The most magical time of the year is almost here, and we can’t help but feel the excitement in the air. Christmas brings a sense of wonder and joy, especially for little ones. We have a cute craft to make with them to keep them engaged and spread some holiday cheer!

Kids will create their elf photo craft with a special twist: their picture becomes the elf’s face! This personalized touch makes this project a cherished holiday keepsake.

Create a little holiday magic with more elf activities for kids. Be sure to check them out to see all the fun you can have with Santa’s helpers!

Put Your Face On An Elf Craft

Cover Image of the Elf Photo Craft with the word Photo Elf Craft For Kids in the middle

To start this fun craft, you’ll need a few simple supplies you likely already have at home. We’ll also provide a free template to make the process super easy. And, of course, don’t forget to have a recent photo of your little one ready to bring their elf to life!

Supplies

Photo of your child
Colored cardstock or construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Snowflake stickers or markers (optional)
Elf template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)

Click here to see our favorite kids’ craft supplies.

Directions

Start by downloading the template and printing it out. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring the Elf to life!

First, guide your child in gluing the hair to your child’s picture using glue.

hand gluing the hair of the photo elf craft

Attach the child’s picture to the front and bottom of the hat using glue.

hand gluing the hat of the photo elf craft

Click here to see why I recommend these craft supplies

Place the collar at the top of the body and glue it down.

hand gluing the collar to the body of the photo elf craft

Glue the child’s head onto the body.

hand gluing the head to the body of photo elf craft

Next, help your child to glue the hands to the arms.

Position the arms on both sides of the body and glue them to the back.

Now, glue the elf photo to the colored paper.

hand gluing the photo elf to the construction paper background

Finally, encourage your child to decorate the background with stickers or gel markers.

decorating the construction paper background

Now your kids can display their cute Photo Elf craft. Be sure to check out our Christmas craft for more fun!

Fun Elf On The Shelf Photo Craft

Christmas Themed Ideas

The holiday season offers a perfect opportunity to combine creativity with learning, and we’ve got a treasure trove of Christmas themed ideas for kids you won’t want to miss. From delightful crafts to engaging educational activities, there’s something for every child’s interest and skill level.

Read on below for ideas that will keep your kids both learning and having fun throughout the holiday season.

Christmas Children’s Books

Dasher: This wonderfully illustrated Christmas book for kids gives you the back story on one of Santa’s favorite reindeer, Dasher! Girls will especially love to read this since Dasher is a girl.

Construction Site On Christmas Night: Fans of the fun characters of the construction site books have to add this Christmas-themed story to their collection. See how the trucks get ready for Christmas!

How To Catch An Elf: Kids everywhere love the silliness of this Christmas story. The rhymes and the illustrations will draw the kids in as well. This is a Christmas book kids will want to read every year!

hand holding girl photo of photo elf craft

Christmas Crafts for Children

Paper Plate Grinch Craft – Transform an ordinary paper plate into a mischievous Grinch with paint, paper, glue, and a dash of creativity. Bring the Grinch to life with a craft that kids of all ages will love!

Gingerbread Man Paper Bag Puppet Craft – Kids can create their own gingerbread man with this fun craft! With a simple paper bag and a few supplies, your little ones can tell sweet tales in no time with their new puppet!

Santa Paper Plate Craft—This interactive craft will be a hit with the kids. They’ll transform an everyday paper plate into the backdrop of a peek-a-boo Santa craft, and they’ll love getting to play with this project once they’re all done!

Recycled Christmas Tree Craft – Make Christmas extra special with a fun craft that recycles items you already have! It’s an affordable way to have fun and get creative.

Kids will love painting cardboard trees and adorning them with ornaments made from buttons or pom poms!

Christmas Activities for Kids

Extend the magic of story time and dive into our How to Catch Santa worksheets for lots of fun and learning. These companion worksheets complement the holiday book with some fun, hands-on learning. Included are four worksheets and flashcards featuring illustrations from the book.

Try this Gingerbread Photo Craft

They’re a great way to boost your child’s fine motor skills, learn to solve patterns, enrich their vocabulary, and recognize the letter C while having a jolly good time.

Add a dash of festive learning to the holiday season with these Christmas do a dot printables! Kids can use their dot markers and choose from a variety of Christmas themed pictures to color in, review ABCs, learn counting basics, and recognize patterns with holiday objects.

They’re great for preschool through kindergarten aged children. Print them out and let kids do as many as they want throughout the holiday season!

Collage image of the Christmas Activities for Kids

Reindeer fun and festive learning await with our free printable reindeer worksheets. These activities are perfect to use at home or the classroom and add a touch of holiday joy to your child’s education.

These pages, which include an ‘R is for Reindeer’ handwriting page, a letter R maze, and a’ label a reindeer’ page, will help students enhance letter recognition, practice handwriting, and sharpen their scissor skills.

Get ready to embark on a jolly adventure with Pete the Cat and continue the magic of the holiday book with these Pete the Cat Saves Christmas printables! This pack is designed especially for preschoolers and has colorful and engaging activities.

You’ll find fun and festive activities like color by numbers, dot-to-dot, and line tracing. Whether used in the classroom or at home, these activities will make the holidays merry and bright, so join Pete the Cat as he saves Christmas!

Christmas Tree Paper Bag Puppet Craft

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

5 from 2 votes

Elf Photo Craft For Kids

Author: Sam

Prep Time: 8

Active Time: 13

Total Time: 21

Kids will create their very own elf photo craft with a special twist: their picture becomes the elf’s face! This personalized touch makes this project a cherished holiday keepsake.

Video

Materials

Instructions

Download the elf template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.
Begin by gluing the hair to your child’s picture using glue.
Attach the child’s picture to the front and bottom of the hat using glue.
Place the collar at the top of the body using glue.
Glue the child’s head onto the body.
Next, glue the hands to the arms.
Position the arms on both sides of the body and glue on the back.
Now, glue the elf photo to the colored paper.
Finish up by decorating the background with stickers or markers.

Did you make this?

Don’t forget to leave a comment below and make sure to follow on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok for more!

Free Elf Photo Craft Template

Facebook Pinterest

photograph of found of Simple Everyday Mom, Sam

Meet Sam

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump, and more.

About Sam

5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

14 Comments

Ceeli Hunt says:

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Elk kit please

1. Sam says:
  
  at
  
  Of course! All you need to do is click the image at the end of the post that says, “Click Here To Get Your Freebie” and then enter your email in the form, and you’ll get the template link ◡̈
gayle Tait says:

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I am looking for the elf template and the snowman with the scarf made from their hand.
Thank you

1. Sam says:
  
  at
  
  Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈
Debbie Russell says:

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love this how do i get the download

1. Sam says:
  
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  Thank you! All you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of this post to have the link sent to you. Once you’ve been confirmed as an email subscriber (by clicking the link in the first email), you simply enter your email in any of the forms and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page.
Karen says:

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Elf craft please

1. Sam says:
  
  at
  
  Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈
Christy says:

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Elf Craft, please

1. Sam says:
  
  at
  
  Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈
Ellie Oliver says:

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Thank you!

1. Sam says:
  
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  You’re welcome!
Kim says:

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What a brilliant idea. Please can I kindly have the templates? thanks

1. Sam says:
  
  at
  
  Thanks! Since you’re already an email subscriber, all you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of any post and it’ll automatically redirect you to the download page ◡̈