50 (Easy!) Good Behavior Christmas Elf Ideas

It’s almost that time of the year – the return of the Christmas Elf.

It seems his/her arrival varies a bit. Some show up around Thanksgiving. Our Elf waits until December 1st. Regardless what your Elf’s particular schedule is, here is a round up of 50 easy ideas that will keep him/her active all season long …

1. On the mantle
2. Delivering “snowman” donuts
3. Working on a toy laptop
4. Playing with the wooden train set
5. Coloring
6. Hiding in the Christmas Tree
7. High up on a cabinet in the kitchen
8. Bringing “Elf Kisses” (i.e., Hershey’s Kisses)
9. Visiting the nativity – this is a great opportunity to remind kids the reason behind the season too!
10. Note left on the chalkboard
11. Build a snowman from toilet paper rolls
12. Leave hot chocolate – mug, pack of hot chocolate and a candy cane to stir with
13. Hanging out in the Barbie Dreamhouse
14. Wearing Mickey Mouse ears hat

15. In a stocking
16. Fishing for Goldfish crackers
17. Dress up as a Ninja Turtle
18. Building with Legos
19. Posing with his/her “snow” creation in a window (cut paper snowflakes or string cotton balls)
20. Hanging from a curtain rod
21. Hanging from the light fixture over the kitchen table
22. Having a paper bag race with other toys
23. Looking at a toy catalog (plan this one early in the month so you don’t encourage extra “wants” too close to Christmas!)
24. Peeking into the aquarium or terrarium or hamster cage or hermit crab habitat … you get the idea 😉
25. Feeding the family pet
26. Checking his/her height against the family growth chart (or a ruler)

27. “Lifting” mini marshmallow weights
28. Standing by the cookie jar with a note: “buy more cookies”
29. Cooking in the kids’ play kitchen
30. Riding a dinosaur (or other larger toy)
31. Reading books
32. Encouraging good deeds
33. Bowling with a mini bowling set
34. Leaving a note on the fridge in magnets
35. Taking photos & posing with props in a mini photo booth
36. Brings a new holiday book to share
37. Making snowflake(s) from Q-tips

38. Hiding the fridge and wrapped in a washcloth (hey, it’s cold in there even for an elf!)
39. Leaves a package of break and bake style holiday cookies in the fridge to make
40. Leaves  a note & treat commending good behavior
41. Gifts holiday pajamas to the kids
42. Playing mini golf with a candy cane & mini marshmallow
43. Holding the video game controller – ready to play! (Take it a step further with this fun Minecraft “Creeper” head idea including free printable.)
44. Puts on a SpiderMan mask and hangs from a his webbing (i.e., string)
45. Brings a gift card or tickets to a special holiday event (show, movie, or even a family night out for dessert)
46. Hides candy canes around the house with a note stating how many to find. (Definitely a weekend idea so you don’t have crazed kids running late for school.)
47. Another weekend idea … brings a new DVD and snacks for a family movie night
48. Drawing on the Doodle Board or Etch-A-Sketch
49. On top of the world! Or, at least, a pretend one – i.e., hanging out on top of a globe. Maybe he’s helping Santa plan his route for Christmas Eve?
50. Making a “Happy Birthday, Jesus” card with extra supplies for your child(ren) to make their own

Did you notice a theme here? All the ideas are good behavior based. No tricks or messes. Our Elf each year has stuck to this sort of theme which I appreciate. From my perspective as a parent, if the Elf can be naughty, why can’t the kid? So our Elf helps us model and encourage fun, well behaved ideas.

What’s your Elf’s favorite thing to do or place to surprise your kids?

And, to make this even easier, download this list as a free PDF here. Complete with check boxes so, if you’re like me and tend to forget mid-month, you can X off each idea as you go. Enjoy!

If you want even more “good behavior” ideas, follow my board on Pinterest – The Well Behaved Elf.