40 Times People Took ‘Elf On The Shelf’ To Another Level And Shared The Ideas In This Facebook Group
Interview
Santa Claus is always keeping track if you’ve been naughty or nice. But don't think that he's doing all of this all alone. There’s a whole planet full of people to keep track of! So Santa has helpers—his iconic elves who lend him a helping hand, and a pair of watchful eyes.
It’s not unusual for people to have an ‘elf on the shelf’ somewhere in their homes. They work wonderfully as witty decorations, and the elves also keep track of how good you’ve recently been. Don’t let their small stature fool you, no detail slips unnoticed past their honed senses (Legolas isn’t even in the same ballpark as these guys and gals). Every morning, kids rush to check out what the elf has done overnight, and the results are often funny and heartwarming.
The ‘Elfing Around’ Facebook group is a fantastic online community of creative Christmas decoration enthusiasts. It’s a place for “elf on the shelf planning, inspiration, and sharing your fun ideas.” It’s never too late to start planning for next year’s holiday season, so scroll down, check out the best elves and their pranks, and reward them with a big old upvote. The pics are wholesome, hilarious, and filled to the brim with puns! And they'll make your day. Promise.
The co-founders of the Facebook group are Toni, who runs the 'Finding Myself Young' blog, and Holly, the creator of the 'Simplify Create Inspire' blog. Bored Panda got in touch with Toni, and she was happy to tell us more about 'Elfing Around' and why people love elves on shelves so much. Read on for our full interview!
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Kisses From Heaven. My Daughter Said This Was Her Favorite Thing Her Elf Has Ever Done!
That's the loveliest one yet. My heart is kinda breaking a little at the same time though
Not Sure If This Has Been Posted Yet
Not My Work. Seen In A Craft Group But Thought It Was A Great Idea!
Toni, the co-founder of 'Elfing Around,' was kind enough to answer Bored Panda's questions about the Facebook group, as well as the elf on the shelf phenomenon.
"Holly and I created Elfing Around in 2021 as a way for parents all over the world to easily share their own elf ideas and get inspiration and advice from each other," she said, referring to her friend Holly, who also runs the 'Simplify Create Inspire' blog. Meanwhile, Toni has plenty of blogging experience running 'Finding Myself Young.'
"We had been sharing our own elf ideas on our blogs for a few years already, however, the Facebook group has allowed us to bring people together in a more interactive way and it's grown into a wonderful international community. It's been great sharing our passion for elf on the shelf with so many like-minded parents, however, neither of us expected it to grow as quickly as it has this year."
Our Elves Tonight Ironing Out The Wrinkles
One Of Our Favorites So Far
Martha And Snoop Dogg
Bored Panda was curious to get Toni's take on why people love elf on the shelf so much, and why it's such a popular concept.
"Kids are only young for such a short period of time and the key for me is to harness their imagination and belief in magic during those years. Elf on the shelf is a wonderful way parents can bring the magic of Christmas alive for their children and create amazing memories they'll look back on fondly once they're grown," she shared with us.
Times Are Tough, A Quarter Is A Quarter
I Used A Wrapping Paper Roll And A Glue Gun
Pivot
"As parents we all want to see our kids happy and the joy the kids have each morning getting up to see what the elf's done is priceless and makes all the late nights in December worth it," she said.
Meanwhile, we just had to know if there's a secret to making a fantastic elf on the shelf decoration. "I think the main thing to focus on is to do ideas that will impress your own children because that's ultimately who you're doing the elf for. My best advice would be to follow their current interests and add in an element of [age appropriate] humor," Toni said.
Ran Out Of Wrapping Paper & Decided The Elf Had To Leave With A Bang
Peek A Boo
At the time of writing, the ‘Elfing Around’ Facebook group had just shy of a quarter of a million fans—the community has 237.4k members. In the last week alone, 6k people joined the group!
The community itself was started in September, 2021, and has been growing strong ever since. The beauty of the group lies in just how wholesome the content is. We honestly couldn’t stop smiling when we saw how imaginative some of the holiday decorations were. These people are going the extra mile, and sharing their ideas with the world. It’s hard not to feel motivated to do something similar, but with a personal creative twist.
I Need To Post My Other Ones, But This Is Today’s
The elf feigned innocence, but the grinch knew the truth. Frosty had gotten a little too close to discovering the demonic overlord's evil plan, and thus, he had been silenced. One could only hope that the elves would not go after the snowman's family.
Grinch Is At It Again With What He Calls Holiday Spirit
Once again, the grinch had managed to save Christmas from the so-called "elf." Sadly, the humans were still unwilling to believe the elf's true nature. But the grinch soldiered on, letting the demon in disguise take credit for his spreading of holiday cheer, waiting for the day he could banish the demon for good.
So Clever
Through the lens of a hidden camera, the grinch watched as a lone elf transformed the humans' paper money into metal coins. This would not only make it into usable elven currency, but it's small, round shape made it ideal for smuggling it away in bags of Christmas candy.
To keep the entire community running smoothly, the administrator and moderator team that runs ‘Elfing Around’ asks the members to follow certain rules. “We're all in this together to create a welcoming environment. Let's treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required,” they urge everyone to be polite to one another.
“Make sure that everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind isn't allowed,” they note that there’s a zero-tolerance policy for any degrading comments.
I Added Some Guest Stars This Year
Left My Husband In Charge! He Did Good He Gets A Point!
We Pea'd In Your Pants!
There’s also no room for spam or irrelevant links. The focus should be on elf on the shelf decorations and ideas. Meanwhile, self-promotion and product promotion are only allowed on a specific weekly post.
“Being part of this group requires mutual trust. Please remember when sharing photos of children that this group is public and other members can then share them. Please also stop and think whether your child would be happy having their photo/video on the internet before posting them to the group. Videos of children obviously upset will not be approved, share them on your own fb page, but not in this group,” the team running the group set some ground rules for all of the other members.
If you enjoyed the pics, be sure to check out the 'Elfing Around' Facebook group, as well as Toni and Holly's blogs, 'Finding Myself Young' and 'Simplify Create Inspire.'
Yesterday Morning We Had “Snow” Angels
Sometime in the night, the "elves" had gotten into the humans' supply of "special snow." The grinch only hoped he could clean up the mess before the children saw what monsters their elves really were. Though thoroughly drugged out, the elves would still prove difficult to subdue.
This Is Just A Table Runner Or Wrapping Paper This Is A Cute Idea As Well
Elf On The Shelf About To Make A Big Mistake
The idea of the elf on the shelf has its roots in a 2005 American picture book for kids, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell and illustrated by Coë Steinwart.
The story is about elves who visit children from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, and then return back to the North Pole until the next year. While they’re scouting out people’s homes, they help Santa keep track of who’s naughty and who’s nice. It’s a family tradition started by Aebersold and her twin daughters, Chanda and Christa.
Naughty Elf
Chippy Made Brown-E’s For The Boys Tonight!
Ever since the release of the picture book, the elf on the shelf has become a viral phenomenon and has entrenched itself into pop culture. Though many people focus on making the decorations as beautiful and fun as they can, others hone in on the more humorous aspects of the fad. They make parody decorations in a wide range of settings. Others do their best but end up failing in spectacular ways.
My Daughter Loved This One
For The Star Wars Crew. The Reaction In The Morning Was Worth It
Our Elf Holly Guards Our Home From The Grinch!
The grinch had been fighting the "elf" for days, but it was no use. All the grinch wanted was to free the angel from her tree-shaped prison, but any time he came close to the top, the demonic humanoid attacked. Whether the humans were aware of the angel's imprisonment, the grinch was unsure.
If you enjoyed the photos, be sure to join the Facebook group. And if you’d like to share your own winter elf deco, feel free to do so in the comments, dear Pandas! For some more elf on the shelf inspo, check out Bored Panda’s previous posts right here and over here.
They Went To Work With My Hubby !!
To Hot In This House So I’m Just Chilling
Ouch!
The elves were getting out of control. Though they tried to convince the grinch of the innocence of their plot, he saw through their lies immediately. There was no way a demonic overlord such as theirs would let them cause anything but chaos and pain. The grinch had yet to discover the motive of their dastardly plan, but he was determined to bring the elves down once and for all...
Good Bye Kevin
I Did It!! Not The Best But…
Our Elf's Best Hide
Make Sure You Take Some Time To Recover From The Holiday Rush!
Relaxing? This did not match the pattern of behavior the grinch had seen in the elves. Was this a part of the master plan, or had this elf gone rogue?
Our Elf Was Up To No Good That Night!
