Elf door to print

Each door has its own mat and sign at the bottom of the same sheet. The first three come as a ready PDF, and the others you print or save as a PDF right from the page. Click a door's name to change it. If you would like another mat or sign with the door, or none at all, you can mix and match. There is also a sheet with the accessories only.

Elf doors to colour in

The same doors without colour. Let the children colour them with crayons or felt-tips before you cut them out.

Dot to dot

Draw a line from dot to dot and the door appears. Then colour it in and cut it out. The arched door goes to 23 and suits someone who has just learnt to count; the castle gate, with its many corners, is the hardest.

Accessories to print

A lantern, parcels, a Christmas tree, a mailbox, a ladder, rice porridge, firewood, a sled, a snowman, boots, a Yule goat, a wreath, a window and Advent candles, as well as mats and signs. Click what you want, and the page sets it out on the sheet at the same size as the door. If it does not all fit, it goes on to one more sheet. Read more about elf door accessories.

How to do it

Print on A4 at actual size, that is 100 per cent and not “fit to page”. Slightly thicker paper, 160 gsm or more, makes the door sturdier.
Cut out along the dashed line. The mat and the sign on the same sheet go with the door.
Put it up with sticky tack or masking tape, so it comes off without a mark in January.

Make the door with the children

The elf can arrive as a surprise, but many children want to help get ready. Then the door becomes a craft at the end of November, and the children wait for the elf to move in.

Colour in one of the doors to colour in with crayons, felt-tip pens or watercolours. A child who has just learnt to count can do the dot to dot first.
Cut it out together. The large door is the easiest for small hands, and a grown-up can take the tricky corners.
Write on the sign. In mix and match you can write your own words on the sign, up to three lines: the elf’s name under “Here lives”, or “The elf at” and the children’s names.
Choose the spot together, and let the children build a ladder or a letter box for the elf (see the things to add below).
Leave something by the door on the evening of 30 November: a drawing, a note or a little porridge in an egg cup. In the morning the porridge is gone and the elf has moved in.

Which size should I choose?

The measurement is the height of the door. The small one, 9 cm, fits on a bookshelf or by a staircase. The medium one, 13 cm, is about the size of the doors sold in shops. The large one, 18 cm, is the easiest to see and the easiest for small hands to cut out and colour in.

Where should the elf door go?

Just above the skirting board, somewhere the children pass every morning: in the hall, by the kitchen table or outside their bedroom. Choose a wall with a little floor in front of it, because that is where the elf gets up to its antics.

When should the door go up?

On the evening of 30 November, when the children are asleep. Then the door is there on the morning of 1 December, and the elf has moved in. See what the first morning can look like.

Things to add to the elf door

A doormat and a sign are on the same sheet as the door. The sign with the red door says “Here lives” and has an empty line, where you write the elf’s name together. If you would rather have it printed, you can write your own words on the sign before printing.
Ready-made accessories to print and cut out: a lantern, parcels, a Christmas tree and much more.
A ladder made of lolly sticks or matchsticks, leaning against the wall.
A letter box made from a matchbox, where the elf leaves its cards.
Snow made of a little cotton wool in front of the door, and footprints in flour on a tray.

Keep small things and string away from small children.

What happens at the door after that?

The door is the beginning. What makes the children run to it every morning is that the elf has been up to something new in the night. Busnissen has a ready-made antic and a card from the elf for each of the 24 days.

Nine elf doors to print