December 1st signals the return of the Elf on the Shelf tradition. Last year “Kristi” became a member of our family, and if I’m honest, it proved to be quite the challenge every night to find a creative place for our Christmas cousin. Each night and sometimes each morning, we scrambled to find the perfect location to place her. BIG mistake. This is serious stuff ya'll, and you have to plan!
To make our lives a lot easier this year, my husband and I did a quick brainstorm of new places around the house where we can place our little Elf and ensure squeals of delight each morning for our Lilly!
To help others who are struggling, I pulled together our list. Read on to discover enough fun + more importantly, easy ideas to last you through the entire holiday season. Please note the list isn't in any particular order, and we provide a few extra just in case we have any overachievers that might want to tackle a few in one day.
- Sit her on the closet shelf
- Let her hang out with your child's toothbrush
- Stick her upside down in the cereal box
- Slide her into your child's favorite shoe
- Have her sit at your child's spot at the breakfast table
- Hang her from a chandelier or light fixture
- Stick her in the refrigerator or freezer
- Hide her among the presents under the Christmas tree
- Hang her from the shower or curtain rod
- Have her sit on the back of the toilet - a bit risky, but it's fun
- Sit her in the Christmas door wreath
- Prop her up on your child's favorite Christmas book up on a bookshelf
- Pop her into a stocking
- Got a deer statue? Let her ride it!
- Hide her amongst the tree ornaments
- Sit her on a branch outside
- Sit her on the couch
- Again, a bit risky but prop her up on a ceiling fan blade
- Sit her on the bathroom faucet
- Prop her inside a few rolls of toilet paper
- Sit her on a favorite piece of fruit and prop her up on the kitchen counter
- Take a picture of her next to your kiddo while she or he is asleep and let the photo be your screen saver on your phone. Super cute to put on the computer screen if you have a pre-school or kindergartener doing school work for home.
- Sit her on a doorknob
- Tie her up to the stairway railing
- Sit her inside your door wreath
- Put her inside a toy car
- Place her in one of the pots or pans in the play kitchen area
- Put her in a bowl in the bathroom, fill it with marshmallows for a nice relaxing bubble bath
- Place her next to a bowl filled with goldfish and let her go "fishing" This one requires a few props and a little creativity, but you get the idea.
- Dangle her from inside the chimney
