DIY Elf on the Shelf

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If you don’t have an Elf make your own DIY Elf on the Shelf! Children love the elf’s antics and it’s a great way to count down the days until Christmas.

The idea of the Elf on the Shelf is so cute: every morning the kids have to find Elfie that would have moved to some place in the house doing something funny! I did not grow up with this, but definitely want my kids to, because it is something I would have loved as a child and I am sure they will too!

For those who are not familiar with Elf on the Shelf: Elf is Santa’s helper, here to see if the kids are behaving. Everyday, starting with the 1st of December, the kids will find Elfie in a different spot in the house. Some people let the elf do naughty things, like messing with the cereal etc, but I think I’ll use him to bring a decoration for the play Christmas tree each day, combining advent and Elf activities. Oh, and if you are on Instagram, be sure to follow us doing the #Elfcam challenge (posting a photo each day of Elfie’s new spot in the morning). Creative challenge for mom, yay!

What you will need:

– Felt pieces, colour of your choice, I used red, white and black

– Pipe cleaners, a short one for the body, a short one for the arms, a long one for the legs, two short ones for the shoes

– Polistirene ball or big bead for the head

– Googly eyes or you can draw/paint eyes

– Cotton wool (to fill up the body)

– Paint and brushes

– Felt tip pens

– Glue(that works for felt and polistirene)

– Pompoms

– Thread and needle

The above photo shows the basic steps, at step 5 I added the “decorative” pieces, here you can use your own creativity and available items.

Step 1: cut a triangle, that will fit around the head

Cut two rectangles that will be the body suit

Cut the collar by cutting a circle and then cut small triangles out so it looks almost like a sun

Step 2: paint the head. It makes it easier when you use a tooth pick to hold the ball, and let it dry by sticking it upright into anything closeby

Step 3: bend the arms and the legs and attach to the body

Step 4: Here I could not take photos of myself doing the threading, but let me try to explain. Close the clothes while on the pipe cleaner body with a matching thread. I added the belt while doing this.

Side note, I made the pants short, because it is summer here by us at Christmas time, but you can make your pants longer if you want(yes, I know, it has mittens and a hat, but my children won’t mind).

The collar: Simply use 2 stitches to keep it in place.

Step 5: The hat: stitch the two sides together and turn the whole hat inside out. A white piece of felt was added, to finish it off, and a bell at the top.

For the shoes I simple bend the pipe cleaners around the foot to look like a boot, then added the pompoms. The belt also got a pompom and the hands mittens.

For the face you will have to use your own creativity. Looking at pictures inspired me.

Hope all of this makes sense! Please come and share your elf on our Facebook page if your done, I’d love to meet them!

This is what our Elfie was up to the past few years. Also, see our Easy Elf Adventure ideas you can use the night before.