45+ Amazingly Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Busy Moms

With just 63 more days until Christmas, busy moms everywhere have already begun researching new, amazingly easy Elf on the Shelf ideas they can do at home.

Many of these ideas take just minutes to stage. And yes, we did have a few of the ‘Oh crap! We forgot to put the elf out!' moments as well.

My annual Elf on the Shelf PSA: The most important thing to remember is that no matter how much or how little you do, your children will believe wholeheartedly in their little friendly elf, and they will absolutely LOVE whatever the elf does. So sit back and enjoy your child(ren) as they welcome this new family tradition. Don't stress over the little things, or try to keep up with the Joneses. You don't want to lose the Christmas spirit.

Plus, in addition to the fun Elf on the Shelf ideas below, check out our free printables to help make your Elf on the Shelf the coolest elf on the block! (Click on the images to download the printables.)

Letter from Santa

Free Printable Letter from the Elf on the Shelf

and free printable Goodbye Letter from the Elf on the Shelf

Here are 45+ Amazingly Easy Elf on the Shelf moments that kids are sure to love!

Shenanigans again! Looks like someone had a great time rolling down the stairs!

Our elf shared one of his favorite Christmastime stories, ‘Who is Coming to Our House’.

Our little buddy had a great time elf bowling!

This. This is the day near tragedy struck. Our poor little elf barely escaped our Boxer’s gripping jaws of death, as he was nearly devoured in an attempt to satisfy her ravenous, uncontrollable appetite.

Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but our oinker of a pet did grab our little friend in the middle of the night and started eating the Fruit Loop necklace he was making. But no worries, hubs saved the day (and our elf) and relocated him to a much safer place.

45+ Amazingly Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Busy Moms 1

Uh oh! Someone got himself in a bit of trouble again!

Our boys dubbed today’s elf “Christmas Tree Hiker Elf!”

Our Elf on the Shelf returned on December with a little note for the kids.

Every child wants to ride a pony at least once, and our little elf was no exception.

Where’s Elfie? He tried to be sneaky hiding among a few of his best friends.

Do you want to build a snowman? Looks like the Elf on the Shelf loves Frozen as much as our family does.

Bananas!!!! (You must watch the video in this post!)

It may not snow here in Southern California, but that doesn’t mean our elf can’t have a little fun on a candy cane sled!

There’s nothing like a friendly paper bag race with a few friends.

Someone got into a little bit of trouble tonight, and the soldiers bound him and held him hostage.

Today is one of our favorite family traditions when our elf brings a special video message from Santa himself to our children. We love to watch their faces light up as Santa speaks to each of them individually.

And this, children, is why you should never parachute from the upstairs to the downstairs. You’ll snag your parachute on hanging snowflakes.

The elf’s sweet tooth got the best of him tonight and he devoured a jar full of cookies meant to be a present for the neighbors. Bad elf!

Our elf is taking one last flying adventure before heading home to the North Pole tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the flight and remember to keep your buckle on at all times!

Leave it to our mischievous friend to toilet paper our Christmas tree once again this year. The boys loved this so much last year, I guess he decided to repeat it for a few more laughs.

Our crazy elf! Looks like he took it up a notch from the zip line incident earlier this month and decided to try bungee jumping in the kitchen!

Not immune to the rainbow loom fad sweeping across the nation, our elf got a wee bit tied up trying to make his first bracelet.

Today was a special day for the elf as he got to go to 2nd grade with our boys for holiday tradition sharing/show and tell. Thank goodness he came prepared so the boys could carry him and still not touch him.

It’s the day before the last day of school and it looks like I have a much-needed helper in the kitchen to assist me in getting all our teacher and class party treats baked by tonight and ready for school tomorrow.

Of course, our elf deserves a spa day and bubble bath after all that cooking he did yesterday. Too bad I couldn’t join him and have a bubble bath of my own.

Always reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas, elf found one of our favorite Christmas books titled ‘Who Is Coming To Our House?’

Kids, don’t try this at home! We found our elf roasting marshmallows by the fire. The marshmallows didn’t last long between our youngest little one and the dog.

