🧝 Christmas Elf Ideas for December Printables

A little elf moves in for December, and you need a fresh idea every night. Here they are: pranks, coloring pages, paper props and letters. Everything is free and there is no sign-up.

🧝 223 ideas & printables 🖨️ Ready to Print 🆓 Free, No Sign-Up
Jump to:
🥣 Breakfast & Kitchen 🛁 Bathroom 🧸 Kids’ Room 🛋️ Living Room & Stairs 🎨 Creative & Crafts 🪟 Windows & Outdoors ⏱️ 5-Minute Pranks ✨ No-Mess Ideas 💛 Kindness Ideas 🎅 Special Days 🏫 Daycare & School ✂️ Elf Papercraft Props 📦 Printable Elf Sets ✉️ Elf Letters 🖍️ Elf Coloring Pages 📖 Elf Guide
😜Elf Prank Ideas ✂️Elf Papercraft Props 📦Printable Elf Sets ✉️Elf Letters 🖍️Elf Coloring Pages 📖Elf Guide 🎄Christmas Coloring Pages
🥣

Breakfast & Kitchen

7 ideas

7 pranks around the fridge, cereal and breakfast table.

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Elf prank idea googly eyes in the fridge: the little elf stands in front of yogurt, eggs, a cucumber and cheese that all have googly eyes and smile – coloring page

Googly eyes
Elf prank idea blue milk: the little elf pours food coloring into a milk jug, next to a striped glass of blue milk – coloring page

Blue milk
Elf prank idea bananas with faces: the little elf sits on a fruit bowl and draws funny faces on bananas and tangerines with a thick marker – coloring page

Banana faces
Elf prank idea tiny breakfast table: the little elf sits at a matchbox table with a crumb roll and a thimble cup next to a huge plate – coloring page

Tiny table
Elf prank idea cereal slide: the little elf slides down a spoon like a slide into a big cereal bowl while cornflakes fly around – coloring page

Cereal slide
Elf prank idea eggs wearing hats: in the egg carton, each egg has a face and a little paper hat while the elf stands proudly beside it – coloring page

Eggs in hats
Elf prank idea sugar bowl fishing: the little elf sits on the edge of a sugar bowl and fishes a candy out with a string – coloring page

Sugar bowl fishing
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🛁

Bathroom

7 ideas

7 pranks with toilet paper, rubber ducks and toothbrushes.

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Elf prank idea toilet paper snowman: the little elf stands proudly next to a snowman made of three toilet paper rolls with a scarf and button eyes – coloring page

TP snowman
Elf prank idea shaving foam snowman: the little elf shapes a small snowman with a paper carrot nose in the sink from shaving foam – coloring page

Foam snowman
Elf prank idea rubber duck race: the little elf stands with a start flag at the edge of the tub while five rubber ducks line up in the water – coloring page

Duck race
Elf prank idea toothbrush party: the little elf dances in front of a cup where all the toothbrushes wear tiny party hats – coloring page

Toothbrush party
Elf prank idea marshmallow bubble bath: the little elf lounges in a small bowl of marshmallows holding a toothbrush as a back scrubber – coloring page

Marshmallow bath
Elf prank idea message on the mirror: the little elf stands on the sink and writes a big heart message on the bathroom mirror with a thick pen – coloring page

Mirror message
Elf prank idea toilet paper mummy: the little elf wrapped a stuffed animal in toilet paper in the bathroom, with only the eyes peeking out – coloring page

TP mummy
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🧸

Kids’ Room

7 ideas

7 pranks with stuffed animals, building blocks and books.

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Elf prank idea stuffed animal party: the little elf celebrates in a circle with stuffed animals, streamers and paper hats everywhere – coloring page

Plush party
Elf prank idea caught in a yarn web: the little elf tied stuffed animals and toys to the shelf with yarn like a giant spider web – coloring page

Yarn web
Elf prank idea sock snowball fight: the little elf throws rolled-up socks like snowballs while stuffed animals hide behind a pillow wall – coloring page

Sock fight
Elf prank idea building block climbing wall: the little elf climbs a wall of big building blocks fixed to the shelf using a rope – coloring page

Block wall
Elf prank idea shoe tower: the little elf stacked all the family’s shoes into a tall wobbly tower and sits on top – coloring page

Shoe tower
Elf prank idea book dominoes: the little elf lined up books like dominoes in a long row and tips the first one – coloring page

Book dominoes
Elf prank idea elf camping tent: the little elf built a tiny tent from a tissue and two pencils next to the bed and sleeps inside with a flashlight – coloring page

Elf tent
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🛋️

Living Room & Stairs

7 ideas

7 pranks with stairs, pillows and a zip line.

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Elf prank idea toilet paper on the stairs: the little elf strung toilet paper in zigzags over the whole stair railing and hangs laughing from a strip – coloring page

TP stairs
Elf prank idea gift-wrapped remote: the little elf wrapped the TV remote like a present with a bow and sits happily on the package – coloring page

Wrapped remote
Elf prank idea hats on family photos: the little elf sticks small paper elf hats on the faces in picture frames on the wall – coloring page

Photo hats
Elf prank idea zipline across the room: the little elf zips along a string stretched across the living room using a hanger like a cable car – coloring page

Zipline
Elf prank idea cushion castle: the little elf built a castle with a flag from all the sofa cushions and peeks out of the tower – coloring page

Cushion castle
Elf prank idea tiny movie night: the little elf sits with popcorn in front of a phone or tablet on a pillow like at the movies, with stuffed animals as the audience – coloring page

Tiny movie
Elf prank idea cotton ball snowfall: the little elf scatters cotton balls like snowflakes over the sofa and coffee table – coloring page

Cotton snowfall
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🎨

Creative & Crafts

7 ideas

7 pranks with flour, clay, paper and coloring books.

