25 Kid Friendly Elf on the Shelf Ideas

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Elf On A Shelf is going to do to make your kids laugh and smile. Check out our favorite 25 Kid Friendly Elf On The Shelf Ideas for this year.

Elf on the shelf is a fun tradition but it can also be tedious. It’s hard to come up with so many ideas over and over again.

Instead of driving yourself crazy this year use these 25 kid friendly elf on the shelf ideas to keep things fresh, fun, and happy without any wild planning.

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It’s that time of year again. The time to think about what your Elf On A Shelf is going to do to make your kids laugh and smile. Check out our favorite 25 Kid Friendly Elf On The Shelf Ideas for this holiday season.

Not only are these elf on the shelf pranks fun and silly, but they are great for getting your kids involved in the holiday spirit. With a few items around the house and some creativity, you can quickly put together a fun Elf On A Shelf scene that will make their days better!

We are sharing some of our own ideas, as well as some links to great ideas on some of our favorite blogs. These are really some clever, and even funny elf on the shelf ideas to try out in your house this year!

25 Kid Friendly Elf On The Shelf Ideas:

Elfie Cooks Breakfast: Stage your elf with flour dust on their face in front of a bowl of cereal. Sprinkle a few pieces of cereal and drops of milk on the table to make it look like they made the bowl. You can even leave the cap off the milk, and lay the box down on it’s side. This is one of the best elf on the shelf pranks because it’s so easy to spot first thing in the morning!

Elfie Builds A Snowman

Elfie Takes A Bath: Fill the bathroom sink or a small doll bathtub with bubbles. Wrap small cloth or “towel” around Elfie and place him outside tub with a trail of bubbles behind him so it looks like he just got out of the bath.

Elfie Goes To School: Tuck Elfie in the pocket of your kids backpack with a tiny book (make using folded pieces of paper you have stapled together).

Elfie Roasts Marshmallows

Elfie Takes Selfies: Place your smart phone in front of Elfie with him posing for a selfie. Make sure to take a few pictures so you can show your kids how naughty/silly he has been.

Elfie Plays Video Games: After your kids go to bed, create a new profile on their favorite video game under Elfie’s name. Play a few rounds of the game to give him a score. Spread games and controllers in front of the tv on floor and place Elfie by it to show he “played video games all night”.

Elfie Plays Twister

Elfie Gets Into The Nutella: Smear some Nutella on Elfie’s face and put him with a spoon near an empty container. Make him look like he has a Nutella Hangover. This is one of my favorite elf on shelf ideas!

Elfie Goes For A Ride: Put Eflie in one of your kids toy cars to look like he decided to take it for a spin after everyone went to bed.

Elfie Gives Kisses

Elfie Reads Books

Elfie Feeds The Pets: If you have a pet indoors, this is a great time to put Elfie in their bag or bin of kibble. You can say he was trying to feed them but got stuck and couldn’t get out.

Elfie Paints Makes It Snow: If you live where there isn’t snow very often, grab a white washable paint pen and make Elfie paint snowflakes on your windows or mirrors.

elf on the shelf in the plants

Elfie Has Fun Making Snowflakes

Elfie Toilet Papers The House: After kids are in bed, use a roll of toilet paper to create streamers on their bedroom door making it tough for them to get out without breaking through. Elfie made a toilet paper trap for them!

Elfie Becomes A Hair Stylist

Elfie Graffiti’s The Family Portrait

Elfie Goes Ziplining: Hang a piece of dental floss or fishing line from a light or ceiling fan down to a counter or table. Attach Elfie halfway down the line as if he is ziplining.

Elfie Goes Fishing: Prop Elfie on the edge of a bowl of water with gummy fish inside. Put a mini fishing pole in his hand so it looks like he is fishin.

Elfie Opens A Kissing Booth

Elfie Cleans Up: Put a bandanna over Elfie’s head and give him a small broom or cloth for cleaning (doll accessories are great). Have him sweep up a pile of dirt/dust showing he helps out around the house too.

Elfie Becomes A Pirate

Elfie Oversleeps: Place a small alram clock next to Elfie and pull a “blanket” over his head with his hand on the alarm as if he hit the snooze button.

Elfie Tries To Shave: Put Elfie on the bathroom counter with an open can of shaving cream and a razor next to him. Make sure to put dollops of shave cream all over the counter and a few snips of doll hair to make it look like he really did.

More fun with Elf on the Shelf:

Have fun this year making your Elf On The Shelf a big part of your family Christmas traditions. Check out these and other great ideas or create your own.

Have fun dressing your Elfie up in different clothes, buying fun accessories or moving him around to make him seem more life like. These 25 kid friendly Elf On The Shelf ideas are sure to make your kids squeal with delight this holiday season!

You won’t need a lot of complicated stuff for this idea for your elf on the shelf. You will need a few simple things that you probably already have at home. If you are looking for accessories and other items that will go great with your elf on the shelf ideas this year check out these shopping links:

Looking for more Elf on the Shelf ideas and content? 

There are a few other posts we have that will make your Elf on the Shelf experience fun for the upcoming Christmas season. You can find a few fun and naughty ideas with these 25 Naughty Elf on the Shelf Ideas or Elf on the Shelf Report Card Printable!

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6 Comments

  1. Hilarious ideas! I tried every one of these creative hiding spots for my daughters elf on the shelf. Thanks so much for the suggestions!

  2. These are great ideas. I don’t do much with my Elf but I am so glad you gave me ideas. Thank you for sharing at Dishing it and Digging it link party.

  3. What a fun collection of Elf ideas. I like the one of having him clean up with a bandanna on his head! Congrats, you’re featured this week at the #ThisIsHowWeRoll Link Party.

  4. Oh my, this looks like a lot of work. You can tell I am a tired grandmother! My son in law will love it with my granddaughters, though! I will be sharing this with him! Thanks so much for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!

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