Resources
Mental Elf on the Shelf
Mental Elf on the Shelf is a full kit of 24 activities, props, worksheets and more to use with your visiting Elf on the Shelf. Designed to teach your children about mental health, kindness, self care, coping techniques and more; all our props and activities are fully printable! Members only, sign up to download.
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Resource Info
Mental Elf on the Shelf is a fun way to help your children feel calm and confident this Christmas! Use our printable props and worksheets with your visiting elf to boost your child’s self esteem and introduce some much-needed mindfulness to the Christmas chaos. This kit includes everything you need, although, we’ll provide some tips and optional extras you can use if you have them! We have suggested the order in which you use our activities, but you can use them in any way you like.
This printable kit includes:
- 1 x Intro Letter
- 24 x Prop Cards
- 24 Printable Activities
- Printable Props
- 1 x Goodbye Letter
The Activities:
Intro letter - Use this letter to introduce your elf this year. Our letter lets your child know that the elf will be a good elf!
Activity One: Believe in Your Elf
Print out our Elf mirror and place your elf so they are looking in the mirror! Print out the prop square and the affirmation sheet. Activity: Have your child say the affirmations with the elf.
Activity Two: Time for Elf Care
How do elves relax? They make time for elf care of course! We’ve included some printable props for your elf to have a relaxing spa day! Place the cucumber on your elf’s eyes and have them relaxing on their very own candy cane striped towel. Activity: Ask your child what they can do for themselves today.
Activity Three: The Mindful Elf-abet
Print out the alphabet squares and position them to spell ‘elf.’ Ask your child to complete the elf-abet with all the things of Christmas! This is a wonderful, mindful and calming activity.
Activity Four: I Have Elf Esteem
Elves are full of elf-confidence - just like superheroes! Dress your elf up as a superhero using our cape. Stick the ‘E’ on the elf’s chest. Print the worksheet for your child to build their own elf esteem.
Activity Five: Take a S-Elfie!
Take some s-elfies to boost your child’s confidence and practise their photography skills - we’ve included a fun DIY printable prop!
Activity Six: Express Your Elf
Let your child’s imagination go wild by encouraging them to design their own Christmas jumper. Cut out the Christmas jumper and fashion on your elf!
Activity Seven: Elf Portrait
Ask your child to draw themselves as an elf and show the emotion they’re feeling. Position the elf with our printable picture frame prop, you could also add pens or pencils.
Activity Eight: Hot Chocolate Breathing
Place your elf with our printable hot chocolate. Activity: Ask your child to decorate the hot chocolate on the worksheet - they could use cotton wool for cream or add sprinkles! Then, when they have finished their masterpiece, have them practise breathing in and out to cool the hot chocolate down.
Optional: You could make a hot chocolate station and enjoy a hot chocolate afterwards! Or, you could position the elf making a hot chocolate, complete with spillages!
Activity Nine: Get Some Elf-ercise!
This activity is all about mindful exercise, and exploring how exercise makes us feel and affects our bodies. We’ve got some printable props to make your elf a homemade gym! Cut out the elf headband and secure round your elf’s head.
Activity Ten: Elf Magic
You’ll need: a paper plate, some skittles and a small jug or cup. Place the skittles around the edge of the plate and follow the instructions on our worksheet. You can see an example of how it should look on our prop card. To make this a mindful experience, you could ask your child to focus on the colours and describe what is happening, what colours they can see etc. Can they make the water and colours move? Then, ask them to draw what they saw!
Activity Eleven: Elf and Safety
Feeling safe is a huge protective factor for mental health. Elves always feel safe at the North Pole and in your house/classroom of course. We’ll ask your child to draw where they feel safe in the snowglobe and we have included one completed by your elf.
Activity Twelve: Grateful Gingerbread
Gratitude is an amazing technique for improved wellbeing. In this activity, we’ll be helping your children learn the powerful benefits of gratitude with the Grateful Gingerbread - baked by your elf!
Activity Thirteen: It’s Snow Joke!
The old adage is true - laughter really is the best medicine! Let’s spread some Christmas cheer with our elf jokes. Cut out the jokes and place around your elf. Cut out the speech bubble and position with your elf.
Activity Fourteen: Read Me a Story
Reading is a great way to feel calm and peaceful. This activity will encourage your children to read the elf a bedtime story to help them fall asleep. We’ve included some props to make your elf a bed and a printable book prop to pretend they are reading! If your child isn’t confident with their reading or doesn’t have a book to hand, can they make up a story instead? Activity: Ask your child to design a book cover for a Christmas story.
Activity Fifteen: Decorate the Tree
Time to decorate the elf’s tree! Print the star for your child to glue on the top when they have finished their wonderful creation.
Activity Sixteen: You’re a Cracker!
This activity is all about helping your child feel confident and encouraging them to think about their best qualities. Print our cracker prop and write an inspiring message to your child telling them how amazing they are and place it with your elf. Activity: Ask them to fill in why they’re a ‘cracker’ in the middle of the cracker, then colour in and decorate.
Optional: You can place some real Christmas crackers with your elf for your child to pull, or some crackers that your elf has pulled already!
Activity Seventeen: Mindful Christmas Dinner
In this activity we want your child to become a mindful food critic! We’ve included an ID badge - which you can stick a picture of your child on - and your elf’s favourite dinner - spaghetti and chocolate syrup of course!
Activity Eighteen: Treat Yo’Elf!
Let’s think about ways we can treat ourselves this Christmas - what would you gift yourself? The elf has chosen an ice cream - but we want to encourage your child to think outside the box. Perhaps it’s a trip to the park or visiting a friend they haven’t seen in a while?
Activity Nineteen: Christmas Kindness
Time to spread some Christmas cheer with our kindness tags. We’ve included a blank one on our props sheet for you to fill in and decorate as an example, use some ribbon or string to attach it to your elf!
Activity Twenty: Santa’s Mindful Journey
A fun, mindful board game for your children to enjoy. This board game is fully printable. Print and set up and place with your elf.
Activity Twenty One: Candy Cane Breathing
When elves need to feel calm fast, they practise candy cane breathing! We have printable candy canes to place around your elf, but you could use real ones too.
Activity Twenty Two: Christmas Movie Marathon
Let’s create a Christmas Movie Bucket List! We’ve included some fun props to make it look like your elf is watching their favourite Christmas film - Elf!
Activity Twenty Three: Calm the Elf!
Your elf has video called their friend Holly Berry in the North Pole - but she has got herself all worked up and stressed about the Christmas rush. She’s now tangled in Christmas lights! Can your children think of ways to help Holly Berry feel calm?
Activity Twenty Four: Thank You Santa and Goodbye Letter
It’s the last day of our Mental Elf on the Shelf! We’ve included a goodbye letter from your elf which encourages your child to write a thank you letter to Santa. Print and make our envelope for your child to pop their letter in, ready for your elf to take it back to the North Pole.
Our set up ideas are just a guide, feel free to use our props and any additional extras you wish. We would love to see your ideas and set ups - remember you can tag us on Instagram, Facebook, X, Pinterest or Tiktok! Just search ‘Be Happy Resources.’ Or send your snaps to hello@behappyresources.co.uk.
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