Traveling with Elf on the Shelf plus 8 more quick ideas

As promised, here's the last installment of this year's quick and easy Elf on the Shelf ideas.  I've got eight more great ideas for you, but, better than that, I've got two ideas for traveling with your Elf.

We're visiting Nana and Gramp this year for Christmas.  I debated taking Lion with us and originally planned not to.  But, then Doug came up with a great idea, even better than the clever idea I had, so Lion is traveling, too.

Even if you're traveling this weekend, you still have time to pull of both of these ideas.  First, the morning that you leave, have your Elf be found playing with a phone, iPad, or some other gadget capable of sending photos.  Then, stage photos around your house for the number of days you'll be gone and have them ready on your phone or iPad.  You can tell your kids that the Elf is sending the pictures to them each day.

Option two is taking the Elf with you.  The morning you leave have the kids find your Elf with his own suitcase, ready to hop in the car or on the plane.  If you have a toy suitcase, use that.  If not, wrap a very small box in brown construction paper and add a string, pipe cleaner, or ribbon handle.  Then, when you get to your destination, you have a whole new house to work with, plus hopefully some more family members who can help come up with some ideas.  I know I'm just about out of good ones!


So, there you go.  You're covered either way with a clever way to finish out your month of Elf on the Shelf.  Your kids will be excited and you won't have to answer "What happened to the Elf?  Where's the Elf?  Did the Elf stay home?  Will he be okay while we're gone?"

And, without further ado, here are 8 more quick ideas for the busy nights you're too tired to be creative.

We found Lion on top of the fridge one morning where he'd left a note for Phee.

 

Phee loves sprinkles and has about a dozen different kinds.  Lion made use of the snowflakes one day so he could make some snow angels.  

 

Time to sing some Christmas carols!

 

Making a naughty and nice list.  This was a funny list, with Phee's classmates on the nice list, the bad guys from her shows and books on the naughty list, and then Phee and her best friends on the extra nice list.  

Snowball fight!  (use balled up tissue paper or white pom poms)

Time to snuggle up with a blanket and a good Christmas book.

Lion had some presents to wrap.

And, probably my favorite one yet, Lion visiting with Santa.  The beard is white felt.

Merry Christmas!  What has your Elf been up to lately?

Need more ideas?  Here's Part 1 and Part 2 of my Elf on the Shelf series for this year.

7 days of easy Elf on the Shelf ideas

I've been having so much fun with our Elf on the Shelf this year.  I love coming up with creative little ways to surprise Phee in the morning.  The paper chain from the last post was the most involved thing I've done so far, yet each day has been cute and more than just hide-and-seek.

I've actually found it really easy to come up with elaborate, time consuming things for Lion to do.  It seems to be a bit tricky to come up with something interesting, but fast and simple.

We're all scurrying around this time of year with shopping, decorating, wrapping and more.  To help you in your quest for fun while busy, here's another week of quick and easy ideas!

Lion got his little snowman friend to drive him up to the tree with a truckload of decorations.

Phee's birthday is in early December which made for some easy Elf nights. He left her a birthday card to find on her birthday morning.  (You could do this with a Christmas card instead.)

Pirate monkey captured Lion!

We play lots of games when my mom is in town visiting and this time was no exception.  Lion wanted to get in on the fun!

A tired Lion decided to camp out in the living room near the Christmas tree one night.

Time for more decorating!  This time, Lion decided to make some tiny paper snowflakes to add to the tree he decorated last week.

This morning, Phee found Lion swinging away in the Christmas tree.

I hope those give you some fun ideas for busy nights when there isn't time to set your Elf up in a big staged scene.  What have your kids enjoyed the most about their Elf so far this year? 

If you're looking for more ideas, check out the first part of this series for some more fun!

Quick & Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas

We've hopped on the Elf on the Shelf bandwagon.  Well, we had him last year, but Phee was still little and we didn't do anything more than hide him around the house as a sort of hide-and-seek game.  She enjoyed it, but it really wasn't anything special.  He did acquire a name last year, though: Lion.  Go figure.

Anyway, this year, I wanted to have more fun with the whole process.  But, I don't always have a lot of time to do some of the more elaborate setups that I've seen from friends and Pinterest.  I've been coming up with some quick and easy ideas for our little Lion.

Also, if anyone is curious, we don't use the book or actual premise of the elf.  I think the book is kind of creepy.  So, we tell Ophelia that Lion just comes to see us every year to help spread Christmas cheer and spirit.

The first night, our tubs of Christmas decorations were still out.  I set Lion up with some little snowmen Phee got last year and he had fun catching up with old friends.

The next night, Lion wanted to check out Phee's stash of coloring books.  He had fun, but Phee was not pleased with him in the morning.  She moved him and made him sit on a shelf while she was at school all day.

By the third night, Lion was ready to explore some more of the house so he helped himself to a tea party in Phee's kitchen.

After a tea party of fake food, Lion was ready for real sugar.  Phee thought this one was pretty funny and kept holding up the stuffed animal she was taking to school so he could see what Lion was doing.

Lion really got into the Christmas spirit last night by decorating our ficus tree.  I just used some patterned scrapbook paper to make a small paper chain for him to use.

What fun things has your elf done so far this year?  I'll have more ideas next week!  I'm still formulating plans, but I'll also have ideas for those of you traveling at the holidays, whether you'll be taking your Elf with you or not.  Stay tuned!

Update: Here's part 2 of the Elf on the Shelf series this year!