If, like me, you love the idea of doing lovely, fun things for your children, such as Elf on The Shelf, but you are far too scatty to plan things out in great detail, this post is for you. I’m certainly no Pinterest pro so all my easy elf on the shelf ideas are fun and simple, perfect for scatty parents like me.
How does elf on the shelf work?
Elf on the shelf can work however you want it to work! We like to stick to the ‘rules’ where we can just in case Aria tells her friends about her elf’s shenanigans. Santa sends Sparkle the Elf down from the North Pole on the 1st December to keep an eye on Aria. Every night she flies back to the North Pole and reports Aria’s behaviour to Santa. She usually causes a little mischief on her return to our house. If Aria has been particularly good Sparkle may bring her a treat. Sparkle doesn’t move during the day, but she is always watching. Aria absolutely must not touch Sparkle, if she does the magic will wear off. Sparkle leaves our house on the night of 23 December, Santa is so busy on Christmas Eve he needs as many elves in the North Pole as possible, and Sparkle loves to help. She doesn’t leave empty handed though, she leaves a box full of Christmas Eve treats along with a departure letter.
How do I get started with elf on the shelf?
Buy an elf! It’s that simple. We started with the elf for Christmas reward kit, this came with everything that we needed to get started including an arrival letter from Santa, a departure letter, a reward chart, stickers and so much more. The kit explains everything so have a read through it and start having fun!
Elf on the shelf doesn’t have to be complicated, it really can be easy and fuss free.
What if I forget to move the elf?
Of course I forget to move the elf, I am the scattiest of all! If I forget to move the elf I try to sneak downstairs first thing and do something simple, “oh no, elf is ill so didn’t get up to anything fun” is a great excuse. Your child will be so concerned about their poor elf that they won’t for one second think you are incompetent. Other excuses include : “you were naughty, elf forgave you this once and didn’t want to tell Santa about your behaviour so she stayed put”, “I’m so sorry, I got up to pee, elf must have heard me and stayed put so she didn’t get caught!”.
What if my child is sleeping out, can they take their elf?
Assuming that the person they are staying with is happy to join in the elf fun, of course they can take their elf to a sleepover! Aria slept over at her nan’s house while our elf was living with us, so our elf put herself into a jar so that Aria could carry her around for the day and take her with her without ruining the magic.
What easy, but fun things can I do with the elf?
There are so many quick, easy but fun things that you can do with the elf that your children will love, these were just a few of our favourites:
You’ve been well behaved, the elf has bought a reward chart and stickers for you, you’re on the nice list at the moment! It looks like your elf had fun playing with your other toys, and also trying on your jewellery!
Let’s take an elfie! Your elf took a selfie and printed off two copies, one for you and one for her.
How very quaint, your elf is having a tea party with her friends, your doll is pouring her a cup of tea and they have plenty of cake!
Woohoo! Looks like elf had fun last night, she created a zip wire to the Christmas tree!
Elf bought treats! She bought candy canes back from the factory in the North Pole and decided to decorate our Christmas tree with them.
Elf knew that you were going to be snowed in today so she bought some fun craft activities for you to enjoy indoors.
Elf loves an audience and decided to perform a puppet show for your toys, Rodney Reindeer the finger puppet is the main star, she even has puppets on her feet! (I have no idea why I spelt puppet with two t’s there!?).
LOOK! Elf has bought you a blank letter and pens so that you can write your list to Santa. Yes, with only five days left. This guide is for scatty parents after all!
Elf bought some snow back from the North Pole and decided to decorate our window with a countdown to Christmas!
Elf is under arrest! She hijacked Dusty the Garbage truck and attempted to clean up your advent calendar toys! She already has some but the Police Officer has caught her red handed!
Elves poop chocolate! Sparkle decided to use the dolls potty and pooped some rather delicious chocolate chips into it!
