Our oldest daughter has believed in elf magic since her Elf on the Shelf, Elfy Snow White, arrived to our home five years ago. She wasn’t quite three the first time he surprised her with his nightly mischief and daily gifts. Yes, it’s been five long years of holiday seasons waking up in a panic thinking, “did I move the elf?”. This year, I partnered with Oriental Trading and they delivered a box to help take away the panic when you realize your children are about to discover the elf didn’t move since the last time they saw him hanging out on the Christmas tree the night before. These six easy Elf on the Shelf ideas will definitely help with the elf planning and bring many parenting wins as you watch your child discover the elf magic each morning.
Elfy Snow White was just as excited to see this box of fun from Oriental Trading as I was because he is tired of getting placed on a boring spot of the Christmas tree every time my husband is in charge of moving him.
Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas
1) Deliver a fireplace
If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ve already seen some of the fun Elfy Snow White has been up to. For years my daughter has been worried about Santa delivering her presents without a fireplace. Each year she is relieved to see the gifts Christmas morning but by the time we get back around to December, she is again asking, “does Santa deliver to houses without a fireplace?” Our Elf on the Shelf must have heard the concern this year because he dug through our recycling bin to find cardboard and then painted my daughter a fireplace. He placed it right under our family stockings! Mom for the win. The Fireplace Cardboard stand up took less than a minute to get out of the box and quietly display in the kitchen before the kids woke up.
2) Decorate a Christmas tree hat
Our Elf on the Shelf knows a decorated Christmas tree would be a zillion times more fun if it was actually a hat! The Christmas Tree Hat also makes an excellent accessory for your next ugly sweater holiday party!
3) Help with homework
Definitely make a copy of your child’s homework before your Elf on the Shelf tries to help. Only a real elf would also deliver Elf on the Shelf pencils to make this month’s homework fun.
4) Make an apron
All elves like to bake. Take a look on Pinterest, every Elf on the Shelf makes a mess with snow angels in sprinkles, beautiful decorated cupcakes and even homemade gingerbread houses. But how many elves actually deliver an apron with craft supplies for personalization? The Gingerbread Child’s Apron Kit is a great holiday craft and super special baking surprise from the Elf!
5) Decorate the North Pole
Who lives in the North Pole? It’s up to your children to decide with this holiday craft. Our Elf on the Shelf delivered Eskimo Sticker Scenes so my daughters could decorate their own winter scene.
6) Share an advent calendar
Every year I miss the December 1st deadline to gift my daughter a chocolate advent calendar. Luckily this year the Elf on the Shelf Countdown Calendar showed up before I had to explain my mistake.
We have a few more great Elf on the Shelf ideas happening this week in our home with Oriental Trading products. I can’t wait to see baby sister’s reaction to the Color Your Own Santa’s Workshop our Elf on the Shelf is delivering tomorrow.
How do you find creative Elf on the Shelf ideas for your home?
For standard shipping you must order by December 18th to receive your shipment by Christmas.
If you really feel like getting festive with your Elf on the Shelf, let Oriental Trading help him throw a fabulous surprise Christmas party! Learn more about Oriental Trading and how they can help you with easy Elf on the Shelf ideas by connecting with them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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