Christmas Elf Printables — 8 Free Letters, Notes & Cards
Eight free printables for the elf who visits your house in December — an arrival letter, a goodbye letter, a report card, kindness challenge cards, an elf name certificate, a funny “I saw that!” note, a do-not-touch sign and a color-in letter. They work with any shelf elf or elf toy you already have, and the elf in the pictures is our own watercolor character.
Every printable comes as a US Letter PDF, an A4 PDF and a JPG.
Arrival Letter — “I’m Back!”
The elf introduces itself, explains the rules and asks not to be touched.
Goodbye Letter
The elf says thank you and flies home on Christmas Eve.
Elf Report Card
Six behaviours with Nice / Needs Work boxes and a note from the elf.
Kindness Challenge Cards
Six cut-out cards — one small kind act a day.
Elf Name Certificate
Make the elf’s name official, with a North Pole seal.
“I Saw That!” Note
A gentle, funny nudge for a not-so-nice day.
Do Not Touch Sign
A little sign to stand beside the elf.
Color-In Arrival Letter
Black-and-white version for kids to color and name their elf.
How to use the elf printables
- Day one: the arrival letter. Leave it beside the elf on the morning it appears. The color-in version doubles as an activity for little ones.
- Give the elf a name. Fill in the certificate together — it makes a lovely keepsake to bring out each year.
- Through December: cards and notes. Leave one kindness card a morning, send home a report card at the weekend, and save the “I saw that!” note for an off day.
- Christmas Eve: the goodbye letter. The elf flies back to the North Pole and promises to return next year.
Easy elf ideas for busy mornings
- Kindness card on the cereal box — the challenge is right there at breakfast.
- Report card in a lunchbox — tick the boxes the night before.
- Do-not-touch sign — fold it into a little tent card and stand it in front of the elf.
- Name certificate in a frame — it goes back up every December.
Questions
Do these work with Elf on the Shelf?
Yes. The letters and notes are written for any visiting elf, so they work with an Elf on the Shelf®, a plush elf or any elf toy you already own. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by The Lumistella Company.
When should the elf arrive and leave?
Many families have the elf arrive on 1 December or the day after Thanksgiving, and leave on Christmas Eve. Print the arrival letter for the first morning and the goodbye letter for the last.
Can I print them in black and white?
The color-in arrival letter is made for it. The watercolor designs still print clearly in grayscale, but they look best in color.
What size are the kindness cards?
There are six cards on one page. Each is roughly 3.5 × 3 inches when printed on US Letter, so they fit on a plate or in a lunchbox.
Are they really free?
Yes — all eight are free to download and print for home and classroom use.
More Christmas printables
- Letter to Santa templates — 12 designs to print and fill in.
- Christmas gift tags — 24 watercolor tags.
- Christmas bingo — 30 picture cards plus junior cards.
- Christmas crosswords — nine puzzles with answer keys.
- Christmas mazes — tree, snowflake and reindeer-shaped mazes.
