Oh yes the elves are back, and I’m sure you’ve seen many of them on your social media feeds already!

This is the fifth year I’ve taken on the month-long task of elf on the shelf, and we now have a new addition to our elf family!

As you can see on my Instagram feed and stories, Snowflake & Chippy have been joined this year by Elvis. He self-isolated before his arrival to ensure he was virus-free, what a gent!

Apparently more than 14 million elves are living with children worldwide, so they have become quite the tradition.

I find that my ideas for these elves can get harder to create as the month goes on. By the end of the second week I’ve usually got sick of it as I’m struggling to think of anything else for them to do.

Thankfully Design Bundles have come to the rescue for me this year with 12 new, fun ideas to entertain my son after what’s been a terrible year.

They’ve kindly gifted me Elvis and some materials to do all 12 activities, including some gorgeous craft materials from small businesses across the UK.

Design Bundles is a digital design company that have a great range of printable templates (including free ones!), craft ideas and svg files. Their products are great for families, crafters, businesses and graphic design lovers.

12 Elf on the Shelf Ideas

1. Let’s Bake!

You will need:

Flour (handful)
Footprint stencil (we used one from Super Sweet Party)
Baking kit or ingredients (we used a kit from Craft and Crumb)
Christmas pot holder or storage container (we used a pot holder from Miaker Gifts)

Elvis decided to do some baking, and even left a gift for your child to do some baking of their own!

To set up simply use a footprint stencil and flour to make footprints, then sit your elf on your ingredients/kit.

2. Dress Up!

You will need:

Small face mask (DIY or we used one from Cutey Face Masks)
Fabric squares/remnants
PVA glue
String

Dress the elf in his face mask and scatter the fabric and glue around him with a note asking your child to make him an outfit to go with his new mask.

He could be in front of the mirror checking himself out!

3. Colouring

You will need:

Christmas colouring pages
Grown-up colouring page
Pack of pencils or pens

Have your elf attempting to colour a page, asking for your child to join in!

Perfect for a rainy day weekend to keep them occupied for an hour, and you can do it with them as relaxation for yourself too.

4. Christmas Cards

You will need:

A tiny card from the elf (handmade or we got ours from Big Dog and Co)
Card/Paper and envelope
Card decorations

This one will encourage the kids to make their own cards, after they receive one from their elf.

It’s another great indoor activity that can keep them entertained creatively.

5. Decorating

You will need:

Handmade bauble (DIY or we got ours from Miriam Emerton)
Clear fillable bauble
Fake snow
Bauble filler
Stickers

Elvis has come with a decoration from the North Pole for your tree, as well as some materials to make your own decoration.

Place him on the tree with the new bauble and have the materials at the bottom of the tree.

The kids can create their own bauble which can feature snow, reindeer and anything else that will fit.

6. Scavenger Hunt

You will need:

A scavenger hunt list you have created yourself, or we used a printable template from Design Bundles
Christmas confetti (sequins, stars etc)

This is one of my favourites because it encourages my son to go outdoors!

Elvis is sat with the hunt print-out and confetti, ready to go out and explore.

The hunt can include things like finding Christmas lights, pine cones and even holly and ivy during a walk in your local area.

7. Letters to Santa

You will need:

A Father Christmas letter template (handmade or printable)
Christmas pen (we got ours from The Pensnickety Co)

This is one of the first activities I do, because free responses from places like The Royal Mail require the letters to be posted before 11 December this year.

Having a festive pen makes it more exciting for kids to want to write their nice messages or toy lists for Santa.

8. Window Displays

You will need:

Festive house window stickers (we used Scandi house stencils from Stickerscape)
Blu-tack
Patterned paper

This one encourages children to enjoy decorating their windows for passers-by to enjoy, spreading a little love!

Decorate a window with the stickers and have your elf sitting next to them as if he had put them up.

Leave some patterned paper and Blu-tack next to him so the kids can carry on with the window art themselves.

9. Gifting

You will need:

Small gift box filled with chocolates
Coloured card

Let the elf give the kids a gift, by making a tiny box and filling it with chocolate coins.

The coloured card can be for the kids to return the kind act by making something nice for a loved one. It could be a drawing, card, poem or even origami!

10. An Act of Kindness

You will need:

An act of kindness sheet (make your own or use a printable)

Encouraging children to spread kindness is so important during these tough times.

The elf has a sheet with ways to show kindness, like writing a letter to someone who lives alone or donating food to a food bank.

Elvis also has his own little positive message for the kids to show how it feels to receive kindness.

Get the children to pick an act of kindness to do that week and start spreading the love!

11. The Christmas Table

You will need:

A milk bottle for Santa (we used one from Phoenix and Bell)
Place mat
Black card
Shiny pen that writes on black card

As the special day gets nearer, the elf can make their own little place mat and invite the kids to do the rest!

It’s as easy as cutting small rectangles from the black card, folding in half and then decorating one side with names and stickers.

The milk bottle is to use for Santa on Christmas Eve and they could even make Santa a place card!

12. Wrapping

You will need:

Small pot or tub
Bag of popcorn
Sheet of wrapping paper (we used some from Gemma Correll)
Christmas gift tag
Recyclable washi tape

To get ready for the big day we usually wrap presents.

The elf wants the kids to wrap a gift and write a tag for somebody special, so he’s provided a tag and paper!

He also wants to enjoy a Christmas movie with them after and has the popcorn ready.

More Ideas?

For more ideas, check out my stories on Instagram or Facebook as I will be posting them throughout December.

Feel free to add more ideas in the comments below too.

Happy Elfing!

This is a collaborative post with Design Bundles. All opinions are honest and my own.