Elf on the Shelf Ideas and Dollar Store Accessories

We are in the home stretch with our elves, Christmas Eve is one week from today.  If you have an Elf on the Shelf you may be running out of ideas on what to do these next few days.  My kids are now older teens, so our visit from our elf Buddy and his friend Joy is a bit different  than it used to be.  Instead of them moving at night when the kids are asleep,  my daughter helps me think of fun ideas for them to do.  We are often at the dollar store, keep our eyes open for items that are the perfect size for our elves. 

This is one of my favorite photos of our elves Buddy and Joy that I took 2 years ago. (this was also when Joy joined in the fun)    I found an adorable little guitar in the toy aisle that was perfect for a Christmas serenade.  

This year I took pictures of some of the different adventures of Buddy and Joy.   Here they are sledding on their very own elf size sleds.  

The sleds were actually ornaments found at  the dollar store.  We decided to remove the berries and greenery so the elves would fit on the sled better, but they also look very festive this way. 

This year the dollar store had mini trees for sale. They were the perfect size for the elves to decorate.  

The elf size present was also found in the ornament aisle.  

The elf size lantern is actually an ornament, and the elf size skillet was found in the toy aisle.  I was wondering what my daughter might do with them and was happily to see them camping. 

You may be wondering what is going on in this picture.  Joy is looking through candy cane binoculars made from a red and white stripped pipe cleaner at something just beyond the hedge.  

The elves came across two reindeer and colorful birds enjoying nature.  

The bird house was found in the craft aisle.   The wild birds were attached to Christmas floral picks.  

This picture was taken a few years ago, and is another one of my favorites. I found elf size easels at either the dollar store or craft store.  They were the perfect size for Buddy to do some art work.  

This is another picture taken a few years ago.  It was very easy to make some elf themed ornaments by gluing white felt on a red ball and DIY stocking ornament. 

Now is also the time to keep an eye out for accessories for next year.  When shopping the Christmas clearance be sure to think out of the box, because you just might something perfect for your elf for a fraction of the cost.