Hot Stone Massage Time
Chicken Wing, Chicken Wing, Hot Dog And Bologna, Chicken And Macaroni, Chillin’ With My Homies
The grinch hated that the humans forced him into the cold box with the elves, but there was nothing he could do while the two-legged giants were watching with their flashing rectangles that recorded anything they were pointed at.
Not Sure Elvin Will Be Allowed Back Next Year!
As I suspected, their roof collapsed for other reasons (busted pipe) so they made the most of it
Kissing Booth
What possible reason could the elves have for seducing the princess dolls? Perhaps their overlord needed the master key to the Christmas lights, a key which was guarded carefully by the League of Princesses for the Good of Christmas. LOPFTGOC for short, they were working on a better acronym.
We Don’t Use The Traditional Elf On The Shelf But A Vintage Annalee. Her Name Is Marilyn
My hubby is an artist.
One of the very first elfing activity in the beginning of the month … He had Marilyn start a painting of herself alongside with Dumbo which is our daughters favorite stuffed animal.
Our 5 year old daughter has been asking where the painting is.
It is now complete.
Marilyn has already hitched a ride with Santa.
I think our daughter is gonna freak in the morning
Tinsel And Faith Arrive On Their First Day
Grinch Is Trying To Pack Up Holly
Finally, the grinch had successfully captured an elven spy! He planned to hold the demon for ransom, hopefully gaining information about the master plan. He only hoped that the overlord valued the lives of his workers, as the grinch had no desire to actually harm the elf. But, after all, the elves were demons and not real people. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made.
Taking The Reindeer Out For A Run
Last Minute Desperate Attempt For A Goodbye! Hoping This Is Believable For A 7 Year Old Lol
Day 11 Shark Fishing Toilet
Kids Loved This One This Morning!
So Apparently Everyone On Here Has Bendable Elves. Ours Just Flop. Where Can You Get Bendable Ones But Still The Same Look?
While the elves frolicked in the humans' baking supplies, the grinch enlisted the help of two of his most trustworthy friends. Though the penguin was known to get distracted easily, the polar bear would ensure their surveillance mission was successful.
Our Final One For The Year Merry Christmas Everyone
@fair_weather_rose can i try this one? :D The grinch had conquered the great tree- shaped prison while the elves were frolicking in baking supplies and causing low-grade mischeif. Once the angel was freed, she freed all the others from their leafy green jail. together, the grinch, easily distractible mr. penguin and polar bear rounded up all the elves . mr. penguin lost his hat, but no other casualties occured. after the others were rounded up the demons, the angel banished them, but the sneaky devils could not live without a trace of them, so the flour they were frolicking in earlier they threw on the window to show that they would always come back..
Our Elf, Timmy Blue, And Snoop Dogg Trying To Save Him From Being Taken By The Aliens!
I think, quite possibly, this is a group hallucination; brought on by Snoop's liberal use of Christmas cheer.
A Few Days Ago, Tommy Our Elf Cut Holes In My Son’s Boxers
My son was not too happy about that so he cut Tommy’s hat.
So for our last day with Tommy til next year, we Tommy gave my son a peace offering with a Grinchmas Eve box.
Against his will, the grinch had been forced to assist the elves in making a magical box to teleport the young human to an unknown location upon opening the present. What was he supposed to do, refuse? They threatened to break his lucky candy cane!
No Elves Were Harmed In The Making Of This Scene
Though the staging seemed to be a harmless magic trick, the grinch knew the truth. An elf had turned against the overlord, and had been executed for its disobedience.
So Creative
My Boys Woke Up This Morning Not Very Happy With Freddy Mcgiggles. They Said He Got Mixed Up!!! They Wanted The Real Nintendo Switches Instead Opps!!!!
Switches? It was like the elves were trying to provoke the children into rebeling. The grinch could only do so much. He would need reinforcements.
This One Just Popped Into My Head Tonight And Was Super Quick. Elf Held Up By Luisa
Returning A Nutcracker!
Love This
Bucky - Our Elf !!!! This One Went Over Great!!
Final Day Before Lucy Yum Yum Went Back To The North Pole She Left My Daughter Some Chargers Because Her Phone Is Always Dead Lol….side Note Am I The Only One Who Gave Their Elf Little Roll Up Elf Feet Lol
No way the elves would leave out that many cords for no reason. Perhaps they were electrically charged to shock the first one to touch them? The grinch would have to investigate further.
