26 Lazy Elf on the Shelf Ideas

I know some people absolutely hate the news tradition of Elf on the Shelf, but I absolutely love it. I can’t wait to do it for my children one day! I’ve seen some incredibly creative ideas, however I think personally I’ll be quite lazy so I thought I’d share 24 lazy person ideas. 

First Day 

1. For the 1st December, to introduce Elf on the Shelf, the Elf comes with a book. There is of course the main book which introduces the character straight away, but there are also follow up books for each additional year. 

2. For this year especially, social distancing is a great idea to include. This ones easy and ensures kids don’t touch the Elf!

Activities 

It’s great to plan your day around the Elf’s antics. Here are some great ideas which the Elf could bring or suggest, to then do with the kids. 

3. Decorate gingerbread houses. 

4. Have a movie night. 

5. Make hot chocolate. 

6. Play a board games. 

7. Bake cookies. 

8. Read a book. 

    

Naughty

Of course, the Elf is well known for getting up to no good and being naught too. Here are some fun but simple ideas to do to create a scene for your Elf. There are also relatively cheap props available on Amazon for easier scenes. I found one that came with multiple different scenes, such as a spa, a camp fire etc.

9. Going to the toilet. 

10. Toothbrush accidents. 

11. Drawing on bananas. 

12. Making snowflakes.

13. Tying up toys.

14. Weightlifting. 

15. Sleeping in tissues. 

16. Rolling down the stairs. 

17. Snowball fight. 

18. Toilet paper mayhem.

19. Tower of sofa. 

20. Melting snowman.

21. Toast Elf sandwich. 

22. Eating advent calendar chocolate. 

23. Snow angels.  

24. Taking a bath. 

Last Day

25. Packing up the suitcases getting ready to leave. 

26. Having a written letter to say that the Elf is leaving, along with a note about the naught and nice list is perfect. There are some great free to download letters to print on multiple websites. My favourite is . 

I hope that gave you some great yet easy ideas to help you with your Elf on the Shelf antics next year! Do you have any great suggestions? If so, leave them below.