Add as Google Trusted Source

This post may contain affiliate links, please see the privacy policy for details.

December is one of my favorite times of year, and since my birthday falls on Christmas Day, I’ve always had an extra reason to celebrate the season in every way possible! December gets busy quickly, so having a few easy Elf on the Shelf ideas ready can save a lot of late-night head scratching. Some of these need little more than a note or something from the pantry, while others set up a game, movie night or activity for the following day. Most use everyday household items rather than special props. There are 50 different scenes here, so you can switch between quick jokes, food-themed mischief and more involved setups as Christmas gets closer.

A collage of an Elf on the Shelf doll posing with various Christmas snacks and fruit.

Why You’ll Love It

Smiling person in a cozy sweater holds a mug, sitting in a warm, softly lit kitchen.

There are plenty of ways to keep this fun tradition going through December, and many use ordinary household items and take very little setup.

Lots of variety: Choose from silly pranks, food jokes, scavenger hunts, cozy scenes and simple activities.
Quick options included: Plenty of the ideas can be put together in just a few minutes.
Uses everyday items: Many setups rely on things you probably already have at home.
Kid-friendly fun: The ideas range from funny morning surprises to activities children can join in with later.

Table of Contents
  1. Quick and Last-Minute Elf on the Shelf Ideas
  2. Funny Elf on the Shelf Ideas
  3. Cute Elf on the Shelf Ideas
  4. Creative Elf on the Shelf Ideas
  5. Elf on the Shelf Ideas with Food and Treats
A collage of an Elf on the Shelf doll posed in various holiday and kitchen scenes.

Quick and Last-Minute Elf on the Shelf Ideas

These quick Elf on the Shelf ideas are handy when the evening has disappeared and the elf still hasn’t moved. Keep a few of these last-minute setups in mind for nights when you need something that can be arranged without much work. You can find a download to print out the signs that the Elf is holding below.

Download “Elf on the Shelf Printable Labels” Elf-Notes.pdf – Downloaded 0 times – 81.25 KB

1. Chilly Elf

Elf on the Shelf doll wrapped in a small green and white towel inside a refrigerator.

Sit the elf inside the refrigerator and give them a small towel to use as a blanket. Finding a North Pole visitor camped out among the chilled food makes for a very easy morning surprise.

2. Nap Time

An Elf on the Shelf doll lying on a red and white stocking holding a note that says “Nap time!”.

Use a Christmas stocking as a makeshift bed and tuck the elf inside. Add the “Nap time!” note nearby so it looks as though this particular night of Christmas mischief proved exhausting.

3. Bookworm Elf

An Elf on the Shelf toy sitting inside an open copy of The Night Before Christmas book, surrounded by other books.

Gather a few Christmas books and sit the elf beside the stack with one book open. It looks as though they’ve spent the night reading instead of getting into trouble.

4. Fresh Orange Juice

An Elf on the Shelf doll sits on a wooden trivet, drinking from an orange with a straw.

Stick a straw directly into an orange and position the elf beside it as though that’s a perfectly normal way to drink orange juice. The rest of the fruit bowl can stay right where it is.

5. Happy Fruit

An elf doll sits in a bowl of fruit decorated with googly eyes.

Give the fruit bowl a collection of googly-eyed faces, then sit the elf among their new friends. I like to use bananas and oranges because there’s plenty of room for the eyes.

6. Floss Trouble

An elf doll wrapped in white dental floss, sitting among a bottle of hand soap, mouthwash, and toothbrushes.

Loop dental floss around the elf several times and leave the spool nearby. By morning it looks as though the elf tried to use it and somehow ended up tied in knots instead.

7. Toasty Warm Elf

An Elf on the Shelf figurine holds a piece of toast with a note that reads, “I’m so toasty warm!”.

Sandwich the elf between 2 slices of toast and add the “I’m so toasty warm!” note. The joke takes almost no setup and adds a fun twist to breakfast time.

8. Hershey Kisses Disguise

An elf doll wearing a foil hat and cape, sitting in a pile of green-wrapped chocolate candies.

Cover the elf in aluminum foil, then sit them with several Hershey’s Kisses. The silver wrapping gives them a very questionable candy disguise. Add some Peppermint Kiss Cookies to the plate too!

9. M&M Ball Pit

An Elf on the Shelf doll sitting inside a glass bowl filled with colorful M&M’s.

Fill a bowl with M&M’s and sit the elf down among them so only the upper half is visible. It turns a bowl of candy into an elf-sized ball pit.

10. Captain Underpants

Elf on the Shelf sitting inside striped underwear holding a note that says “Look, I’m Captain underpants!”.

Give the elf a pair of underpants to wear and add the “Look, I’m Captain Underpants!” message. It’s silly, immediate and requires almost nothing beyond raiding the underwear drawer.

Funny Elf on the Shelf Ideas

A lot of the funny Elf on the Shelf ideas here rely on puns, food jokes or the elf making a complete mess of an ordinary household task. They’re easy for kids to understand as soon as they spot the scene.

11. Oops Poop

Elf on the Shelf sitting in a glass jar next to a roll of toilet paper with the word “oops!” written on it.

Position the elf over a clear container with a Hershey’s Kiss inside and add an “Oops!” sign. The chocolate does all the work for this particular bit of toilet humor.

12. Banana Bread

An Elf on the Shelf doll sits next to bananas and bread slices with a note reading “I made some banana bread!”.

Put a whole banana between 2 pieces of sliced bread and sit the elf beside it. Add the note “I made some banana bread!” so everyone can admire the elf’s extremely literal interpretation of baking. You may also like to bake some real banana bread!

13. Sponge Cake

An elf toy sits next to two stacked kitchen sponges decorated like cake with sprinkles and a note reading, “Do you like sponge cake?”.

Decorate a kitchen sponge with colorful sprinkles and leave it beside the elf as their latest culinary creation. The “Do you like sponge cake?” note explains exactly what they think they’ve made.

14. Cracked-Up Egg

An Elf on the Shelf holding a note about a cracked egg, next to a bowl containing a cracked egg with a drawn-on face.

Draw a face on an egg, crack it open and leave the shell near the elf. The accompanying note says the egg “cracked up” after hearing one of the elf’s jokes.

15. Toothpaste Trouble

An Elf on the Shelf doll sits among dental products, with the word “hi” spelled out in toothpaste.

Either use toothpaste to write a short greeting or give the elf a messy toothpaste face.

16. Pringle Jingle

An elf doll peeking out of a Pringles can next to a note reading “Pringle bells, Pringle Bells, Pringle all the way...”

Make an opening in an empty Pringles can and poke the elf’s head through it. Add the “Pringle bells, Pringle bells” note for a snack-can version of the Christmas song.

17. Reindeer Poop

A toy elf holds a spoon over a bowl of chocolate cereal with a sign that reads, “This reindeer poop is delicious!”.

Pour round chocolate cereal into a bowl and let the elf claim it’s reindeer poop. The note does most of the explaining, while the cereal keeps the whole thing harmlessly edible.

18. Making Skittles

An Elf on the Shelf figurine uses a metal cheese grater to “grate” crayons, with Skittles scattered nearby.

Set a cheese grater beside some crayons, then leave Skittles around the elf. The scene suggests the elf has invented their own bizarre theory about where colorful candy comes from.

19. Making Chocolate Chips

An Elf on the Shelf doll grating a Hershey’s chocolate bar over a pile of chocolate chips.

Stand a chocolate bar against a cheese grater and place chocolate chips below it. With the elf stationed at the grater, it looks as though they’ve discovered a very hands-on method for making chocolate chips. Save the rest for peppermint chocolate chip cookies!

20. Flatten the Chips

An Elf on the Shelf toy standing next to a clothing iron and a pile of potato chips.

Place an unplugged iron beside ridged potato chips and some flatter ones, then add the elf to the scene. Apparently the elf has taken the phrase “flat chips” rather too seriously.

Cute Elf on the Shelf Ideas

These cute Elf on the Shelf ideas are a little calmer. Think cozy sleepovers, treats, movie plans and small scenes that are easy to discover first thing in the morning.

21. Sock Sleepover

An Elf on the Shelf doll inside a red sock labeled “Sock sleepover!” next to a stuffed dalmatian.

Slide the elf into a clean sock as though it’s a sleeping bag and add a toy friend for company. It creates a miniature sleepover without needing to build anything.

22. Donuts for Breakfast

An Elf on the Shelf doll sits among a pile of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake donuts, holding one with a bite taken.

Arrange a few festive donuts around the elf and make it look as though breakfast started early. Leaving one donut partly eaten adds to the impression that the elf got there first. Use regular donuts or reindeer donuts!

23. Donut Worry Goodbye

An elf toy holding a sign that says, “Donut worry, I’ll be back again!” next to a container of powdered donuts.

Save this setup for the elf’s final appearance of the season. Pair donuts with the message “Donut worry, I’ll be back again!” as a simple send-off before the trip back to the North Pole.

24. Sick Day Elf

Elf on the Shelf doll sitting in a bowl of tissues with a note that reads “*cough* I’m sick” and cold medication.

Sit the elf among tissues, cough drops and sick-day supplies so it looks as though they’ve come down with something. I use empty medication packaging to keep real medicine safely out of children’s reach.

25. Happy Eggs

An Elf on the Shelf holding a black marker in a carton of brown eggs with drawn-on faces.

Draw different faces on several eggs and arrange them around the elf. A handful of expressions turns the carton into a whole cast of little characters.

26. Marshmallow Bubble Bath

An elf doll and two yellow rubber ducks inside a glass bowl filled with marshmallows.

Sit the elf in a bowl and pile mini marshmallows around them to stand in for bubbles. Add a toilet paper towel and rubber ducks for the full bath-time scene.

27. Make a Donut Snowman

An Elf on the Shelf doll holds a note that says “Make a snowman with me!” next to powdered donut snowmen.

Set out powdered donuts with the small decorations needed to turn them into snowmen. Leave the elf beside everything with the “Make a snowman with me!” message.

28. North Pole Water

An Elf on the Shelf doll sits by a bowl of ice water with a note reading “Frozen water all the way from the North Pole!”.

Add some icy water to a bowl and let the elf present it as frozen water brought straight from the North Pole. The deliberately obvious joke is what makes this scene funny.

29. Candy Greeting

An elf doll sits in a “Merry Christmas” mug, with red M&Ms arranged to spell “Hi” on the table.

Spell “Hi” with red and green M&M’s and sit the elf beside the message. It’s a simple way to make candy part of the scene without building anything elaborate. You can make M&M popcorn gift kits with any leftover candy!

30. Christmas Movie Night

An Elf on the Shelf holding a note that says “Movie night tonight!” next to a jar of popcorn and Christmas DVDs.

Give the elf some popcorn and set up a Christmas movie for later. The “Movie night tonight!” note lets the morning scene announce an evening activity too.

Creative Elf on the Shelf Ideas

These use toys, craft supplies, candy and other things from around the house. Some of them also lead into a game or activity once the kids find them.

31. Silly String Trouble

Elf on the Shelf doll covered in pink silly string next to a can of silly string.

Tangle the elf in silly string and leave the can close by. The aftermath makes it look like they discovered the can during the night and were far too enthusiastic with it!

32. Play-Doh Greeting

Elf on the Shelf figurine sitting next to a stack of Play-Doh cups and a red disc with “HI” spelled in green dough.

Set the elf beside red and green Play-Doh and shape a short greeting such as “Hi.” Leave the tubs and any small tools in the scene as evidence of the elf’s overnight crafting session.

33. Shoe Hide-and-Seek

An Elf on the Shelf doll holds a note that reads, “I hid your shoes! can you find them?”.

Hide the kids’ shoes somewhere in the house and let the elf hold the message, “I hid your shoes! Can you find them?” The morning starts with a quick search before everyone gets dressed.

34. Snowball Fight

An elf doll sitting in a pile of cotton balls next to toilet paper rolls labeled “Snowball Fight!!!”.

Turn cotton balls into snowballs and use toilet paper rolls as little defensive walls. Place the elf behind one of the barriers so the battle already appears to be in progress.

35. Melted Snowman

An elf doll holding a sign that reads “Oh no, my snowman melted!” over a glass of water containing a carrot and eyes.

Put water in a clear container along with a carrot nose and a pair of eyes. Sit the elf nearby with the “Oh no, my snowman melted!” note to explain the unfortunate puddle.

36. Band-Aid Trouble

An Elf on the Shelf toy covered in Bluey-themed bandages with a note that reads, “I found the band aids! I’m stuck!”.

Cover the elf with several Band-Aids and leave the box nearby. The “I found the Band-Aids! I’m stuck!” message explains how their curiosity ended badly.

37. Christmas Countdown

An elf doll sitting next to a roll of toilet paper with “12 more days!” written in red ink and three ornaments.

Write the number of days remaining until Christmas on toilet paper and leave the elf beside it. You can reuse the basic idea later in December with a different number.

38. Sprinkle Snow Angel

An Elf on the Shelf doll lying in a pile of colorful sprinkles with Christmas ornaments.

Pour out Christmas sprinkles and position the elf in the middle with their arms and legs spread. Move the sprinkles around the body to create the outline of a tiny snow angel. You could even add paper clip angels to the scene.

39. Skittles Rainbow Magic

An Elf on the Shelf doll holds a note reading “Just add water and watch the magic!” above a ring of Skittles.
An elf doll holding a sign reading “Just add water and watch the magic!” over a plate of Skittles in water.

Line Skittles around the outer edge of a plate and leave the elf beside the setup with instructions to add water. Once water reaches the candy, the colors spread inward across the plate.

40. Christmas Hostage

An Elf on the Shelf holding red and silver gift bows above a group of plastic green toy soldiers.

Secure the elf against the backdrop with large gift bows and place plastic army men below. The toy soldiers appear to have taken over while the elf awaits a rescue.

Elf on the Shelf Ideas with Food and Treats

Food can do a lot of the work in Elf on the Shelf ideas for kids. In these scenes, the elf steals snacks, sets up treats or leaves behind an activity that the family can come back to later.

An Elf on the Shelf toy sitting on a yellow package of Keebler Chips Deluxe Rainbow cookies with M&Ms.

Open a few cookie packages and arrange loose cookies around the elf. It looks as though someone raided the snacks after everyone else went to bed.

An Elf on the Shelf doll sitting on a wooden board next to a package of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix.

Put the elf beside cookie mix or the baking supplies you plan to use later, then leave a note suggesting cookies. The setup gives the kids something to look forward to after the morning discovery. My favorites for this are festive chocolate covered Oreos and Christmas tree sugar cookies.

43. Hot Chocolate Bar

An Elf on the Shelf sits in a mug next to a tray of marshmallows, candy canes, and chocolate chips labeled Hot Chocolate.

Arrange the elf with a festive mug and hot chocolate extras such as marshmallows, candy canes and chocolate chips. Add the “Hot Chocolate bar!” note to let everyone know what’s planned. Then make Grinch hot chocolate or candy cane hot chocolate later.

44. Candy Cane Hunt

An elf doll in a glass mug holding a note that reads, “There are 12 candy canes hidden in this room. Can you find them?”.

Hide 12 candy canes around the room or house and leave the elf holding the challenge. The setup turns the morning visit into a quick Christmas treasure hunt.

45. Taco Tuesday

An Elf on the Shelf doll nestled among empty taco shells in front of an Old El Paso taco dinner kit.

Place the elf with taco shells and the “Taco Tuesday!” note. It’s an easy way for the elf to announce taco dinner plans before anyone has even had breakfast.

46. Gingerbread House Setup

An Elf on the Shelf toy sitting in front of a gingerbread village cookie kit.

Sit the elf beside a gingerbread house kit and whatever decorations you plan to use. Kids can find the scene in the morning, then build the house together later.

47. Toilet Paper Snowman

An elf doll sitting next to a roll of toilet paper decorated to look like a snowman.

Stack toilet paper rolls into a snowman and add a face plus simple decorations. Leave the elf beside their oversized creation as though they spent the night building it.

48. Kit Kat Jenga

An Elf on the Shelf toy sitting next to a stack of Kit Kat bars on a wooden board.

Build a small tower from Kit Kat fingers or Kit Kat bars and sit the elf beside it. The chocolate pieces become an elf-sized version of Jenga with only a little careful stacking.

49. Chocolate Binge

An Elf on the Shelf doll sits in a basket filled with KitKat bars and candy wrappers, eating a piece of chocolate.

Leave the elf surrounded by chocolate wrappers with a few pieces of candy (maybe Christmas bugles!) nearby. The collection of empty wrappers tells the story without needing a note.

50. Gone Fishing

An elf doll sits on the rim of a glass bowl of Goldfish crackers, using a twig to fish a cracker out of the bowl.

Make the elf a tiny fishing rod and sit them beside a bowl of Goldfish crackers. Drop the line into the bowl so it looks as though breakfast has become the day’s catch.

Elf on the Shelf FAQs

What is Elf on the Shelf?

Elf on the Shelf is a Christmas tradition based on a Scout Elf who visits a family during the holiday season. The elf is usually placed in a new spot each day for kids to discover, often with a funny scene, note or small activity.

How long does Elf on the Shelf last?

Most families bring their elf out around the beginning of December and say goodbye on Christmas Eve. You can start later, finish earlier or choose whatever dates work for your family.

Do you have to move the elf every night?

Traditionally, the elf moves to a different place overnight while the kids are asleep. It doesn’t have to be elaborate though. A new hiding place can be enough on busy nights.

Are kids allowed to touch Elf on the Shelf?

In the traditional Elf on the Shelf story, children are told not to touch the Scout Elf because it could affect the elf’s Christmas magic. Families can adapt that rule if they prefer a more relaxed version of the tradition.

What age is Elf on the Shelf for?

There’s no fixed age range. It tends to be most exciting for younger children who enjoy the idea of finding the elf each morning, but older kids can still enjoy the jokes, activities and increasingly silly setups.

More Elf on the Shelf Inspiration

Some of the best simple Elf on the Shelf ideas use whatever is already nearby. A sock can become a sleeping bag, cereal can become reindeer poop and a bowl of candy can become a ball pit.

I find that keeping a small stash of things like googly eyes, cotton balls, marshmallows and blank notes can also make December easier. Mix bigger activities with low-effort Christmas Elf on the Shelf ideas so you’re not trying to build an elaborate scene every night.

There’s plenty of inspiration here for days when you’ve planned ahead as well as nights when you suddenly remember the elf just before bed and we’ve ALL been there!

Elf on the Shelf doll wrapped in a small green and white towel inside a refrigerator.

Other Christmas Crafts

Collage of an Elf on the Shelf doll in various holiday-themed poses with the title “50 Fun & Easy Elf on the Shelf.”
Collage of Elf on the Shelf poses with the text “50 Elf on the Shelf fun and easy ideas.”

Bella Bucchiotti

Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.

 

You Might Also Like

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

1 Comment