This Went Better Than I Thought.. But He Is Still Trying To Figure Out Where The Body’s Are… He Said But There’s No Blood Anywhere!!
With the help of a large green baby, the grinch was able to eliminate several elves. The name "grogu" was sewn into the back of the child's odd garment, and while it seemed unable to speak, it was willing to eat anything and everything.
My Twins Were So Happy To Show Rubie And Ruben Off At School
The elves had climbed into the clear beverage pods, a definite attempt to infiltrate the human childrens' school. The grinch tried to stow away in the outer pocket of a rainbow unicorn backpack, but he had been found out quickly. His lack of traditional cuteness was doing him no favors in this never-ending struggle against the forces of the demonic overlord.
Yay It Worked!! And Her Elf Was Inside And Had A Note That Said “Brrr You’d Freeze Your Pants Off Out There”
Practicing Some First Aid
I think it's the Gingerbread Man, who who always seems to get himself into a scrape every Christmas!
Tonight’s Effort… Santa Sauce
The elves' little "craft project" could only be described as a murder plot. Was that the overlord's mission? To kill Santa and take his place as bringer of gifts and joy during the holiday season?
So What’s Everyone’s Elf’s Name? Ours Is Hank. I Want Sparklefart But That Was Denied
I Found Some
at least these elves are vaguely cute...or at least closer to it than most
Popcorn
Last Day For My Elves… They Have A Big Announcement To Make For My Kids : They Will Be Parents ! So Excited For Them
This Year We Welcomed Our Elf, Kringle, Into Our Home. I Couldn't Do Alot Because I Got Sick, But I'm Hoping That I Can Come Up With Alot More Ideas During This Next Year
Was the crochet a ruse, or were the elves making something sinister? One thing the grinch knew for sure, was that the elves sure knew how to make a mess of perfectly good yarn.
The Kids Said “Mason Ate Santa’s Cookies”
Grinch Milk
Merry Christmas To All! The Elf Tree Is My Version Of Elf On A Shelf!
I Didn’t Have Window Snow So I Did This Instead With Powdered Sugar
Our Elf Left This Morning And Left A Friend To Stay For The Year It’s Overrrrrrr
Thanks Whoever Posted This Pic Idea Somewhere. My Daughter Is Going To Love It When She Wakes Up
Our Elf Arrived Very Late... So, Santa Made A Special Exception
Elvis poops peanut butter cups into crystal. No porcelain throne for him!
Santa Made His Way To The Naves House!💚🎄 The App Is Called “Catch Santa” You’re Welcome
My Son Is In The Navy Out On A Carrier So We Dressed Elfie In Uniform
Chop Sticks, Dental Floss, Paper Clips, Gold Fish Crackers, And... A Little Melted Tootsie Roll
This Is The Setup For Today! I Hope My 6 Year Old Daughter Doesn’t Cry On This One!
Elf Got Creative
We Use That When The Kids Are Fighting And If They Stay In That Too Long They Might Leave For A Few Days
Found This At The Goodwill 4yrs Ago It’s Perfect Cause My Youngest His Birthday Is December 27th Tomorrow. He’s So Excited To See His Elf Again Just For A Day
I Came Up With This Idea Last Night
I Thought This Was Clever And Super Easy… “Star-Bucks”!
Christmas Eve Is Storytime For Holly And Grinch
Grinch Is At It Again! Wants To Make Holly Into Soup!
I believe your talking about my stories, thank you so much! Glad I could inject a little leftover holiday spirit into the lives of fellow boredpandians!
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ive never thought the elves were cute, fair_weather_rose's lovely story cemented my belief that they were nasty little smatchets!
Yeah her narrations were so funny and well written lol
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This was funny but I hate elf on the shelf so much, they’re so ugly and creepy
I hope you saw some of my stories! Those elves are simply minions to the demon overlord!
Load More Replies... I believe your talking about my stories, thank you so much! Glad I could inject a little leftover holiday spirit into the lives of fellow boredpandians!
Load More Replies... ive never thought the elves were cute, fair_weather_rose's lovely story cemented my belief that they were nasty little smatchets!
Yeah her narrations were so funny and well written lol
Load More Replies... This was funny but I hate elf on the shelf so much, they’re so ugly and creepy
I hope you saw some of my stories! Those elves are simply minions to the demon overlord!
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