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Quick and Easy Elf on a Shelf Kitchen Ideas

By Courtney ODell

Nov 10, 2013, Updated Aug 29, 2020

This year I am all about quick, easy ideas for our Elf on a Shelf- and there is nothing better than Quick and Easy Elf on a Shelf Kitchen Ideas! I’m always in the kitchen, and am usually cleaning up there at night- so it’s the perfect place to set up our Elf in the kitchen- plus there are so many props that you can pose your Elf in without having to clean up a ton of complicated stuff. And since my kids are toddlers, I am trying to keep Don, our Elf, in a few areas so my kids know where to expect to find him every morning.

We recently welcomed Don with a Hot Cocoa Welcoming Party. It was a blast, and the simple printables I made helped me explain the Elf to my young kids and get them involved and excited in this new tradition. Be sure to check it out here!

I’m not really sure WHY our Elf’s name is Don, but that’s what Finn is determined to call him. He also insists Don is a boy, but Bridget insists she’s a girl and wants her to always wear her little Elf skirt. One confused Elf we have, I tell you.

Since my kids are pretty little, I don’t really see a need to make some crazy, complicated setups for him. Our little Elf just likes to hang out in easy places to be seen, and help teach the kids about different parts of the house. Easy peasy, yo.

But don’t let that fool you- a tiny bit of Elf creativity goes a long way with littles. Placing our Elf in random places is fun for them to find- but also helps them learn colors, names of everyday appliances and objects, and problem solve (“How will Don find his way out of the blender?” “What color pan is Don in?” and “Won’t Don get hot up there? That’s dangerous. It is good Don is magic- but we shouldn’t touch him because ovens get hot!”). It’s not a lot of setup or cleanup, but it’s fun and helps get them thinking.

Don’s pretty laid back like that. If your Elf is a little more relaxed like ours, check out some of the ideas my kids have loved the most so far. You could always add simple additional props for older kids- but I’m all about the easy. The kids love to find Don wherever he is, and elaborate setups get pretty lost on toddlers.

Don started things off by hanging out in a muffin tin, above. He made sure we didn’t make too many sweet treats that day!

Then he hung out on the table one day, slowly working on a sip of milk:

And then perched in a frying pan one morning:

And then Don decided to get fancy and make a hearty Marshmallow stew, before getting stuck in the blender:

And finally, Don likes to pick out healthy snacks for the kids- he is known to set out carrots, berries, apples and nuts:

Don’t miss some more printables coming up soon-

Don’s sharing his Magic Elf Dust (& printable) to help restore Elf magic if the Elf is touched: