Have you heard of the Elf on the Shelf Tradition? It’s hard not to know what it is. It’s all over the internet with entire ebooks and Pinterest Boards devoted to elf hijinks and mischief.
The Dollar Tree has both male and female elf plush dolls you can use to have fun with your kiddos this holiday season (pictured here). It really doesn’t matter if you buy the officially licensed “Elf on the Shelf” toy or not. Any elf, gnome, or holiday toy can be used for this Christmas tradition. The fun lies in coming up with creative poses your kids (and you!) will have fun with. If you get stuck and need some inspiration, here are some fun ideas.
Dollar Store Elf Ideas:
- Arriving in Barbie’s car (more elf on the shelf arrival ideas)
- Have your elf replace the photos in your frames with pictures of… himself!
- Draw mustaches on family members’ photos
- Turn the toilet water green
- Elves like to use green shaving cream, too!
- Wrap your toilet with Christmas wrapping paper
- Replace your screensaver with a photo of your elf
- Your elf can go “fishing” for Goldfish crackers
- Snow angels in flour or sugar on the kitchen floor or counter
- Taking a bath in mini marshmallows
- Lifting weights with large marshmallows on skewers
- Working out on the treadmill
- Making snowmen out of large marshmallows
- Bowling with marshmallows
- Turning the milk green
- Getting stuck in the cookie jar
- Using red and green M&Ms to spell out words or phrases
- Using Scrabble tiles to spell out words or phrases
- Playing Jenga
- Writing Christmas or “Elf-like” words in a crossword puzzle
- Playing with glow sticks
- Playing with your camera, taking pictures of himself
- Uh oh, the elf got stuck in the vacuum!
- Sledding down the banister
- Rolling down the stairs in a toilet paper tube (more funny elf on the shelf ideas)
- Playing dress-up with Barbie’s clothes
- Having a tea party with stuffed animals and dolls
- Trying on Mom’s jewelry
- Going on a movie date with Barbie (add popcorn, the DVD player remote control, and a movie case)
- Sleeping in the Kleenex box
- Reading a Christmas book to the stuffed animals
- Building something with LEGOs
- Taking a shower
- Playing the piano (Christmas music, of course!)
- Sipping on soda through a straw
- After the kids go to bed, have some fun with elf on the shelf ideas for adults ONLY
View more Creative Elf on the Shelf Ideas over at Mommysavers.com.
2 Comments
Fire
I must admit… as creepy as the Elf on the Shelf doll looks, the Dollar Tree dolls are a million times worse. Human head sewn onto a teddy bear? If we add a scarf or skirt that’ll work! Just stop a second and think about that thing moving around your house at night. Um, no thank you!
And just for the record, I think the Elf on the Shelf idea is a great one. The dolls just creep me out.
Mommysavers.com
I can see where you’d think that. Really, you can use any doll or stuffed toy for the elf tradition. The point was you don’t have to spend a lot to participate – you can even use what you already have at home. The licensed elves are around $30 per set. That’s pretty spendy!