Elf on the Shelf is a holiday favorite, and the Christmas season wouldn’t be the same without it for many families. Whether you’ve been an elf parent for years or are starting for the first time this year, these ideas are creative and fun to keep kids, preteens, and teens excited and engaged. If your teens are too old for the elf on the shelf tradition, but they have younger siblings, you can involve the older kids in hiding the elf.
What is The Elf on The Shelf?
The Elf on The Shelf started off as a children’s book and has evolved into a very popular holiday tradition. The idea is that an elf visits your home in December to keep an eye on your kids and report back to Santa regarding their behavior. It began with parents placing an elf on a shelf to show the kids that they were being watched. However, elf on the shelf has gone viral in recent years as parents set up elaborate jokes and schemes with the elf. Parents move the elf around at night, and kids wake up to a fun surprise.
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What are the Rules for Elf on the Shelf?
The rules for elf on the shelf are pretty simple. The main rule is that the kids cannot touch the elf, or it will lose its Christmas magic. Each night, the elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa and comes back the next morning in a new location. When the kids wake up, they’ll find the elf and giggle. They can talk to the elf, and the elf may talk back in the form of notes, but they cannot touch the elf.
1. Elf Entrance: Special Delivery on Day One
Your Elf on the Shelf has to arrive somehow, and rather than just appearing in the house, having it poke its head out of an Amazon box is more fun. It’s also fitting since Amazon packages are everywhere this time of year and you probably have one at home.
2. 6-7 Elf on the Shelf
Kids and teens everywhere are yelling “six sevennn” for no reason at all, so it’s only fitting that the Elf on the Shelf plays along with the 67 meme.
3. Pin the Nose on the Reindeer
This Elf on the Shelf idea is a play on the party game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”. The elf is blindfolded and uses small red dot stickers to “play” the game.
4. The Floor is Lava: Elf on the Shelf Edition
Everyone knows the party game The Floor is Lava, including The Elf on the Shelf. The elf gets taped to the wall to depict staying off the “lava” floor.
5. Elf Christmas Tree Farm
Set your elf up with some Christmas tree-shaped treats and invite kids and teens to help themselves.
6. Elf Twister
This is one of the most classic elf on the shelf ideas because it is so easy to do at home. Using a piece of paper, draw five dots of each color in a row (blue, green, yellow, and red.) Then, place the elf so that its hands and feet are on some of the dots.
7. Elf on the Shelf Mystery Drink Challenge
You might’ve seen a mystery drink challenge video on TikTok before. You simply cut one side off a box, and make holes in the top big enough for a straw to fit through. Then, place four drinks hidden in the box. Set your elf up next to the box as if they set it up, inviting everyone to taste and guess what’s in each cup.
8. DIY Christmas Tree
Interactive elf on the shelf setups are the best, like this one, where teens and kids are invited to decorate their own edible Christmas tree. Using pointy ice cream cones (turned upside down), green frosting, and small candies for decorations, they can make and eat their own creation.
9. Elf on the Shelf Escape Challenge
Use red streamers to set a hallway up as if it had security lasers. The streamers should be taped high and low, criss-crossing to make sure there isn’t an easy path through. Kids are challenged to get through without touching or ripping any of the streamers.
10. Sweet Tooth Elf
Set the elf up as if they are reaching into a bag of candy, and scatter empty wrappers around as if they’d already eaten a bunch. This is fun to do with your kids’ favorite candy, or use your own favorite, so you can indulge as you set up the scene.
11. Spying Elf on the Shelf
You sometimes have to put the elf somewhere harder to spot, like up high, where they can watch everything. Tape together two empty toilet paper rolls and create simple eyes out of paper to put at the end, as if the Elf is looking through binoculars.
12. Wrapped Lunch
The Elf on the Shelf loves to play pranks, and when your kids open their lunch box at school and find each item individually wrapped, they’re sure to laugh.
13. Would You Rather? Elf Edition
Create a “Would You Rather” sign, asking kids and teens if they’d rather drink elf pee (apple juice) or eat reindeer poop (chocolate chips). It’s a gross but funny Elf on the Shelf idea that kids love.
14. Elf on the Shelf Hot Tub
Fill a crock-pot with cotton balls and throw in a rubber duckie for fun, then situate your elf so it’s sitting with its body submerged and head and arms showing. For extra fun, you could set out some bath bombs for your teens and kids, but it’s not necessary for this silly elf idea.
15. Edible Friendship Bracelets
Friendship bracelets are super trendy right now, so having your elf make some is a fun idea for kids to wake up to. Use cereal with a hole in the center, like Froot Loops, to string a few bracelets together.
16. Skibidi Toilet Elf
Today’s Gen Alpha slang may baffle parents, but kids and teens live by it, which makes it fun to have your elf join in, too.
17. Giving Elf
For older kids and teens, encouraging giving items other than toys, since they may not have many of those anymore.
18. Sneaky Elf on the Shelf
Kids will think it’s hysterical that the elf painted dad’s toenails – making this elf idea one they’ll always remember.
19. Elf on the Shelf Snowball Fight
This one gets a little messy – but it’s so much fun for kids to see the elf playing with their favorite toys. For older kids and teens, pull out their old childhood favorite toy for this snowball fight scene.
20. Elf Shoe Shine
The Elf on the Shelf is not only funny, but a little annoying when you have to remove aluminum foil from your shoes before you can head out for the day.
21. Cabinets Wrapped by The Elf on the Shelf
How festive can your home become when the Elf on the Shelf puts wrapping paper on all the cabinet doors? This one is sure to surprise everyone when they wake up in the morning.
22. Spa Day Relaxing Elf on the Shelf
Set your elf up for a pamper session, placing their feet in a tiny bowl of marshmallows, wrapping toilet paper around them like a robe, and wrapping some up on their head like it’s a towel. Don’t forget to add the flameless candle to set it over the top.
23. Couch Cushion Treasure Hunt
Having your elf appear to pull things out of the couch cushions is a funny reminder to your teens and kids that someone should really clean under them. What will your elf find in your cushions?
24. Phases of the Moon
Your elf can help teach, too, because your kids are more likely to remember the phases of the moon when it’s presented in this hilarious way.
25. Take Elf on the Shelf on a Car Ride
Kids aren’t supposed to touch the elf, so taking them in the car isn’t usually possible. Having your elf stationed inside a jar or container with a lid is a safe way, and you can include a note that the elf wants to go look at Christmas lights. The jar is a fun loophole to have your kids interact with the elf.
Having Fun with Elf on the Shelf Ideas
The Elf on the Shelf is about bringing joy and magic into your home during the Christmas season. It’s a way to bring laughter, creativity, and surprise to each day during the seasonal countdown. These ideas can help you get through each day because we all know there will be days when you’re out of ideas.