Please share your elf on the shelf ideas

[TheCorrsDidDreamsBetter]

I know elf on the shelf is divisive and many feel strongly against doing this, but my son absolutely loves it. The problem is I thoroughly lack imagination, and he can't read and a lot of the pranks I have found online usually have some written pun type jokes to go with them.

So I am asking for the collective help of those who do enjoy doing elf on the shelf what sort of pranks, or scenes do you like to set up in your house?

Also this year, by a series of unfortunate events we have ended up with 5 elves. I am hoping on some days to incorporate all of them.

We have always kept it quite simple, and the elf often just moves around the house rather than setting up the sort of "hilarious" scenes you see on social media.

When the dc were little they enjoyed the elf interacting with their toys, so playing a board game with a teddy bear, or climbing up the ladder in their playmobil fire engine, or in a little lego house.

Other ideas that worked well:
Write a Christmas joke on the hall mirror in chalk pen.
Replace the Christmas tree topper.
Floating in the bath in a plastic mixing bowl (can colour the water with food colouring if you want).
Drawing glasses and a beard on family photos (in wipe-clean pen on the outside of the glass).
Making a snow angel in flour on the kitchen surface.
In the sock drawer, using a sock as a sleeping bag.
Piling up loo rolls and drawing a snowman on them.
And, out all time most loved option, decorating the Christmas tree with dad's (clean) underpants.

I'm doing similar to PP and every day the elf is playing with another toy - so this morning he was fishing with the fishing game, tomorrow he might be riding the rocking horse or having a tea party with the dinosaurs, just that sort of thing... nothing elaborate or messy. And he's not magic and I don't stop the kids playing with him!

blow up balloons & put them in a bath for a bubble bath
roll loo paper down the stairs with the elf at the bottom
we always do an elves Xmas party
I like the sock sleeping bag idea so I’ll borrow that one thank you!

one year we swapped elves with my brother and did an elf sleepover for the night

These are some really good ideas. Thank you.

Love the idea of an elves christmas party.

I was talking to my friend after I made this post and she recommended I get the elves to decorate, have them put up a few bits of tinsel and baubles every few days and I liked that idea because it killed 2 birds with 1 stone, but DS is non-verbal autistic and he loves good old fashioned slapstick comedy so I definitely need to get creative.

We've got 3 typical elf on the shelf style elves and a pair where one says naughty and one says nice on their hats and although DS can't read, they're colour coded so want to make some cheeky pranks from the naughty one and leave some treats from the nice one.

weve done the wrapping paper over the door so they have to rip it open to get through. That’s quite fun. I’ll do that again this year

I really like that idea. He absolutely loves wreaking havoc and I think tearing through wrapping paper over the door would be right up his street.

Our elf is bringing report cards, he also was found holding little ones toothbrush this morning next to the toothpaste.

Bin?

Fishing in the toilet
Sat on the kitchen floor with Christmas sweet wrappers around him with a smear of chocolate on the floor

Ours pinched the Uno cards and held up 6 and 7 this morning....aimed at the tweets.

In the past we've had:
An elf in quarrentine under and upside down bowl (covid years).

Elf jenga made of kit kat fingers
Drawing faces on a bunch of bananas with a sharpie.
Writing on a mirror with lipstick
Bungee jumping from a light fitting
Wrapping the tree in loo roll or paper.
Wrapping the school shoes up.
Elf hide and seek....left a note and were gone for a good few days before they were located in a cereal box.
Toothpaste in the middle of an oreo cookie
Having a hot tub in a bowl of mini marshmallows
Making a staircase out of tin cans up the side of the cupboards.
Joyriding in a toy car.
Hanging pants on the christmas tree
Creating a zip line
Flour angels
Painting Dad's toenails while he slept
Stealing Mum's advent calendar chocolate
Stealing anything else
Hanging the car keys on the chriatmas tree
Wrapping the toilet up
Getting mini inflatable rings and floating in the bath.
Tipping pees in the bath or sink. (peed in the bath)
Making ginger bread....springle ground ginger all over a slice of bread
Bringing a melted snowman...puddle and some snowman decorations

My teeny brain is just managing them in the airfryer tonight with a sheet of paperroll as their blankie

These above are fab 👏👏👏

Go to

shelfelf_inspo

on instagram for some ideas.

ive just remembered that I’ve purchased some elf stickers & was going to decorate the tent that’s on my daughters bed. Can’t remember where the blooming stickers are!

I went easy tonight & they are just hanging from our drying rack

I have just learnt that you can use half of one of those big paper clips, poked inside their arms to make their arms maneuverable for hooking onto things or holding things up. 🤯🤯🤯

So simple but genius.

This is the problem I have had. Last year I bought so much stuff, didn't end up using it, mostly because I couldn't think of creative ways to use it, and now I've got the time to do it this year, I can't find anything.

Also how we ended up with 5 elves. Couldn't find the one from last year, asked all the adults to keep an eye out for it, everybody had same idea to just buy more, got 4 in the post and suddenly last years turned up.

I also bought one of those 24 day elf kits last year and hid it away from the eyes of tiny children, and hid it so well I haven't got a clue where it is and I waited until midnight yesterday to try and find it before realising it is lost and buying another is redundant now.

This is a great idea. Although some parents on mumsnet will freak at it! But one night won’t hurt!

thankfully it’s been a few years since we had the elf, but I remember using a face mask as a hammock in the christmas tree during covid times

I have seen some hilarious rude ones but nothing really creative and suitable for kids this year.

I only did the Elf one year and that was enough! I tried to stick to mainly handmade things from around the house…

The elf wrote DC’s name in toothpaste on the side of the bath

MIL knitted pants for the elf and I broke up some matchmakers chocolate to be ‘poo’ and say the elf on top of the toilet with loo paper screwed up

the elf had a sunbathe on the kitchen worktop - tray of sand, I borrowed a palm tree from the nativity figurines, and bought mini sunglasses for the elf on amazon

Elf was poorly one day - snuggled him up in a blanket with a thermometer and plasters next to him

Elf hung upside down from the lounge light one night

He tried to climb the Christmas tree another night

He sat on a bottle of ketchup on the kitchen floor and squirted some on a target I drew on paper and stuck to a kitchen cupboard

Left Elf with a pile of screwed up paper balls (‘snowballs’) and a handwritten note saying ‘want to fight?!’

Elf had his hands in the biscuit tin one night and tried to decorate cookies with DC’s favourite soft toy another night

Putting googly eyes on things in the fridge
Green wee in the toilet ( drop of food colouring )
Snow Angels in flour

Ours has wrapped sons shoes in tin foil, did a poo on the side of the bath, made a snowman out of toilet rolls, dressed up like a banana and hidden and tonight has eaten all the chocolates off the tree

😄

Bugger! I forgot the elf!

I saw this on FB and copied it this morning. I taped him on the back of my dressing gown. We spent a long time looking for him before they noticed and both laughed their heads off.