As Christmas time rolls around, many people with children have started the tradition of the “Elf on the Shelf” in their homes. This works well in hopes of keeping their children’s behavior on the “nice” list, since the elf’s main assignment is to report back to Santa.
Click here to read: What is an Elf on the Shelf?
There are so many creative ways to incorporate the elf into your daily life. Some as simple as moving it to a new location everyday; or as extensive as getting extra clothes, accessories, and props to use.
Even teachers are using this strategy during the holidays as part of their behavior management plan as things get hectic towards Christmas time.
Well what happens if your elf doesn’t show up? That’s what happened to me one year in the classroom. I was teaching in California, and my elf was still in Illinois. Sure, I could’ve had him shipped and gotten to me in time to show up in the classroom December 1st. Instead, I used this “dilemma” as an opportunity!
We turned the elf into a sort of “Flat Stanley” project, which wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my Mom and Grandma. They were traveling to Florida and taking our elf with them! Of course, they couldn’t be in any of the pictures, because that would ruin the magic.
Our elf sent us text messages and pictures everyday as he was traveling and doing things. We were incredibly delighted when post cards showed up, and even happier when a Christmas present surprise came in the mail!
Every time he checked into a new place, or we received a postcard, we took the opportunity to study new places. We started a collection of books that included names of places he had been. We tracked his journey on Google Maps, allowing each student to be involved with their own Google accounts.
We used a large map of the United States to track his journey, and attach post cards to their locations.
This activity was a great introduction to our unit on famous American landmarks which we later studied and did projects on. That’s a post for a later day. But, any chance I had to create prior knowledge, I was jumping on the opportunity!
So, let’s meet out elf! Our class decided on the name Elvis McJingles. He was a boy, scout elf because of his red suit. We registered him on the official website and got a letter from Santa. Of course I had to edit it to make it work with our plan that year.
The day he didn’t show up, he had instructed me to help him. As the teacher, I was responsible for delivering his letter and candy canes to the class. Being as believable as I could, I explained the situation to my second graders. The kids bought it!
The letter explained how he was in Illinois (which the kiddos knew that’s where I am from, so I spun up a story about how he had gotten confused of where to return to that year), and as a result, he went to the wrong location. And because of that, he wanted to see more and keep traveling!
Even though he wouldn’t be there with us, with me as his helper and Christmas magic, he was still able to keep watch over our classroom. He checked in everyday with text messages and pictures of his whereabouts. The students loved it!
While Elvis was in Illinois with Grandma Debbie, (my mom, who my class knew well from all the treats she sent to us), he did all kinds of different things and experienced a lot!
He went to the dentist, went trucking with my dad, went ice skating, collected eggs from the chickens, went hunting, helped feed the fish, helped decorate the Christmas tree, and had hot cocoa.
He went to the dentist 
He went Ice Skating 
He fed the Fish 
He snuggled up in Illinois 
He decorated the tree 
He had hot cocoa 
He collected eggs 
He went trucking 
He went hunting
When he heard that he was going on a trip, he was very excited! He started getting ready for it. He got his camera, looked at the map, and prepared his travel log journal.
Looking at the map 
Ready to take pictures 
Preparing travel log
Then it was time to begin his journey! He got in the car, buckled his seat belt, and they set off on their road trip to Florida.
They saw a lot on their way and sent post cards from every state they drove through. But the real fun started once he got to Florida. He went to the beach and the pool, sun tanned, went on a boat ride, saw alligators, and collected shells. He even got his own bed to sleep in!
Sun tanning 
Collecting shells 
Visiting the beach 
He went on a boat ride 
He went to the pool 
Snuggled up in his own bed 
He saw alligators
Right before winter break, we received a package from Elvis. We were all very excited to see what was inside!
Inside was his last two post cards, a toy alligator for each student, and a book mark for me.
The pelican book mark and post card was more of an inside joke for me from my mom. I don’t like pelicans very much, because the last time I was in Florida, a pelican pooped on my head!
This was an incredibly funny surprise that I loved. The kids really found it funny when they heard the story.
This was such a fun experience for our classroom that year. We learned a lot about different places, and looked forward to what adventure the day would bring for our elf. Of course, everyone loves getting things in the mail, so the post cards and package made it extra special!
None of this would’ve been possible without all the time, energy, and creativity that my Mom, Grandma Debbie, did. She went above and beyond, to make this special for us.
It got a little tiring for her and my grandma after awhile though; scouring gas stations for post cards, toting a toy elf around, propping it up to take pictures everywhere, and having to figure out a creative spin on each day’s text messages. Because of all this, Elvis almost “fell” off of a bridge in Tennessee!
Luckily he returned home safe and sound, and I acquired him again. He went on to spend many holiday seasons with us in the classroom, showing up in all kinds of different places, playing tricks on us, and giving us gifts and treats!
That really was a fun project, (not sure Grandma Barb liked Elvis) ha ha!
She wanted to take a picture of him sitting on a bridge and oops! I said you will traumatize a bunch of children if he “happened” to fall in.