Free Printable Elf on the Shelf Calendar: 24 Days of Easy Ideas 2025
Luci McQuitty HindmarshHere's an Elf on the Shelf calendar filled with daily ideas to make life easier for frazzled parents!!
The Elf Is Coming!!
Your Elf is coming back this December... Which means you're about to spend the next 24 nights trying to remember where you put them and what they should be doing tomorrow morning.
If you're new to this: the Elf on the Shelf visits from the North Pole each December to keep tabs for Santa. Every night, they fly back to report. Every morning, they return somewhere new in your house.
Your kids wake up buzzing to find them.
You wake up at 11:47pm realising they're still on the same shelf as yesterday.
This free printable calendar sorts you out for the entire month. You'll get all 24 days mapped out, so you can stop midnight-scrolling through Pinterest and get some sleep.
What's in the free Elf on the Shelf calendar
One simple PDF you can print and stick on your fridge.
Each day has one quick setup. Nothing complicated. Nothing requiring a late-night shop. Just easy ideas your kids will love finding each morning.
Most take under five minutes. Some need zero props (you've already got what you need).
All 24 Elf on the Shelf ideas in your calendar
Here's the complete list:
- Day 1: Elf Arrival Day – Leave a note to say hello
- Day 2: Movie Night – Watch a Christmas movie with your Elf
- Day 3: Candy Speller – Elf's name written in candy or cereal
- Day 4: Selfie Time – Your Elf took a silly selfie
- Day 5: Wrap Attack – Toilet paper roll swapped for gift wrap
- Day 6: Tree Topper – Elf climbed to the top of the tree
- Day 7: Hide and Peek – Elf hiding inside the Christmas tree
- Day 8: Storytime – Elf reading to toy friends
- Day 9: Hanging Out – Elf hanging from an ornament
- Day 10: Book Tent – Elf made a tent from books
- Day 11: Tower Builder – Built a tower from Solo cups or LEGO
- Day 12: Dress-Up Day – Elf wearing a fun outfit
- Day 13: TP Hideout – Elf hiding in a stack of toilet paper rolls
- Day 14: Mini Pancakes – Whipped up elf-sized pancakes
- Day 15: Snow Angel – Elf made an icing sugar snow angel
- Day 16: Snowman Maker – Built a marshmallow snowman
- Day 17: Banana Art – Drew funny faces on bananas
- Day 18: Ball Pit Fun – Elf in a pom pom ball pit
- Day 19: Sleepover – Elf sleeping in a sock sleeping bag
- Day 20: Game Time – Invitation to play a printable game
- Day 21: Bubble Bath – Cotton ball or marshmallow "bath"
- Day 22: Message Maker – Wrote a note with Scrabble tiles
- Day 23: Yoga Elf – Relaxing in a yoga pose
- Day 24: Farewell Day – Goodbye letter and small treat
Each one gets a proper reaction from your kids without wrecking your house. (Nobody needs glitter at 7am.)
Why this calendar helps
You don't need another browser tab with 47 Elf ideas you'll never use.
You need something you can check in three seconds and know exactly what to do tonight.
That's this.
Print it once. Check it daily. Never run out of ideas by 5th December.
The ideas work whether you've got ten minutes or two. Whether you've got craft supplies or just what's in your pantry.
Your kids won't know the difference between an elaborate setup and a simple one. They just want to find their Elf doing something new.
How to use your Elf calendar
Download the PDF below and print it tonight.
Stick it inside a kitchen cupboard or on the fridge where you'll see it.
Each evening (or morning, if you're cutting it fine), check what's next and set it up in under five minutes.
Done.
No overthinking. No comparing yourself to Instagram parents. Just quick ideas that work in real houses.
Download your free calendar now
Print it tonight. Keep it handy all month.
Then pour yourself a hot chocolate and enjoy your kids' faces when they spot what their Elf's been up to.
This year, you're sorted.
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