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Get together with your little elves to make these fun elf crafts for kids! With craft sticks, pipe cleaners, paper and paints, you’re all set to get crafting!

We’re used to awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus and celebrating him in general, but have we ever spared a thought for Santa’s workload? I mean, the man has to observe the good and bad things done by kids across the world, read all their letters, arrange for their requested toys and then spend a sleepless night delivering these gifts. That’s a lot to ask of one person!

And that’s exactly why Santa isn’t alone in this – he has his elves! While the idea of Santa or St. Nicholas is quite old, the concept of elves helping him is more recent, introduced by author Louisa May Alcott. The elves work at Santa’s toy factory at the North Pole, and provide him all kinds of assistance. As you can imagine, there must be an army of them!

So today we’re putting the focus on these hardworking little elves, by picking the cutest and easiest elf crafts for kids to make this Christmas. Most of these are really easy, and even your preschooler can join in, with some assistance from Mom and Dad or older siblings. Come on, let’s build our own elf army! 

15 Exciting Elf Crafts for Kids

1. Rocking Paper Plate Elf

We know that elves do a lot of work at the North Pole, but do they also provide entertainment? We’re not sure about them, but this guy from Arty Crafty Kids certainly does – he rocks!

2. Popsicle Stick Elf Craft

If you’d like an elf to see that you’re reading so that he can relay this information to Santa, it would do you good to place a little elf within your book. This Popsicle stick elf craft works great as a bookmark, and you can make them in red or green!

3. Easy Elf Christmas Card

If you’re planning to send out handmade Christmas cards this year, check out these adorable Santa and elf crafts for kids from Arty Crafty Kids. They’re super easy to make, and the mix of textures make it quite an interesting DIY!

4. Free Printable Elf Craft

It doesn’t get easier than printable elf crafts for kids, as Simple Everyday Mom shows us! All you need to do is to download and print and then put together your adorable little elf!

5. Salt Dough Elf Ornament

Here’s a project that would make the perfect gift for Grandma or Grandpa – who can resist those cute little handprints? Messy Little Monster gives us detailed instructions on how to make these ornaments out of salt dough.

6. Felt Elf Christmas Ornament

If you’ve got a sewing beginner at home, this little felt elf would make a good project to try this season. Maybe you can help assemble the final product, but they can enjoy making the individual pieces.

7. Folded Paper Elf Craft

If your kids would love to see themselves as elves, The Best Ideas for Kids has got just the craft for you! All you need is a small photo of your children and let them do the rest. The accordion fold makes this elf look a little extra jazzy!

8. Popsicle Stick Elf Craft

Got a bunch of plain craft sticks and looking for an appropriate Christmas craft to make with them? This little elf from I Heart Arts n Crafts should do it! We love all the different textures going on here, including the felt, foam and cotton wool.

9. Paper Elf Craft

If you want simple elf crafts for kids that doesn’t use much other than basic craft supplies, this one from Non Toy Gifts is perfect. With craft paper, a few googly eyes and some pom poms, you have a simple and adorable little elf craft to play with.

10. Cardboard Tube Elf Craft

Toilet roll tubes seem perfect to turn into elves, don’t they? Arty Crafty Kids has these multicolored elves that require just paint and craft paper. Have you noticed how elves resemble gnomes and leprechauns? Interesting!

11. Paper Cup Elf

If cardboard tubes can be turned into elf crafts for kids, paper cups can too! Fireflies and Mudpies makes this possible using green paper cups, but you can also use white paper cups and simply paint them green. Make these in a combination of skin tones and hair colors – love the options!

12. Jumping Elf Puppets

Imagine working in a toy factory – I don’t know about you, but I’d sure be jumping with joy all the time! Maybe that’s why these elves from Kids Craft Room are bouncing up and down, making you want to jump too!

13. Paper Plate Elf Craft

We love how versatile paper plates are, you can use them for pretty much anything with a face! The Best Ideas for Kids shows us how to turn plain paper plates into cute little elf faces, and they look so cheerful!

14. Paper Cone Elf Craft

Sometimes all you need is craft paper, and Our Kid Things proves this with a cute little craft made with a paper cone! If you don’t have the googly eyes, you can draw them with markers. 

15. Craft Stick Elf Ornament

We like the quirky appearance of these elves from The Resourceful Mama – they look like they thoroughly enjoy being hung on a Christmas tree! These are so easy to make, you can make many in a short time.

As we said, most of these elf crafts for kids are easy enough for preschoolers and primary school goers. If this list has whetted your appetite for more Christmas crafts, be sure to check out our collections of gingerbread man crafts, gingerbread house crafts and snowmen crafts. Looks like you’ve got enough to keep you busy till the New Year!