Elf letters to print

What should the elf write?

A good elf letter is short, sounds as if it comes from someone a little cheeky, and leaves the children something to do or wonder about. Three sentences are enough.

• The first letter: the elf introduces itself, says it lives here until Christmas Eve and that it gets up to things at night.
• The morning-after letter: the elf explains, or explains away, what it did in the night. “It wasn’t me. It was another elf.”
• The mission letter: the elf asks the children to do something kind today and promises to report to Father Christmas.
• The last letter: on Christmas Eve the elf says thank you and that it will be back next December.

A welcome letter from the elf

The welcome letter sits beside the elf on the morning it arrives. It sets the rules for the whole of December, so it can be a little longer than the others. It might go like this:

“Hello! I am your elf and I live here until Christmas Eve. At night I get up to things, and in the morning you get to find out what I did. Look as much as you like, but leave me where I am – I only move when nobody is watching.”

Add the elf’s name. If it has none yet, there are 70 elf names to choose from, and here is more about when the elf arrives. It comes as a whole welcome letter on A4 with the children’s and the elf’s names, and as one of the cards.

A farewell letter from the elf

On the morning of Christmas Eve the elf is gone. What it leaves behind is the farewell letter:

“Thank you for letting me stay! I have told Father Christmas everything, mostly the kind things. See you next December. Merry Christmas!”

It comes as a whole farewell letter on A4 with the names, and among the cards.

Write your own elf letter: a template in three steps

• Start with what happened. “I couldn’t find a bathtub in my size.”
• Add an excuse. “This was almost as good, only a bit crunchy.”
• End with something for the children. A question, a mission or a message from Father Christmas.

Write by hand if you can, in small and slightly wonky letters. It should look as if someone with very small hands held the pen.

Elf letters for older children

Children who can read on their own want more to do. Let the elf ask a question to be answered on a note by the next morning, hide and leave a clue, or ask for help with something it cannot reach. There are more ideas among the elf ideas for older children.

No printer? Show the letter on a phone or a tablet

The letter does not have to be printed. Press Show one card at a time on the page with the cards, and one letter at a time fills the whole screen: landscape or portrait, following how you hold it. Swipe sideways to change letter. The buttons fade away after a few seconds, so the children see only the letter from the elf.

Show the letters on screen

How to use the cards

Print on slightly thicker paper if you have some. The cards come in landscape and portrait, four to an A4 sheet. Leave the card beside the elf in the evening, and the children find both the antic and the card in the morning. If the elf has a door of its own, the card can lie on the doormat: here are elf doors to print.

Nine elf doors, also to colour in. Free to print

Would you like a card from the elf for every day?

Busnissen’s Christmas pack has 24 cards from the elf, one for each day until Christmas Eve, a ready-made antic to go with each, and a welcome and a farewell letter on A4. It takes five minutes an evening and costs 29 SEK.

Get the Christmas pack – 29 SEK