Being the character he is, our little elf thought it would be fun to play cowboy and ride our peacock. Or would that make him a bird boy?

Looks like our little daredevil thought it would be fun to repel down the side of the big boys' bunk beds. Be careful Tiny George, don’t miss a step!

There’s nothing more relaxing than a slow train ride around a glowing Christmas tree, as our elf found out today.

This week started out quiet until our little elf challenged Santa Hello Kitty to a snowball fight. Thank goodness marshmallows don’t melt.

Our little elf is such a stinker! He overheard the boys say ‘I hope he doesn’t climb in our Lego house! Then we won’t be able to play Legos!’, and that is just what he did. Though it looks like he upset the locals at the same time.

Everyone was worried our little elf would get hurt zip lining through the house. Thankfully he didn’t.

Just like me, our elf loves to get his craft on!

Today was a special day for our elf. He brought a special letter from Santa to our children to let them know he would be waiting for them at the North Pole when they rode the Polar Express tonight. You can still grab this FREE printable letter from Santa here.

After such a busy day preparing for the Polar Express yesterday, our little elf took it easy and relaxed at our Cathedral today.

Our little Elf on the Shelf showed up on December with a little note for our children reminding them of the Elf on the Shelf ‘rules’. This adorable FREE printable is available here.

Our Elf on the Shelf thought he’d hide from the boys today and the boys could not find him. Thankfully mom and dad happened to get a glimpse of him to give the boys a few hints on where to find him.

Even More Creative and Fun Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Kids

Tiny George got his craft on today and made a set of photo ornaments for us with glass baubles, tinsel garland and our favorite photos of our children.

Yee Haw!!!!! Tiny George and Woody took a ride around the house on the kids wooden horse.

Oh no! Tiny George caught the nasty bug that had cursed our house just days before Christmas. I hope he feels better in time for Christmas.

Mitch loved this Dino-mite parade under our tree.

On our Elf on the Shelf’s last night with us, he left a note for the kids thanking them for letting him be a part of our family’s lives (and reminding them to leave cookies and milk for Santa!).

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Super Elf!!!!

Tiny George having a swinging good time. The boys thought for sure he was going to get burned by the lights. lol!

Not my new pictures!!! Looks like our little friend had a little fun with the new portraits of our children. That elf graffiti better come off!!! (Thankfully the elf used dry erase markers so the ink wipes off effortlessly.)

This was the day our boys have been looking forward to all month. Tiny George brought a personalized video message for all of our boys letting them know if they were on the nice or naughty list, and how they can keep (or get back on) the nice list before Christmas comes.

Today was a hectic day so Tiny just hopped up on one of our many roosters for a ride around the house. Giddy up cowboy George!

Our little children had a rough day today so Tiny George thought it would be good to remind the boys of Santa’s rules if they wanted to continue to be on the nice list. Good news..it worked! (If only they listened to me as well as they do the elf.)

Bombardier Tiny George to the rescue. Where ever the bad guys are, Tiny George will fly by and save the day.

Storytime with the elf was a big hit. The boys loved how Tiny George invited all their friends to read a book about the true meaning of Christmas.

The force was with Tiny George as he fought the dark side this night.

Looks like someone had a flashback to their high school years of tee-peeing. I wonder who’s going to clean up this mess?

Today was a beautiful day to go finishing, which is what our little elf decided to do.

Looks like our little elf will be staying with us for a while. He built himself a new house last night out of chocolate wafers and frosting.

Tiny George had a great time making a snow angel out of sugar and coconut. He even built a snowman out of marshmallows!

Uh oh! Tiny George decided to have a little fun with our boys by trapping them in their room…UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!! I wasn’t going to be the one to disobey our elf and let them out.

The kids loved the special message Tiny George brought back from the North Pole from Santa. The kids spent the day before with Santa and were so happy Santa remembered their special visit.

Our elf, Tiny George, arrived last Saturday with a special note (and treat) for our children. All they had to do was solve the riddle ‘What’s soft and round with a hole in the middle?’ to find what special treat (doughnuts) the elf brought for them to eat for breakfast.

Check out all our elf fun: