May 21, 2013

Posts Comments

Home / Shopping / Holiday 09 / One Complicated Elf on The Shelf ISO Creative ideas.

One Complicated Elf on The Shelf ISO Creative ideas.

December 3, 2009 by 49 Comments
Our Elf hiding in the bathroom windowstill

Our Elf hiding in the bathroom windowstill

*** NEW IDEAS  FOR 2010 here:15 creative ways to hide your Elf On The Shelf ***

.

Last year we received our Elf on The Shelf from a good family friend. I have to say it truly was one of the best gifts ever.

For those not familiar with the tale the Elf on The Shelf-  he is sent by Santa (with a story book) to watch over little girls and boys during the days leading up to Christmas. Each night he flies home to the north pole to report back on how good (or bad) their child has been. In the morning, this silly Elf hides himself in various places around the house for the children to find him in the morning.

I’ve been hearing lots of cute stories on twitter about kids and their elves. Some caught whispering their Christmas List to the Elf, others finding their elves next to a picture of the family with funny faces drawn on the frame with dry erase marker. People get so creative with these little guys and I cant help but feel like we need to step up our Elf-i-ness in this house.

Prime example: Most give their elves  silly names like Jasper and Clyde… my son named his “Elf THE Shelf” – you see what I mean?

And then yesterday Mr.Complicated came home with elaborate stories of what his co-workers do with their Elves.

One places the box with the book and elf sitting on top on the front porch, he then rings the bell and runs back inside – giving the kids the impression that the Elf rang the bell to announce his arrival…

Another, puts army men parachutes on the elves and fixes them up in their tree outside with a note saying how they parachuted there from Santa’s sleigh (While this is cute, the non-child like mind of mine can’t help but think— but doesn’t the Elf fly? why does he need Santa’s Sleigh and a parachute?)

Anyway, ours showed up this year just sitting in our tree with the book beneath it, and every night just hides from place to place… don’t get me wrong– my son LOVES it, but now I feel like I need to do more.

Do you have an Elf on The Shelf? What are some of the fun things you’ve done with it?  Give me some ideas!

Related posts:

Filed Under: Holiday 09, Notes, The Kids
  • http://workingmommyof1.blogspot.com Working Mommy

    The babe is not old enough to understand the Elf concept (still only 5 months) but I am definitely thinking about doing this when she gets a little older. I think that putting it on the door step and ringing the bell is a cute idea.

    ~Working Mommy
    Come on by, stay for a while, leave a comment or two and follow along!!

  • http://www.mamamichie.com Michaela

    I saw one of those in Borders a few weeks ago, and thought it was so cute, but Noah is still too young to understand it. Those were some cute ideas though (I liked the doorbell ringing the best)

  • http://www.anutinanutshell.com blueviolet

    I wish they had such a thing when my kids were younger. Oh the possibilities!!!

    • http://www.facebook.com/beth.poiryzunk Beth Poiry-Zunk

      I thought the same thing! My daughter is 18 now, moving into college apartments next year. I wanted do this with her soo bad. So last night, our elf came. But her elf isn’t sweet , he is rotten and loves to play pranks! He duct-taped her bedroom door shut last night, haha. I could hear her very annoyed grunts. In the bathroom, she found is arrival letter duct taped to the bathroom mirror. Tonight, I’m gonna have him toilet paper the hall outside her room and living room. She will think “yippee (lame), until she gets in the bathroom and there is NO toilet paper to be found. It’s kind of boring at Christmas time when they are this age. All they want are clothes, and usually have the picked out. I thought this would be a way to add some fun spirit back in our house. But I need more ideas!!!

  • http://mamaruck.blogspot.com MamaRuck

    In Denmark they have nissers which are elves that cause mischieve in the night. We had a pair at a preschool I worked at. They always mix something up for the children to find in the morning. The calendar would be changed, books would be in the christmas tree, doll clothes would hang from the curtain rods and once they were hanging from the ceiling fan!

  • Sydney

    thats scary THE ELF IS WATCHING YOU

  • http://www.susieshomemade.blogspot.com Susie’s Homemade

    I have never seen those before!

