Elf on the Shelf!

Parent notice: Find the elf, find the elf, find the elf! Remember where you left him last year!

It’s almost time for the elf to return!! Throughout December your house might have a cheeky visitor too – we have two who get up to all sorts of antics.

My household only has a toddler, but you can use or adapt ideas for bigger kids too – there’s no age limit on the fun!

So, some tips to get prepared for this year:

1. Plan out your elf’s activities – ours sometimes introduce an activity for the day or deliver a small present/treat, e.g. the last day of term. This way you can make sure you have everything that you need sorted.
2. Get the bits ready for the whole month if you can, December is usually busy enough as it is without worrying about a mischievious visitor… But… make sure this is kept hidden from little eyes!
3. Think about the arrival and departure of your elf… if my craft skills allow it (which is yet to be seen), then ours will be arriving by hot air balloon, obviously, with a clue to the hidden location of Mini Mumbler’s advent calendar. (Secretly, I LOVE all this Christmas magic too… maybe more than my child, but that’s by-the-by).

Some ideas for those extra little touches!

Elf Paper

Now, in my head, Santa’s helpers would have fancy paper scrolls, so, naturally, this is what I’m trying to create… I’ve soaked some sheets of paper in tea – make sure not to burn yourself, it works with just warm water – then leave them to dry, before adding your best ‘elf handwriting’ and tying up with a festive ribbon or string. You can reuse packaging for the wrapping to save on cost!

Treasure Hunt

If you’ve got a morning, perhaps a weekend or once the school’s have broken up, to keep the kids entertained for a bit, bring out the treasure hunt! Our elf will be hiding things around the house alongside a series of clues – this year it’s going to be all the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle – from the charity shop, for about £1 – that Mini Mumbler will need to find and then complete! You can make the clues, and jigsaw/hidden items, as complex or simple as you like depending on the age of the children, picture clues work well, or maybe you could be super creative and make them rhyme!

Elf Crackers

This is stroke of genius, if I do say so myself, *Saucer Crackers* – what are these? Honestly, I assume just decorative, however, for £1.50 (from Asda) for a pack, they are perfectly sized elf crackers – brilliant!

Link to Activities

We like to use the elves to introduce some festive activities sometimes, for example, we’re heading for a family trip to Longleat’s Festival of Lights – so the elves will be undertaking a safari with play animals that morning!

Use What You Already Have

Don’t make it unnecessarily complicated, everyone has different budgets and priorities, you can make this absolutely magical for very little cost. Some of my Mini Mumbler’s favourite toys are vehicles and dinosaurs (as you might well have guessed for a 3yo), so our elves will be staging a police chase on one day, fire fighting rescue from the tree on another and a dino feeding session on a third!

Use Signs/Instructions

Add to the magic and mystery (plus cover up any creative blips!) with explanatory signs or notes, children will absolutely adore the magic of it and it allows for any instructions to be given from the elves themselves, rather than parents, so as not to spoil it!

Move Around the House

I try not to put the elf in the same room on two consecutive days, to keep little ones guessing and to add to the fun!

In our house, you are allowed to touch the elf, which I realise doesn’t correlate to the book, however, I will pick my battles with a toddler! He also doesn’t judge ‘naughty or nice’, but they still have loads of fun!