Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas

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I, a 32 year old woman, am excited for Evie, our Elf on the Shelf to return. She's become the official entree into the Christmas season for our family.

What is Elf on the Shelf?

If you aren't familiar with Elf on the Shelf, they are magical elf dolls. They come with a book that introduces the Elf as an emissary of Santa who is sent to the households of little boys and girls to report back to Santa on how they are behaving. Each day during your Elf on the Shelf season (for us, that is the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Day) the Elf pops up around the house leaving treats and getting into shenanigans. The elves are magic, and children are instructed not to touch them, or else the elf will lose their magic.

Online you are bound to see memes from parents who wake up in the middle of the night panicked because they forgot to move the Elf, or parents lamenting about trying to come up with new Elf on the Shelf ideas for each day. We keep things pretty simple in our house, but fantastical enough that our daughter really enjoys our time with Evie the Elf. I'm here to bring you some cool ideas, but ones easy enough that you don't have to stress yourself too much to make the magic.

Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas

The first thing I will note is that our Elf on the Shelf always gets one new outfit each season. So the day they debut their outfit is an idea all in itself. Last year we went with a super hero outfit, this year we're planning on getting Evie some sort of dress. There are plenty of Elf on the Shelf outfits you can buy or make easily.

Incorporate Existing Toys

Some of the most fun situations we put Evie in were utilizing our daughter's toys. She's ridden on Marshal from the Paw Patrol and Thomas the Tank Engine, took Skye from Paw Patrol's helicopter for a spin, and played her own solo fishing game.