    • Ashley

      you have never seen them befor wow ok well they are little pixie elfs they come to ur home santa sends them to u they watch you and every night while your sleeping he goes to the north pole and tells santa how good u have been DO NOT TOUCH HIM NO MATTER WHAT or it will lose its magice

  • Jenny

    Last night my daughter’s elf had a tea party with her 2 favorite stuffed animals…She was amazed to see the elf sitting on top of our book shelf with her 2 animals and tea cups, tea pot and cookie crumbs scattered around.
    The day before that he left her a note on the bathroom mirror…Today I am thinking a letter from santa will be in his hands and then I am going to have him sitting by the tv with the wii controller. Another thing is movie night and have popcorn spread around!

  • http://www.fantasyfaces.net Tammytj

    First time hearing about this..LOVE it! I will def try to find this before Christmas.
    How about sticking the elf in the freezer for a few minutes before the child wakes up and when the child finds it on a shelf..or wherever..it would be like the elf just got back from the ‘cold’ north pole!

  • http://www.complicatedmama.com admin

    Great ideas!!! … Thanks!! I think we’ll be using a lot of these! Love the mischievous elf ideas!!

  • http://sonothotmama.blogspot.com So Not Mom-a-licious

    Hey, I’m freaking out a little bit…why won’t your blog come thru my Reader? When I try to refresh to resave your link it goes blank. I’m trying to click on your header to take to the the main page. But your posts haven’t been coming thru. Hmmm….

  • http://sonothotmama.blogspot.com So Not Mom-a-licious

    Nevermind, I figured it out. Damn operator error!

  • http://thepinkbliss.blogspot.com Emma

    Wow I’ve never seen them before. Sounds like a fun thing to have!

    PS Happy SITS saturday sharefest!

  • Olianna

    Our elf, Lucky, just came for the first time this year. I’m not feeling particularly “in the spirit” or creative yet this season but this is what Lucky has been up to so far….. First day, he was just sitting on the kitchen window sill. Next day the kids found him all tangled in yarn they left out after finger knitting. The following morning Lucky was attached to our globe, looking for his home. Today he was wrapped in a tiny blanket (some knitting that didn’t ever amount to anything) holding the remote. I’m taking pictures of him every morning though I’m not sure why… I forgot to hide him last night. Fortunately the kids have a piece of chocolate every morning before (or maybe FOR) breakfast from their advent calendars so I had a couple minutes to get him back out and in place.

    Keep the ideas coming because I’m fresh out!

  • Jennifer

    Our daughter’s favorite Elf on the Shelf prank this year was when Darby (our elf) pooped in the potty and didn’t flush. Four raisins or craisins make PERFECT elf poops!
    Darby has also hung their underwear from the tree and hung candy canes from the light fixtures. I’m quickly running out of ideas, so I think Darby’s next prank will be the dawing on the picture frame!!!

  • http://n/a AJ OM Mom

    My 6 year old son named our elf Gingerbread, we’re calling him Gingie for short. So far this year Gingie has caused the following mischief… he was sitting on the ceiling fan and hung several christmasy items from the fan blades, the next night he was sitting in a vase on top of the kitchen cabinets and he took everything off the fireplace mantle and scattered it in the living room, the next night he landed on a plant ledge with one of the BIG tonka trucks he took up there and all the other cars, trucks and trains the boys have were in a circle around the Christmas tree, the next night he was sitting on top of the tree and all their underwear was hanging on the tree, last night he was sitting in one of the boys’ stockings and there were LOTS of hershey kiss wrappers, hershey bar wrappers, empty pop cans, empty cookie containers and an empty bag of M&M’s on the floor under him, he even had chocolate on his face!

    Good luck Moms!!
    AJ & OM Mom

  • mommyof2

    WE HAVE ELFonso, and Missy as our elves and they had a bottle of water they shared with 2 straws in it and a donut they were eating on the top of the kitchen counter.

  • Nancy

    My boys are 3 and 4. They named our elf Ernie. Ernie hasn’t pulled any pranks at our house, but the first thing my boys do when they wake up is to search the house for him! Ernie always hides up high, because my boys would probably forget that “the magic wears off if you touch him.” Maybe Ernie will be mischievious when my boys are a little older! Right now, we focus on him letting Santa know if they have been “naughty or nice.” They don’t want Ernie to catch them being naughty!

  • Mommy of 3

    We have an elf and LOVE him! My children named him Mr. Pickle Wickle and we have only had him a few nights but we just love having him. One night he bungie jumped from our very high cabinet top and we found him hanging up side down from the bungee cord. One night he took the light bulbs out of the chandelier in the kitchen and hung upside down from it. One night he got out some cookies and the game chutes and ladders and was found in the morning sitting on a bucket at the kitchen table with Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Barbie playing the game. My children LOVE him (and so does Mommy!!)

  • http://www.thank-you-note-samples.com Kathy

    One morning the kids found our Elf (“Bubbles”) had made a pyramid out of an entire bag of jumbo marshamallows. He had half-eaten some of them too.

    Another morning he was found reading a story to a dozen or so stuffed animals around the Christmas tree.

  • http://www.lastminute-giftideas.com Kathy

    Also, a friend’s Elf was found in their family’s car– and the car was parked in the garage BACKWARDS.

  • Carla

    My daughter’s Elf “Glenn” toilet papered her room. My daughter got such a hoot from it. He’s switched her sock drawer to her underwear drawer and put her toothpaste in the refrigerator -he was sitting in the frig holding on to it. By the way, those $40 elf kits from Borders are way too expensive. Our elf is a cutie little stuffed guy – $6.99 from a Hallmark. You can be as creative as your mind will allow. But forgo the pricey verson! Merry Christmas!

  • Blondie

    I will confess that not all my ideas are original but I thought I would still share them. One night the elf and other various stuffed animals were found with crumbs of Christmas cookies and other sweet treat remnants sitting around our table. They each also had a little milk left in their cups. I used the kids dishes.

    One night the kids followed a Christmas wrapping paper trail through the house to a wrapping area where the elf had left a huge mess of paper, bows, and tags, and their were 2 small presents wrapped for the kids.

    One night the kids woke to a huge parade of stuffed animals going throughout the whole house. I can’t believe the kids had 100+ stuffed animals between the both of them.

    Tonight the elf and some other Christmas stuffed animals are going to go through the kids’ drawers and wear various articles of clothing and wear them in silly places.

  • mdb

    Our elf drew mustaches on our girls (and mom and dad) while they slept and then drew mustaches and beards on lots of our framed family pictures…easy to clean off with windex! the girls thought it was a hoot! when the girls woke up, the elf was hanging on one of the framed pictures. also, drawing red reindeer noses on the girls was a hit too.

  • Cinda5120

    On Christmas Eve, our elf Dylan, took pictures of himself all over the house, even sleeping with our grandson, the last picture was of Dylan on the ceiling fan flying around and around before he went back to Santa.

  • illinoisbaby03

    we had ours in a stocking, with a pair of clean underwear in the tree etc, holding an orange etc, in the tree, behing some decor or pics, hanging from the fan or a curtain rod or something,playing with toys, and we now have two which play hid and go seek and other funny thinngs with each other! :)

  • Pingback: 15 Fun Creative Ways To Hide Your Elf On The Shelf

  • Alycefsu

    Our elf hung candy canes all over our tree last night!!!

  • Cincymasons

    My wife put our elf in the kid’s bathroom with toilet paper in his hand and toilet paper all over the bathroom as if he had t.p.’d the bathroom.

  • Aqua13792

    My little brother just loves the idea of the elf! Last night we rolled the bathroom and wrote Dobby(Our elf, dont ask) was here on the mirror in lipstick! It was soooo cute! I think tonight I will do movie night and popcorn:) Thanks for the ideas!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3O7GY3BYUSFQ3KHY5C67YPWLD4 Ash G

    Pull up my fb ash14010@yahoo.com look at pics christmas 2010

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3O7GY3BYUSFQ3KHY5C67YPWLD4 Ash G

    Pull up my fb ash14010@yahoo.com look at pics christmas 2010

  • Momof6

    our elf was caught “fishing” in our aquarium this morning…we made the pole out of a stick, fishing line, an ornament hook and a tree light replacement for a “bobber”–our elf also has strung Apple Jacks on fishing line and hung them on the tree, and all the other ideas you probably have already read about. this is our third year and I am running out of ideas–but found some good ones tonight on other internet sights–a snowball fight with cotton balls, writing on family photos with a dry erase marker, etc. Have fun with your children! My youngest is 10 and about to outgrow all this, makes me sad;)

    • justanelf

      outgrow all this?? no way! lol …I have a 16 year old who looooves all the practical jokes our elf “Aelph” pulls the 12 days before xmas. It really really keeps the spirit of Christmas alive. Aelph still loves to pull out all the “classic” xmas movies and watch ..my daughter has Aelph right beside her .. you have to stay young….maybe your youngest can get in on the act with the elf and cause some harmless mischief with his older sibs. Its the memories they will hold on to and you never outgrow the laughs…mine still talks about things that were pulled when she was 8 and 9 years old.

