Restyle My Room

Elf ideas: 24 easy nights until Christmas Eve

One idea for each night of December, with what you need and how many minutes it takes, most of them with things already in the kitchen. Each night names the camera that catches it: photograph your elf in place and the free elf cam turns the photo into night camera footage for the morning.

Open the elf cam

The elf cam's night camera look is free. Santa in your own room: one free preview a day; the kit is $7.99, one payment.

A toy elf on a kitchen counter as a black and white night camera frame with a red motion box, the time 02:47 and the camera name Kitchen
Night 2 on the elf cam. AI image of a toy elf.

24 nights of elf ideas

  1. Night 1: the arrival

    Your elf turns up by the front door with its arrival note and a dusting of powdered sugar snow on the doormat.

    You need: the arrival note, powdered sugar. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: doorbell camera, Front Door

  2. Night 2: flour snow angel

    Spread a thin layer of flour on a baking sheet on the counter, lay your elf in it and sweep its arms and legs to make an angel.

    You need: flour, a baking sheet. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  3. Night 3: zip line

    Tie a string between two chair backs across the room and hang your elf from it with a clothes peg, mid-ride.

    You need: string, a clothes peg. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Living room

  4. Night 4: marshmallow bath

    Fill a bowl with mini marshmallows and sit your elf in it like a bubble bath, a folded paper towel as its washcloth.

    You need: mini marshmallows, a bowl. About 3 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  5. Night 5: gone fishing

    A pencil with a string tied on, dangled into an empty sink full of fish-shaped crackers.

    You need: a pencil, string, crackers. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  6. Night 6: paper snowflakes

    Your elf cut paper snowflakes all night: tape a few to the window and leave the paper scraps and child-safe scissors beside it.

    You need: paper, tape, safety scissors. About 15 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Living room

  7. Night 7: story time

    Your elf reads a Christmas book to a circle of stuffed animals on the floor of the kids' room.

    You need: a picture book, stuffed animals. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: baby monitor, Kids' room

  8. Night 8: paper roll snowman

    Stack three toilet paper rolls into a snowman with a paper face and a sock for a scarf; your elf stands back to admire it.

    You need: 3 paper rolls, paper, a marker. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Bathroom

  9. Night 9: morning workout

    Your elf lifts a barbell made of a pretzel stick and two mini doughnuts, with a sweatband cut from a sock.

    You need: a pretzel stick, 2 mini doughnuts. About 3 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  10. Night 10: candy cane trail

    A trail of candy canes from the kids' door leads to wherever your elf is hiding.

    You need: 8 to 10 candy canes. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Hallway

  11. Night 11: mirror message

    Your elf writes the days left until Christmas on the bathroom mirror. Try the marker on a corner first.

    You need: a dry-erase marker. About 3 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Bathroom

  12. Night 12: toy car wash

    Line up the toy cars at a car wash made from a sponge, a dish towel and a hand-lettered sign.

    You need: a sponge, a towel, toy cars. About 10 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Playroom

  13. Night 13: cocoa bar

    Your elf sets out mugs, cocoa packets and a bowl of mini marshmallows for breakfast.

    You need: mugs, cocoa, marshmallows. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  14. Night 14: find me on the tree

    Your elf hangs in the tree among the ornaments. The game is to spot it before breakfast.

    You need: nothing. About 2 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Living room

  15. Night 15: kind notes

    Your elf leaves a sticky note for each person in the family with one nice thing about them.

    You need: sticky notes, a pen. About 10 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  16. Night 16: movie night

    Your elf and a row of toys sit facing the TV with a bowl of popcorn, as if the movie just ended.

    You need: popcorn, a few toys. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Living room

  17. Night 17: snowball fight

    Your elf and the stuffed animals fight it out with cotton ball snowballs scattered across the floor.

    You need: a bag of cotton balls. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: baby monitor, Kids' room

  18. Night 18: wrapped up

    Your elf gift wraps something everyday, like the TV remote or a banana, with a tag for the kids.

    You need: wrapping paper, tape. About 10 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Living room

  19. Night 19: cookie baker

    Cookie cutters, a rolling pin and a little flour on the counter, plus a recipe card for the weekend.

    You need: cookie cutters, flour. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Kitchen

  20. Night 20: Santa's mail

    Your elf leaves paper, crayons and an envelope so the kids can write to Santa, then is caught carrying the letters to the front door.

    You need: paper, crayons, an envelope. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: doorbell camera, Front Door

  21. Night 21: tic-tac-toe

    A game drawn on paper with sweets as the pieces, your elf one move from winning, so the kids can finish it.

    You need: paper, 10 sweets. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: night camera, Living room

  22. Night 22: checking the list

    Your elf sits on the kids' shelf with a tiny notepad, checking names for the Nice List.

    You need: a small notepad. About 2 minutes.

    Catch it: baby monitor, Kids' room

  23. Night 23: reindeer food

    A jar of oats labeled reindeer food, to sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas Eve. Oats only, no glitter: birds eat it.

    You need: oats, a jar, a label. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: doorbell camera, Front Door

  24. Night 24: goodbye

    Christmas Eve: your elf leaves its goodbye note by the tree and flies home with Santa.

    You need: the goodbye note. About 5 minutes.

    Catch it: doorbell camera, Front Door

Make the 24 nights easy

The pictures on this page are made by the elf cam from AI images of a toy elf, not a real home.

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