Welcome to Elf Central! If you’ve just stumbled upon this popular holiday series starting with this post, you won’t want to miss all the great elf action we have organized for you:

Elf on the Shelf Central: All of the ideas and instructions you’d ever need for some festive fun rounded up in one spot for your convenience here.

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Hi again! I’m Carey Pace, a mom who loves imagination, creativity, and FUN! I’m sharing an entire Elf on the Shelf season here on Peanut Blossom. Previously we covered AROUND THE HOUSE. Now let’s see post 4 of the 6:

INCORPORATE THE TOYS!!!

What kid wouldn’t find it wonderfully fun that their Elf on the Shelf got bored and decided to play with the toys surrounding him?

DINOSAUR PARADE

My son has always had a fascination with dinosaurs and we have quite a collection of dinosaur figures. (Our favorite is actually the Papo brand. We have a particular fondness for the lesser known Spinosaurus, and of course the T-rex. The kids love how the jaws move.) This year the dinosaurs decided to have a parade along our stairwell and take our Elf for a ride.

If you don’t already own dinosaurs, this set may be a good starting place. One or two dinos per stair step!

DISNEY CARS SCENE (repeat!)

Jolly first did a Disney Cars scene back in 2012. Last year I wrote about not being afraid to REPEAT past successful and well loved antics. Here was that Cars scene, take 2!

If your kids are into Planes instead of Cars, you could totally do this idea as a Runway! Here were my supplies for a regular road race:

I used black construction paper and cut out white rectangles from leftover Sticker Paper I had on hand for the dashed lines in the ‘road’. (Though the price for 100 sheets of this sticker paper looks really intriguing! If you’ve used this paper before, let me know! I love having sticker paper on hand for any project that comes up!)
I used this Route 66 magnet for the sign.
For the steering wheel, I used a rubber washer or gasket thing I found in my husband’s tool supplies in the garage.
We’ve collected the Cars over the years, but here are some of the sets if you don’t have them already. Here, Here and Here.
Jolly wanted to take part in the race, so he hopped inside one of my son’s outgrown Lightning McQueen slippers!

RAINBOW LOOM CATASTROPHE

Like probably 99% of all other elementary aged children last Christmas season, my kids were very into the Rainbow Loom. I confess, I actually really enjoy making things with the Loom myself.

But poor, poor Jolly. He wanted to make the kids special bracelets. He wanted to so very badly. But unfortunately, he got himself in quite a pickle.

Positively stuck. He wove himself right into the Rainbow Loom bracelet he attempted to make! You never know… perhaps some of the toys could use this idea to hold your Elf hostage!

If you don’t have the Rainbow Loom, perhaps you have one of those Potholder Weaving Looms. The same concept would work for those, too!

GRAND STUFFED ANIMAL COLLECTION

My daughter never had toy obsession phases like her brother had (airplanes, ocean creatures, dinosaurs)… until she discovered her fondness for stuffed animals. I remember finding it somewhat ridiculous when we’d receive stuffed animals as baby gifts, wondering who actually plays with them. My son sure didn’t. Well, now I know. Some kids do, very much, and my daughter is one of them. (if you happen to have read my piece about control over at The Creative Mama, letting her take her stuffed friends outside is another place I’ve chosen to relinquish control. I am so thankful I did. they have so much fun using their imaginations with the stuffed animals outdoors).

When she received her first Ty Beanie Boo, there was no turning back. She has always, always preferred smaller stuffed animals over larger ones. She now prefers them to have large, sparkly eyes too. Go figure. Jolly simply had to round all of them up and count them!

Whatever it is that your child is into right now, round it all up in one spot! They’ll go crazy seeing their stuff arranged that way!

SUGAR CUBE SNOW BALL FIGHT WITH BUZZ

One of the first ideas I ever remember pinning back in the day for my Elf on the Shelf was a marshmallow snow ball fight with another toy. Love that creative idea! It had to be Buzz Lightyear, among the toys we owned, since he’s the only “person” or character we have! But I thought it would be so much cooler looking if I used sugar cubes to stack the best fake snowball forts.

Here’s what I learned.

Probably best NOT to stage this idea on the dresser of your kids’ room. It takes a while to set up — much longer than I anticipated — and you don’t want to risk waking the kids up!
I bought two boxes of sugar cubes just in case, and boy, I’m glad I did. It will take more than one, certainly depending on the size of your toy figure.
We set out a few mini marshmallows for variety as well.
My patience ran out and fatigue had set in, so I decided to make Jolly’s a more hasty sugar cube fort. That, or Buzz won this round. If you want it to be perfect, set aside some time. Don’t be in a hurry.

Stay tuned for the next post in the series: GIFTS and PRANKS!

Carey Pace believes that beauty waits to be uncovered in the ordinary moments of everyday life. She chases creative motherhood, honesty in her writing, and images that tell stories. Her faith in Jesus inspires her to explore and share the trials and triumphs of raising children while designing magical moments along the way. She is a seeker of Light, a starter of projects, a reader of books, a lover of food and flavor, and an encourager to others. She and her husband Shawn reside in Tennessee with her son and daughter.