If you're a parent looking to sprinkle a little extra holiday cheer into your home, you've come to the right place. I know how hectic the holiday season can be, so I’ve put together 24 quick and easy Elf on the Shelf ideas that will have your little ones grinning from ear to ear. From playful pranks to creative setups, these ideas are designed to be simple yet delightful, giving you more time to enjoy the festivities with your family. Grab your elf and let’s get ready to make this holiday season the most memorable one yet!

Elf Arrival - This is typically done on December first, although most little ones won’t notice which day you decide to introduce your elf. This past year we did go a little overboard and had a local balloon artist create this balloon arrival display for our elf. We provided the elf and the display only cost $25. Some easy ideas to introduce your elf are to set them up with a couple balloons from the Dollar Store, a note from your elf and a little sweet treat, small toy or advent calendar.
Elf Shoe Prank - Grab your kid’s school schools and wrap them in aluminum foil. Add a little note that says “I shined your shoes for you!”. My son thought this was so funny.
Elf Banana Art - Using a permanent marker, draw faces on your bananas, oranges, or avocados and leave the marker sitting on the elf’s lap next to the fruit. My son loves minions so I tried to make the faces resemble the minions.
Elf Poop Prank - This one is so easy and will give your kid a good laugh. Place the arms and legs of your elf inside the center of a toilet paper roll and place an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss behind the elf. Bend the elf over so it looks like the elf has “pooped”.

5. Elf Stealing Cookies - Stack some cans next to your kitchen counter high enough to reach the edge of the counter. Open a package of cookies, crackers or other snacks and have the elf’s arms and face inside the food package so it looks like the elf climbed the cans to sneak a snack.

6. Elf Egg Prank - Use a permanent marker to draw faces on the eggs in your fridge. Setup the elf sitting on the eggs holding the marker. This one is fun because the kids have to search the house looking for the elf first.

7. Elf Toilet Papers the Tree - Grab a few pieces of toilet paper and hang them from your Christmas tree. Push your elf between the branches of your tree so it looks like he got stuck while covering the tree in toilet paper.

8. Elf Cereal Shoe Prank - Fill your kid’s shoes with cereal and stick a spoon in one of the shoes. Sit your elf up next to the shoes with a note that says “I made you breakfast! Sorry, I couldn’t find the bowls.” This is another fun one that will have your kids giggling.

9. Elf Draws on Toilet Paper - All you need is two rolls of toilet paper and a couple markers. Stack the toilet paper rolls on top of each other, draw two black dots for the eyes, small black dots as a smiley face, two black buttons, and an orange triangle nose. The toilet paper should look like a snowman and you can have your elf sticking out the middle.

10. Elf Poop Prank - This one was really fun and got a lot of laughs. I grabbed a muffin tray, added 4 silicone muffin liners (optional), and added four candies into the muffin liners. I used Nerds candies, chocolate malt balls, small chocolate chips, and Smarties candies along with a small piece of paper in each naming a different kind of “poop”. I sat the elf next to the muffin tray with a larger note that read “Joey’s Poop taste testing. Try if you dare!”

11. Elf Marshmallow Bath - Grab a bowl from your kitchen and lay your elf in it like he is taking a bath. Fill the bath with marshmallows and hang a small dishcloth over the side. I added a couple rubber ducks we had next to the bowl along with a note that read “I needed a bath!”. I also included a Christmas Elf themed bath bomb that I had found at the store next to it as a little gift for my son.

12. Elf Door Prank - I grabbed some Christmas ribbon and taped it to the top and sides of my son’s bedroom doorframe. This way when he opened his door in the morning he would have to walk through it or knock it down. I sat the elf up in the hallway near the door with the roll of ribbon sitting next to him.

13. Elf vs. Spider Man - Using some yarn and tape, I taped our elf to the bathroom mirror. Then I setup a toy Spider Man, hung some pieces of yarn over his hand, and made it look like Spider Man did this to our elf. You could do this same thing with any action figure and make it look like that figurine captured the elf. Try it with a Barbie, stuffed animal, super hero or even lego figures.

14. Elf Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt - Hide any number of candy canes around your home and set up your elf with a note telling your kids that they have hidden candy canes around the house. I set up our elf on a sconce light, draped some garland from it and taped on the scavenger hunt note.

15. Elf Trap - This was actually my son’s idea! He asked to make an “elf trap” to try and capture his elf. Using a shoebox, we wrapped it in holiday wrapping paper, cut a hole in the top and added a little handwritten note saying “elf treats inside” and left it by our Christmas tree. I simply placed the elf inside and the next morning my son was so happy that he “caught” the elf.

16. Elf Toy Donation Idea - In early December I always have my son go through his room and donate all the toys and games he no longer plays with to “make room for new toys from Santa”. So once I take the old toys and donate them, the next morning I place the elf in the empty laundry basket or box and leave a handwritten note from the elf that reads: “I took the old toys to the North Pole. Santa was so impressed and said he has a very special present for you this year!”.

17. Elf parade - Grab some cars, trucks, or toy animals and line them up somewhere in your home to look like they are in line for a parade. Put your elf on the first vehicle and add a couple additional characters to the other cars like toys animals, barbies, super heroes, lego figures, etc. You can even add a little note to the elf’s vehicle that says “Christmas Parade”.

18. Magnatile Elf House - If you have Magnatiles or building blocks of some kind, simply build a small house and place the elf next to it or inside it so it looks like the elf built it.

19. Family Photo Prank - If you have framed family photos around your house, use a dry erase marker on the glass of the frame to draw mustaches, angry eyebrows, silly smiles, and funny hair on each family member. Set your elf up nearby with the dry erase marker in their lap. Make sure you are using a dry erase marker as it will easily wipe off glass with a damp rag.

20. Hide and Seek with Clues - This is actually a game we play year around. Hide your elf somewhere in the house and leave clues around the house leading to his location. This does take a little thought and planning because the first clue needs to lead to the second written clue, then that clue leads to the third clue and so on.

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21. Elf Drawing on Mirror - Using a dry erase marker, draw anything you’d like on the bathroom mirror. This could be a silly elf portrait, a silly face, snowflakes, a message from your elf, etc. Leave the elf sitting on the bathroom counter with the marker laying in his lap.

22. Elf Prank with Googly Eyes - This can be done a couple of different ways. You just put googly eyes on things around the house. A fun place to do it is in the fridge. Add googly eyes to drink containers, to your eggs, fruit, and more. You can also add googly eyes to family photos around the house.

23. Elf Lego House - Build a small house or structure out of Legos. I like to leave the elf sitting next to the Lego house with a small pile of Legos and a couple Lego figureas standing next to the house to make it look like the elf and Lego figures were building the house together.

24. Elf Gifts - This one is easy and is nice to sprinkle in during the month of December. I will pick up a couple small gifts or items that the elf ‘gifts’ to my son. Some ideas we have done are a small gingerbread house kit, a Christmas themed bath bomb, a Christmas craft, and a Christmas book. On these days, I just put the gift on the kitchen counter and lean the elf against it. You can choose to add a little note from the elf too.

With these simple and easy Elf on the Shelf ideas, you can add a lot of magic to the holiday season. Your kids will really enjoy waking up each morning and seeing the mischief and fun your elf has created for them. Parents have enough to worry about this time of year so I hope these quick and fun ideas will help you create lots of elf fun without adding more to your plate!