Elf on the Shelf Letters {2 Free Printables}

Dec 12

Use this Elf on the Shelf letter when your elf arrives to announce the elf’s return and introduce him or her to the kids! Choose from two FREE printables that feature both “I’m back” and “Hello from your Elf”. If you need departure letters check out Sequins and Lipstick Paper Co’s download for the whole set of letters you can print and use year after year.

Download your FREE Elf arrival letters HERE!

Politics, soda, and the Elf… things that divide us! This is our first year with an elf at our home and I hate to break the internet with this news but… it’s really not that big of a commitment! In my humble opinion having an Elf is like decorating a gingerbread house. Your gingerbread house can be elaborate or minimal, big or small, a quick activity, or something you spend hours working on; it’s really up to you and your family how you decorate a gingerbread house. Or the way you incorporate an elf into your holiday traditions.

Our Elf arrived after Thanksgiving and brought each child Christmas pajamas and a Christmas-themed book. The elf arrived in a bubble mailer addressed to my daughter all the way from the North Pole! Was this extra? A little. Did she freak out and absolutely love it? She sure did.

I wasn’t sure how the Elf would be received. If my four-year-old daughter wasn’t excited about the Elf’s arrival we wouldn’t have pushed the subject. My daughter liked this form of Christmas magic so we are running with it this year. She’s four and loves Santa, baby Jesus, lights, glitter, and all things Christmas. TBD how the following years shake out.

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Since it was our first year with an Elf I wanted to have a plan, I bought this elf activity kit. My husband and I have had a fun time setting these up each evening after bedtime. It’s a fun little inside joke! And sometimes bedtime can be rough (parent of toddlers… am I right?!) so setting up something silly really changes the mood.

I set a timer on my phone so I remember to move the elf. Have we forgotten a few times? Yes! Has someone touched the elf by mistake? Yes! Is it still fun and part of the magic of Christmas that my four-year-old currently loves? YES!

Side note: When someone (aka my Brother in Law) touched Elfie we used tweezers to pick her up and put her in the freezer to recharge. North Pole = Cold = Magic restored?! My daughter totally bought into it and all was well.

I hope your takeaway from this post is that Christmas traditions are whatever you and your family want them to be. Have an elf, or don’t. Decorate gingerbread houses or don’t. Put lights in your yard, or don’t. Whatever brings your family joy (and doesn’t add stress)!! If you are on the fence and think the elf is “too much work” because your neighbor Suzie Scrooge said so I’m here to tell you it’s not that hard and your little ones might really enjoy the magic. And isn’t magic what Christmas is about?