Holidays are looming large. Before we can even blink, they will be here. At our house, that means are elves will make their appearance soon. Yes, I said elves. My house has two, one boy and one girl for each of my kids to someday take to their own house when they are grown. Red and Snowflake normally appear soon after Thanksgiving and leave Christmas Eve. Which means I spend almost a month helping them bring a little Elf on the Shelf magic to our house. Is it easy? No, but I do mostly enjoy it (I mean not every night do I enjoy worrying about them.) I want to share a few fun and simple ways to enjoy your elf this season.
Number one make it what fits your family and your style. If you are a low-key person, then do not worry about it – just move them around your house. Keeping it simple is perfectly fine. Start out easy to spot and make it harder to find as the season passes on. Kids will enjoy this simple fun. If you are someone who enjoys doing more, then go for it. But realize you do not have to be elaborate every night. I am somewhere in between. Somedays they just move, and somedays they have a little more spirited fun. I make it work for my energy level that night.
If you like to do more, here are some fun Elf on the Shelf ideas.
Have Your Elf Bring Supplies for Activities
If you are already planning to do some fun family activities, have your elf bring the supplies. We do this a lot. The day we plan to do gingerbread houses, the elves have the box with them, cookie baking they are in a bowl with the sprinkles or mix, and so on. You plan a movie night, have them by the tv with some popcorn. It is something you already plan on doing, and you just let them tell the kids that is the plan for the day. My kids really like this type of set up. This lets them know our plans and it is fun.
Have Your Elf Get Into Mischief
If you like to stage funny scenes with your elf, there are so many fun ideas online. Just google “elf fun ideas” and you will get so many ideas and check out our Elf on the Shelf Pinterest board full of ideas. Some of my favorites are making a snowman out of toilet paper rolls, sack races or slumber parties with stuffed animals, have them roll your Christmas tree with toilet paper, and so many more simple and fun ideas. You can look for hours.
Use Free Printable Games and Crafts
Lastly, there are tons of printable ideas you can easily print and use. Elfontheshelf.com is a great resource for printables and activities. They have printable games, scavenger hunts, crafts, and so much fun. I use a few ideas each year. They print colorful and fun. Just remember to grab them off the printer at home if you do it while the kids are around. Do not want them to see what you are planning.
My best advice is plan ahead and enjoy it. If you have older kids who can help, then recruit them to help you. Set an alarm if you forget to move them easily. This will help you from waking up in the middle of the night in a panic. But the most important thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy it.
