with!
Grinch Movie Night
if you have a grinch elf, now is the time to bring him out. Grinch themed snacks and goodies galore!
Whoopsie Poopsie!
Elf made a mess in the bathroom -uh oh!
use melted Hersey kisses to help win this one in the funny factor!
Santa Says you ROCK!
use canned goods and construction paper to form a drum set for your elf!
Snowflakes!
This one is a GREAT last minute idea – use Qtips and form them into snowflakes
Yucky – Dog Treats!
Have the elf hanging out of the dog treat container
Tell Santa Hi!
Planning to see Santa? Elf asks the kids to say hi to Santa for them!
