Help With My Elf

Visiting elf idea

Shoebox Arrival Office

The elf opens a shoebox office lined with a towel and posts three short office hours.

  • Arrival
  • Kitchen
  • Nice
  • No mess
  • Household items
  • 10 minutes
  • Toddler-safe
  • Pet-safe
  • First year
Pip, a handmade visiting elf — a stand-in until this idea’s illustration is ready

What you need

These are household pieces. Borrow from the junk drawer first.

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How to set it up

  1. 1

    Line a shoebox with a dish towel and set it on the table.

  2. 2

    Sit the elf inside with a pencil and a blank card.

  3. 3

    Write the hours: mornings for looking, nights for moving, Christmas Eve for goodbye.

  4. 4

    Lean the lid against the box, not on the floor.

If this night works, try next

Fridge Note and Cocoa Bed. A handmade visiting-elf idea card for Help With My Elf.
5 minutesNo mess

Fridge Note and Cocoa Bed

A visiting elf waits on the fridge with a handwritten hello and a cocoa mug made into a tiny overnight bed.

Arrival · Kitchen · Nice · Household items · Toddler-safe

Mixing Bowl Arrival Nest. A handmade visiting-elf idea card for Help With My Elf.
5 minutesNo mess

Mixing Bowl Arrival Nest

The elf arrives tucked in a mixing-bowl nest with a dish-towel blanket and a wooden-spoon pillow.

Arrival · Kitchen · Nice · Household items · Toddler-safe

Pip, a handmade visiting elf — a stand-in until this idea’s illustration is ready
5 minutesNo mess

Breakfast Chair Seat

The elf takes an empty breakfast chair with a napkin and a note that it saved you a seat.

Arrival · Kitchen · Nice · Household items · Toddler-safe

Unofficial. Not affiliated with The Elf on the Shelf® / CCA and B, LLC / The Lumistella Company.