60 Creative Things To Do With Your Elf on the Shelf

First things first, if you don’t yet have an Elf on the Shelf, DON’T GET ONE. Run the other direction. It starts out fun and then becomes a nightmare of your own creation. It is especially bad if you are REALLY into it the first year and set the bar way too high. However, if you are already in it and must bravely soldier on, here are SIXTY things our Elf has done in the past that might help you survive the month…

60 Fun + Creative Elf on the Shelf Ideas | Houston Moms Blog

  1. Emailed the kids by “borrowing” someone’s device or computer to send an email.
  2. Wrapped random items the kids needed for school the next day – backpack, instrument, oxygen tanks.
  3. Used the toilet and left behind a “surprise” {aka chocolate chips}.
  4. Made cookies and left his mess behind on the table.
  5. Toilet-papered the living room.
  6. Had a Silly String battle with Buzz Lightyear.
  7. Had a hot tub party with some Barbies {cotton balls in a baking dish}.
  8. Did a drive in movie with another toy in a Barbie car, left a trail of popcorn from the kitchen.
  9. Printed off pictures of himself using the scanner and taped them over our photos in the living room.
  10. Took K’s wheelchair for a spin around the living room and crashed it, while videoing.
  11. Pulled out all of the kids books and read them all in a night, leaving piles in the living room.
  12. Played through all of the video games one night, and again failed to clean them up!
  13. Stole the Christmas tree and presents one night … and hid them!
  14. Drove a shoe train around the living room.
  15. Drew on our pictures with a dry erase marker {reindeer antlers, scarves, kissy lips, etc}.
  16. Delivered a gingerbread house for the kids to build together.
  17. Made sensory snow and left it for the kids to play with.
  18. Strung up lights in the living room.
  19. Wrapped our table.
  20. Put up our Christmas tree and lights one year when we were running behind.
  21. Played Pretty, Pretty Princess with some sock monkeys.
  22. Had a tea party with some dolls.
  23. Decorated the living room with underpants and got trapped in a pair of boxer briefs hanging from the fan.
  24. Did a Q&A with the kids via email.
  25. Brought Christmas ornaments to the kids.
  26. Played “Hide the Fez” {his hat} and left clues. {This one can be done over and over, which is so nice.}
  27. Had a snowball fight with some other toys.
  28. Made snow angels in flour.
  29. Assigned Kindness Missions to the kids.
  30. Set up a manger scene with various stuffed animals playing the roles.
  31. Made it snow inside on Christmas Eve one year before he left.
  32. Made a ton of paper snowflakes and put them up everywhere.
  33. Did a zipline through the living room on Christmas lights.
  34. Took turns hiding in the kids’ bedrooms.
  35. Filled the living room with red and green balloons.
  36. Hid in my son’s saxophone.
  37. Stuck gift bows all over the house.
  38. Got sick and had to do some rest and medical care.
  39. Took photos of himself with the webcam.
  40. Pitched a tent and camped out on the stairs, complete with tiny cocoa and campfire {electric tea candle}.
  41. Got into my makeup.
  42. Built a castle {out of formula cans, #medicalfamilyperks} and was besieged by Angry Birds.
  43. Played Spin The Bottle, but according to the email he left, he did not understand the premise. {Tt kept spinning and spinning, but then nothing happened. What’s the point?}
  44. Wrapped the Christmas tree totally in toilet paper and put a snowman face on it.
  45. Built a contraption out of toothpicks and marshmallows and used it to trap a Furby.
  46. Had a {marshmallow} snowball fight with some bears. He built barriers out of the big ones and threw the little ones.
  47. Played one of my husband’s board games.
  48. Stuck googly eyes on our photos.
  49. Found {and used} the leftover confetti eggs.
  50. Rolled through the house inside a roll of toilet paper, leaving a trail behind.
  51. Built a city out of cardboard boxes.
  52. Spelled out messages with the alphabet blocks.
  53. Hid in my purse so he could go watch the kids’ Christmas performances.
  54. Got into a fight with Darth Vader and pinned against the wall by The Force.
  55. Stole our stockings and put up our underwear instead.
  56. Filled the car with balloons.
  57. Used dry erase markers to write funny commentary on our framed photos.
  58. Played basketball with our paired socks and a laundry basket.
  59. Stole the car and a credit card and drove to Wendy’s for food. {My kids kept asking if there was a freaked out Wendy’s employee on the news!}
  60. We always gathered ALL the dolls and stuffed animals to read the story of Jesus’s birth the day before Christmas Eve, and he left a pair of special Christmas pajamas and a movie for the kids.
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Kyla H
Kyla was born in Alaska, but has lived in the Houston area most of her life. She met her husband Josh online when they were in middle school, and they married shortly after high school. They have three wonderful children, Nathaniel {April 2002}, Katie {February 2005}, and Josephine {April 2015}. Katie and Josie both have their own special medical issues and keep life at the Hebert house exciting every day! Katie has a metabolic disorder, suspected to be mitochondrial disease, and a host of other conditions that stem from that. Josephine was born with a congenital heart defect that was not diagnosed until she was almost 3 months old, and was later diagnosed with multiple life-threatening food allergies. In spite of the craziness at home, Kyla graduated from UHD in 2014 with a degree in psychology. She spends her days homeschooling Katie, caring for Josephine, trying to come up with allergy-safe meal plans, and occasionally ferrying Nathan to and from high school events. She enjoys writing, photography, listening to podcasts {mostly true crime}, binge-watching shows with her husband, and spending time with friends. You can keep up with their adventures at Life Is….

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