Whistle While You Craft an Elf…or Two

“Santa’s Little Helpers,” as elves have come to be known, are not just part of a child’s Christmas. Their roots lie in myth and folklore that appeal to all ages.

Include as many or as few elves as you want in your holiday décor with these inexpensive and easy craft ideas.

Create stick-figure elves with a few pipe cleaner stems and a wooden bead, or even a homemade clay one. Begin by cutting one pipe stem in half. Use one half for the body. Cut the remaining half in half again. This creates two pieces that can be used for the arms and legs of your elf.

Wrap one end of the longer stem around the middle of one of the shorter stems. Bend the shorter stem to make the construction shaped like the capital letter Y. Turn this upside down. These will be the legs of your elf.

Take the other shorter stem and loop it just above the center of the long stem. Tuck one side of the short stem through the other and pull through and then pull both sides of this stem tight against the long center pipe cleaner. These will be your elf’s arms.

Thread a bead onto the top part of the long stem, which should still be sticking out above the arms. After putting the pipe cleaner all the way through the bead, twist the remaining end of the stem into a spiral to secure the bead and form a pointed elf’s hat.

Draw or paint a face on the bead if you so desire.

For Christmas tree ornaments, wrap the playful elves’ arms or legs around Christmas tree branches. You can also bend the elves’ “legs” so that it can sit on the edge of a mantel or even a computer screen.

Acorns naturally lend themselves to becoming elf heads. Find several acorns with their caps still on.

Cook them overnight on your oven’s lowest temperature setting, or at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit (just under 66 degrees Celsius), for at least one day. This process will kill the weevils or other tiny creatures that may be living inside the nutmeat.

Using craft paint, paint the nuts a skin tone and paint the hats in any color or colors of your choosing. Feel free to dab a different color on the point of the “hat” or even use a bit of hot glue or super glue to secure a tiny pom pon to the top of the acorn.

Paint a face on your acorn elves and draw pointed ears on each side of the acorn with a fine brush or fine-point pen. Fill a bowl with them and allow guests to take one as they go for a quirky reminder of their host.

Holiday decorating need not be expensive to be exciting and fun. When crafting and decorating with elves, display them with the sense of humor and good nature one could expect if they ever crossed paths with one of Santa’s toy-making elves.

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