Easy Elf Of The Shelf Ideas For Kids

Everyone I know is doing Elf on The Shelf this year!  It's all over Pinterest and in the stores. We received our elf last year, but this was the first year she actually came into our home!

We received the movie along with the Elf, so we had our daughter watch the movie to get the idea of what was coming.

Then there was a knock on the door....It was her Elf!

We opened the book and my husband read the story.

 We read that we needed to name her and after a little thought, we came up with Molly!  How perfect!

So, now came the work...for me! I had to come up with ideas as to where Molly will be every morning.  There are so many great ideas all over the internet, but I found them to be too advance for my 3-year old, so I knew I would have to come up with some of my own or embellish some of the ideas I found.

Every morning, Molly had a letter for my daughter, which helped hone in the 'good behavior' aspect! You can do this too, if need be, but it was one more step I had to do every night.  If you do decide to write a letter to your child from your elf, keep it short and sweet! We all know they have a very small attention span anyway!

So, for my ideas...

If you're like me and have a young child and need something quick, easy and fun for your Elf, here some great ideas: 

1. Elf coloring

2. Elf playing with the laptop (you can use and electronic toy of your child's)

3. Elf playing the piano 

4. Elf hanging from the television

5. Elf hanging out with your child's toys 

6. Elf posing by the family photos

7. Elf swinging

8. Elf sitting on the Christmas tree

9. Elf taking a bath in marshmallows

10. Elf fishing for goldfish

11.Elf reading the Christmas story to the Nativity scene

12. Elf guarding the "Good Job" marbles (any reinforcement strategy will work)

13. Elf taking a nap on boxes of tissue

14. Elf sipping on some marshmallows (sorry I don't have a picture showing the marshmallows)

Don't stress out trying to figure out what to do with your elf each night! Keep it easy and doable for your child and yourself!

Merry Christmas

~ Kerri