Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Family Fun this Christmas
This year will be my family’s seventh year of Elf on the Shelf. And let me tell you, our kiddos (no matter their age) look forward to this every single year.
After a few days of fun shenanigans, it can become a challenge to think of new ideas and places to hide your elf.
Over on my site, I have over 200 Elf on the Shelf ideas that make planning so much easier for mom!
How to Get Started with Elf on the Shelf
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If this is your first year, you can grab your Elf on the Shelf over on Amazon. You can get a boy or a girl and it’s a boxed kit that comes with a book that tells the story to children how Elf travels back to the North Pole every night to report behavior to Santa. You can use these behavior reports for some of your shenanigans.
The pack comes with two reports, one for good behavior and one for naughty behavior. And on the days that there is naughty behavior we have a rule at our house that the elf does not move that night.
Naming Your Elf on the Shelf
You will also want to name your Elf on the Shelf. This can be a super fun activity for the entire family.
We have three elves. Our first one went missing a few years ago. I seriously could not remember where I stored him at the end of the season. To replace him we purchased another boy elf and named him Jack. The next year we bought Jack and friend and named her Diane.
And then what do you know, last year we found our missing elf…. story of my life. We now hide all three and some of our older kids help and keep quiet for the little kids.
Elf on the Shelf Welcome Letter
Our favorite day is arrival day for elf (or elves).
Each year I print out this Elf on the Shelf welcome letter. I plug in my kids’ names at the top and sign Jack and Diane’s names to the bottom. There is a welcome letter version with a boy elf and one with a girl elf.
Pick your favorite one to use.
Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas
Our elf has brought breakfast, sometimes they make green milkshakes, things for hot cocoa and a movie night, wearing a Christmas sweater, sometimes we find him working out, hiding in our tree and even stealing the dog treats.
You read that right. Our elf stole the dog treats after we found our dog chewing on our elf. It was super fun and our kids thought it was hilarious.
Elf on the Shelf Printables to Use During the Lead Up to Christmas
One of my favorite things to do is to utilize printables during Elf on the Shelf season. Let’s face it, life gets busy and sometimes to print and go just makes life easier.
Our elf has brought a dot printables (which are great for fine motor skill development), Elf coloring pages, envelopes and paper to write letters to Santa and more! The list goes on and on!
If you need help mapping out your Elf on the Shelf fun, I really suggest using a printable calendar dedicated to all the fun. That way you don’t take a chance of your kids seeing it on your family calendar for those kids who enjoy playing along!
This bundle pack below is the perfect way to kick off your planning and to make everything easy! You save over 30% when you grab the bundle.
Is this your first year to do Elf on the Shelf? What are you most excited about?
If you’ve been doing Elf on the Shelf for a while, what is your go-to idea when you forget to move him…. we all know it happens from time to time.
Looking for other ideas to countdown to Christmas with just like this fun suggestions for Elf on the Shelf. Then check out these ones below
Crystal
Crystal is a Dallas Mom Blogger at crystalandcomp.com. She has all boys- six of them are still at home (ages 1-16) and two boys who are grown. She homeschools and loves to share and create printables for parents who teach their kiddos at homeas well or parents who are looking to supplement a public school education. She also enjoys helping moms get dinner on the table. Her meal planning kits are pretty awesome as well!