Our Elf on the Shelf Kit is Here!

With summer officially in the rearview mirror, I have a little announcement…I’m excited to be selling an NYC-themed Elf on the Shelf kit this holiday season!

The Elf Kit includes 24 days of NYC-themed props and activities for your kiddo and elf. Think:

• Make-your-own Broadway tickets
• NYC-themed coloring pages
• Pop-it Christmas tree toy souvenir from Rockefeller Center
• Marathon Elf, where kiddos get a race bib of their own
• Grocery list featuring the famous Park Slope Food Co-op
• Feed the pigeons
• & more!

For select activities, we provide educational content that was created along with a teacher — my mom! — with 24 years of teaching experience in the public school system. She helped design the activities and write engaging material suitable for young children. The content focuses on fun facts relating to NYC events, institutions, and landmarks.

For example, for the Marathon Elf activity, you can talk to your little one about how over 50,000 people run through the 5 boroughs of NYC, and runners go over 5 bridges on the course! Some follow-up questions to ask your little one are:

• Have you watched the NYC Marathon before? What did you like about it?
• Have you run a road race before? How far was it?
• Have you gone over the Verrazzano Bridge?
• What bridges have you been on?

All of our activities and educational materials are focused on family fun, spreading kindness, and encouraging good deeds versus compliance-based language.

Also included in the kit are caregiver instructions that spell out everything you need to know to set up each day, a personalized arrival letter, and a personalized goodbye letter.

Each day is packaged in an individual bag that includes the instructions and all the props for that day, so all you have to do is unpack the day’s materials, follow the set-up instructions, and you’re all set for the night. Our goal when designing each activity was to keep the set-up time to just one or two minutes.

a few Elf on the Shelf Kit FAQs:

When will my kit arrive?

We’ll begin shipping kits in October. If you order before November 10th, your kit will be shipped by November 15th. For orders placed after November 10th, we’ll be working as fast as possible and shipping on a rolling basis.

Is the elf included?

The elf is *not* included in the kit, and we recommend buying one sooner rather than later as they tend to sell out. You can find boy elves and girl elves, as well as elves with varying skin tones. If you’re looking for a gender-neutral elf, I think the boy elf leans more gender-neutral than the girl.

Here are a few options: Target, Nordstrom, Walmart, and Amazon (another Amazon). You can also check your local Buy Nothing groups, as families often pass along their elf once they’ve grown out of the tradition.

We don’t live in NYC. Is this kit still a good fit for our family?

If you have any interest in NYC — then yes! We have a couple friends who are gifting an Elf on the Shelf kit to nieces and nephews outside the city as a way to stay connected, which I love. So, while this kit is great for NYC residents, it’s also fantastic for NYC fans and anyone interested in learning more about NYC — even if you’ve never been to the city before!

It’s our first year! What do we need to know?

Yay! It’s so fun introducing the Elf on the Shelf tradition to your family for the first time! The main difference for the first year is the arrival letter, which is a personalized letter to your child introducing the elf to your family. The letter explains what to expect over the next few weeks. Beyond that, the caregiver instructions will go over everything you need to do each night (again, this should only take a minute or two).

Also, remember, you’ll need to buy an elf if you don’t have one already since one is not included in the kit.

What if we have more than one child?

We make kits for families with multiple children. Our original kit is designed for one child, so it includes one race bib, one Christmas tree pop-it, etc. But if you have more than one child participating, just select the kit that corresponds to the number of children on the drop-down menu when you check out. This way, you’ll get the correct number of coloring pages, race bibs, pop-its, etc. You’ll also be able to include the names of each child in the personalization box so we can include all the names on the arrival and goodbye letters.

What if we have more than one elf?

Our kits are intended for one elf. But if you have additional elves, we can customize your kit. Just message us on Etsy.

What date do we start?

Most folks start a 24-day elf kit on December 1st and plan to have their elf go back to the North Pole to help Santa on Christmas Eve. But I’ve also heard of people starting on November 30th and ending on December 23rd because they have other traditions they like to do on Christmas Eve. It’s really whatever works best for your family.

Thank you so so much for checking out our NYC Elf on the Shelf kit! You can find more details and order on our Etsy page. When you purchase one of our kits, not only are you supporting our small business, but you’re also supporting our family, too — and we’re so grateful!

PS. Another holiday tradition I love? Stockings-only Christmas!

(Photo of elf hiding on a bookshelf by Kelly Mindell for Studio DIY. Our NYC Elf Kits are in no way associated with the official The Elf on the Shelf brand.)

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