Looking for simple Elf on the Shelf ideas? You’ve come to the right place.
In December of 2016, we introduced the Elf on the Shelf to my daughter who was almost 2 at the time. We named our elf Nicki. My daughter didn’t really understand the concept of the elf reporting back to Santa on her behavior. It was more of a fun, find the elf every day activity. Given my daughter’s young age, I decided to keep the locations simple rather than have the elf get up to crazy antics. It has certainly evolved since then. I moved the elf mostly after my daughter went to bed and on occasion in the morning before she got up. Here are 21 simple Elf on the Shelf ideas: all of the places Nicki the Elf spent time during December 2016.
Click on each of the photos below to jump to a description.
Day 1 
Day 2 
Day 3 
Day 4 
Day 5 
Day 6 
Day 7 
Day 8 
Day 9 
Day 10 
Day 11 
Day 12 
Day 13 
Day 14 
Day 15 
Day 16 
Day 17 
Day 18 
Day 19 
Day 20 
Day 21
2016 – Day 1
I kept things simple. Nicki the Elf was introduced by reading the book she came with and sat on a shelf on the top of our buffet in the dining room next to a Twisted Peppermint candle. In retrospect, I could have placed her hands in a better spot.
2016 – Day 2
Nicki the Elf sat on a lazy-susan in the middle of the dining room table with a decorated miniature tree. I told my daughter that Nicki had decorated this tree for her to look at while she ate.
2016 – Day 3
Nicki the Elf hung out on the Christmas tree with her arm around an Olaf ornament from Hallmark.
2016 – Day 4
Nicki the Elf sat on some open shelving (very 1970’s) between the living room and the hall, right outside of my daughter’s bedroom, facing the bedroom door. I had her leaning against a decorative bird cage with a Hallmark ornament bird inside.
2016 – Day 5
Nicki the Elf sat on the shelf above the buffet but this time with some holiday decorations including a strand of snow garland as we received snow outside. We didn’t get a lot of snow when we lived in Newberg.
2016 – Day 6
Nicki the Elf sat on my daughter’s toothbrush holder in the bathroom to remind her to brush her teeth.
2016 – Day 7
Nicki the Elf was tucked into the garland that wrapped around our open shelving in the living room. This was the garland that was covered in Santa ornaments. Easy to spot for an almost 2 year old.
2016 – Day 8
Nicki the Elf hung on a wreath on the pantry door in the kitchen. This wreath of bells jingles every time the pantry door opens or closes. Annoying to some but helpful to my momma ears.
2016 – Day 9
Nicki the Elf sat next to the cable box for a little tv time.
2016 – Day 10
Nicki the Elf was tucked into my daughter’s stocking “checking the size.”
2016 – Day 11
Nicki the Elf sat in the middle of a different wreath. This wreath hung above the buffet in the dining room.
2016 – Day 12
I had Nicki the Elf peeking out from behind a photo of my husband and I in the living room. My daughter had been missing her daddy the night before as he had stayed late at work to miss the traffic from Portland’s “snowmageddon”. I think Portland got a foot of snow that night.
2016 – Day 13
Nicki the Elf is tucked into and hanging out of a red vase on the kitchen counter. The elf watched my daughter and I make salt dough handprint ornaments that day.
2016 – Day 14
My daughter found Nicki the Elf sitting at the top of a bookshelf that sat in my dining room. She sat on top of a Santa puzzle box next to a pot of rosemary. I told my daughter Nicki must be “feeling the Christmas spirit.”
2016 – Day 15
Nicki the Elf sat on my daughter’s dresser in her room. I had her perched on a basket leaning against a soft Christmas tree from Hallmark. I made sure my daughter was asleep before placing her in her room.
2016 – Day 16
Nicki the Elf was back on the Christmas tree but this time sitting next to the bell from the Polar Express (another Hallmark Christmas ornament).
2016 – Day 17
Nicki the Elf was back on those open shelves between my living room and hall/entry. This time she was near the Christmas tree next to some Hallmark gnome house ornaments. I took the cardboard credit card from one of those credit card offers you get in the mail and used an eraser to remove the name. Then I wrote in Nicki the Elf and had Nicki holding “her” credit card. I told my daughter Nicki was ready to go shopping for a Christmas dress. Up to this point, our elf only had the clothes she came with. This was also to prep my daughter for going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house where Grandma had her own elf and she had a pretty dress.
2016 – Day 18
Nicki the Elf “bought” herself a new outfit on the way to Grandma and Grandpa’s house (see Day 17). Grandma had her sitting on a little chair on top of the china hutch in the dining room.
2016 – Day 19
Being in a new location gives me so many more options on where to hide the elf. My mom goes all out for Christmas so I had everyone searching for the elf. She was sitting in a wreath with fisherman (fishing Santa) ornaments.
2016 – Day 20
Nicki the Elf was hanging on a door hanger that was actually on the wall (less risk of falling). She had a good view of the Christmas tree.
2016 – Day 21
Christmas Eve at last. This is the last day that I hide the elf as Santa takes her home to the North Pole with him. She sat on top of a candle next to some Christmas decor on a small table in the dining room.
The theme this year was keeping it simple and high up so the elf was out of reach of my almost 2 year old daughter who might not always remember that she can’t touch the elf.