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Elf prank idea elf masterpiece: the little elf stands before a small easel with a painting he made, pencils scattered all around – coloring page

Elf artwork
Elf prank idea powdered sugar snow angel: the little elf lies on a baking sheet in powdered sugar and makes a snow angel – coloring page

Sugar angel
Elf prank idea floury footprints: the little elf walks through a small trail of flour, with tiny footprints leading across the table to the elf door – coloring page

Flour footprints
Elf prank idea play dough family: the little elf shaped a family of small figures from play dough and lines them up – coloring page

Dough family
Elf prank idea craft challenge: the little elf holds up a large sheet with a star outline to cut out, with scissors and glue nearby – coloring page

Craft challenge
Elf prank idea paper snowflakes: the little elf hangs cut-out paper snowflakes on threads – coloring page

Paper snowflakes
Elf prank idea coloring book elf: the little elf sits in an open coloring book and has already half-colored a page – coloring page

Coloring elf
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🪟

Windows & Outdoors

7 ideas

7 pranks at the window, on the balcony and in the yard.

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Elf prank idea message on the window: the little elf draws a big snowflake and a heart on the window pane with a chalk marker – coloring page

Window message
Elf prank idea tiny washing line: the little elf hangs tiny socks and hats on a string between two flower pots on the windowsill – coloring page

Tiny laundry
Elf prank idea bird feeding station: the little elf hangs a bird feeder ring on a branch outside while birds watch curiously – coloring page

Bird feeder
Elf prank idea snowman with elf hat: the little elf puts a big pointed hat on a snowman in the yard – coloring page

Snowman hat
A little elf stands at the window and looks at the starry sky through a telescope made from two cardboard tubes – coloring page for the Looking for Reindeer elf idea.

Reindeer telescope
A little elf leaves a trail of tiny footprints in the snow in front of the front door – coloring page for the Tracks in the Snow elf idea.

Tracks in the Snow
A little elf sits on the windowsill next to stuffed animals wrapped in fairy lights – coloring page for the Fairy Lights elf idea.

Windowsill Lights
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🎅

Special Days

7 ideas

7 pranks for arrival, St. Nicholas Day, the tree and Christmas Eve.

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A little elf has arrived with a suitcase and bundle, tiny footprints lead from the windowsill to the elf door, and a welcome letter is waiting – coloring page.

Moving-In Night
A little elf polishes a big child's boot with a tiny brush, with a smiling tangerine beside it – coloring page for the St. Nicholas Day elf idea.

Polished Boots
A little elf on a ladder hangs a big ornament on a small fir tree while tinsel drapes over him – coloring page for the Elf Decorates the Tree elf idea.

Elf Decorates
A little elf bakes tiny cookies on a mini baking sheet with flour puffs and cookie cutters around – coloring page for the Midnight Bakery elf idea.

Midnight Bakery
A little elf carries a big wish list on his back to the window where a tiny sled waits – coloring page for the Wish List Delivery elf idea.

Wish List Delivery
A little elf sits on a packed mini suitcase and waves, with a heart note beside him – coloring page for the Last Night, Packing Up elf idea.

Packing Up
A golden bell and a farewell letter lie on a pillow while only a waving cap shows in the window – coloring page for the Christmas Eve elf idea.

Bell and Letter
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Christmas elf ideas, elf door printables and props

The Christmas Elves section on PureSketchy gathers what parents, preschools and elementary classrooms need for a month with a little elf. You get 77 elf prank ideas in 11 categories, from a five-minute setup at the breakfast table to a kind deed for the neighbors. Each one comes with a supply list, steps and a picture that doubles as a coloring page.

For the elf door there are 49 paper props: furniture, doors and tiny houses that you print, color, cut and fold. The elf is about the size of a yogurt cup, and the pieces are scaled to match. If you would rather build whole scenes, pick one of the 44 printable sets with signs, cards and labels for a small paper world.

On top of that you will find 25 coloring pages, 12 letter packs and 16 guide articles. The letters have a blank for the name, because our elf has no fixed name. Each family picks its own, and the guide has plenty of ideas.

All elf door printables are free, with no account and no sign-up. A printer, paper, scissors and crayons are enough. New to this, start with the guide. In a hurry, grab a prank for tonight.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Christmas elf tradition?

A small elf arrives in December and plays tricks or leaves letters at night. You set it up in the evening and the kids find it in the morning. The guide explains the origins and how to run it.

How big is the elf, and do I need an elf door?

The elf is about the size of a yogurt cup. A door is a nice extra but not required. A spot on a shelf works too, and the guide shows how to do it without a door.

Does the elf need a specific name?

No. On PureSketchy the elf has no fixed name, so your family chooses one together. The letters include a blank line for it.

Which printables can I download?

Paper props for furniture and doors, printable sets with signs, cards and labels, and letter packs. Standard letter or A4 paper works, and heavy cardstock makes the furniture last longer.

Is this suitable for preschool and elementary school?

Yes. Many pranks work in a preschool, there are letters for groups and classrooms, and guide articles cover both. The coloring pages make a calm activity in December.