Elf Box: How To...

Sometimes I look through "Elf on a Shelf" ideas and think "Nobody's got time for that", or at least I don't. Last year I wanted to make sure that our Elf's adventures were both toddler friendly, and easy to accomplish after bedtime. Because let's face it...sometimes you are ready to pass out at the first sign that your babies are in bed, and you don't want to spend another half hour getting an elf ready. 

Here are some simple tips to making a bigger elf impact, with just a few little details, and a little time. 

I did mine in advance, and keep them in a little box stored where the kids can't find it. Then it's always accessible from year to year, and everything is pre-made.

How to make items for your "Elf Box"....

For Micah's letters to his elf friends, I cut a piece of white paper into a small rectangle, and tri-folded it like a business letter. Then to add some color, and to hold it folded together, I added some stickers to the edges.

A golf pencil makes a great elf-sized pencil.

One item I used a lot was a pair of scissors from a travel sewing kit! They not too sharp, so pretty safe to be around the kids, but tiny enough for an elf.

Fold up some paper and make tiny snowflakes by cutting little holes out. Open them up to see your beautiful snowflakes! (I used regular scissors for this because they needed to be sharp.)

Lay out a cookbook and a few ingredients to make cookies for Santa! The fun, elf-sized piece here...some tiny measuring spoons. You can find measuring spoons for a "dash" "pinch" and others at some stores. These are the perfect size.

Use some scraps of fleece to make a scarf. Just cut a rectangle, then cut some fringe. No sewing required. I cut out two hat shapes from the same fleece, and sewed a couple of stitches around the edge to look like he was sewing. The tiny scissors came in handy here too.

I actually had a lot of fun with his present-wrapping. I used the tiny scissors and some ribbon to add to his pile of presents.

I wrapped a Milk Duds box and a single Starburst candy to get my tiny presents. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but look so cute!

All of these little props and helpers are now in my "Elf Box" ready to use next year. I'll hopefully add a few more items this year to mix it up a bit, but it's nice to have these on standby.