  • Michelleproudmommy

    Our Elf, Clay-Hogg (not sure where she came up with this name) arrived last night, and has already caused mischieve. The bathroom was TP’ed, the stockings were off the mantle and hung on the tree, there was dog food in the cereal box when my daughter poured her a bowl for breakfast. My daughter 8, has found cabinets doors open and said the Elf must be hidding. i have never heard of this until she came home from school this year and the 2nd grade class room has an Elf named Elfvis. Im hving so much fun and hope you all do also. Merry Christmas to all!!!!

  • Lilly

    we put our elf in the sink
    on the top of the christmas tree
    on the toilet
    in the apple box
    in the bath tub
    typing on the computer
    and holding toilet paper, and tepe half of the house!!
    or with sissors and a cut paper next to him!!

  • luckiest moma in the world

    I wish I had learned about elves when my boys were younger. After seeing their friends excitement, I decided to go ahead & get them an elf even though they are 11 & 13. Has been the best fun! Even my 13 yr old goes to see what the elves have done 1st thing each morning. One morning, he found printer paper spread everywhere in the kitchen. The elves had drawn stick people pictures of Mary, Joseph and Jesus with brand new markers which they left spread all over the floor. Then they left the mess, built a fort with the marker boxes (one set for each child) and some printer paper, and hid in the fort they made behind a chair to read the Christmas story. They also wrote on the windows with those markers. The kids loved it & when they found their elves reading the Bible, they wanted to read the Christmas story too. Sweet memories.

  • http://www.doll-clothes.com/18-inch-doll-clothes.html Chris Jeffery

    The concept is so great. A friend of mine brought one for his son. So, what he did was, he picked up his kid from school, made a stop at an ice cream shop and when they got back in the car, the elf was sitting on the back sit with the book beside it. His son was so thrilled and he was even happier to hear the good news the elf brought him. So, his son was at his best behavior after that. And he named his elf Ziggy. Cute, huh? Ziggy the Elf. 

  • Starsewing
  • bmmomma

    This is the 8th year we have had elves at our home.  My children love them so much. Its like having a little christmas magic all month long. They have done sooo many different things around the house. A few of my favorites are using my bra as a hammock, painting dads toe nails, giving the kids peppermint candy to plant in the yard and they grow candycanes and leaving notes about behavior issues.

  • Khodnett

    Our elf sits on the counter fishing for the “Goldfish”.  He mysteriously appears holding a pencil with dental floss hanging from one end and a goldfish cracker tied to the other end.  He usually is fishing over a bowl of goldfish crackers.

  • Lauras231983

    i saw a few cool things one paint your childs nose red and then make a note on the elf that he should look in the miror he would make a great rudolf also pose elf with paintbrush …….or bake cookies at nighe and leave the mess till the morning and have your elf sitting on the shelf with a cookie in his hand

  • I<3ShelfontheElf

    We are doing the elf this year, and we heard of people moving their car to the middle of the drive way, and putting the elf in the driver’s seat!

  • Alvin’s little Helper

    Just discovered the Elf on a Shelf this year.  My 6 year old is really into this.  Yesterday, Alvin was found with his head in an empty Nilla Wafer book with crumbs all over.  My son said, boy he was hungry . . . look at that mess.  Today, Alvin was found swinging from toilet paper in the bathroom.  It was the funniest thing.  My son was shocked at the mess and said ”boy Alvin gets to do all the cool stuff.”   

  • Kikir1004

    Our Elf (Chippy)— tiolet papered our tree last night!!  My 4 yr old told him “you are in big trouble”

  • Ashley

    omg i have one his name is Clyde HE IS SOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but right now he is not here because he had to leave:(

    • jessie

      omg that is so sad but he will come back did you ever touch him?

  • Ashley brown

    i  watched this very funny video on youtube ok so tip in youtube elf on the shelf the video is called evil elf on the shelf u cant see the elf but lisen then reply to this PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!