Pets, food, and total chaos: 13 funny Elf on the Shelf fails

Elf on the Shelf might be a Christmas tradition you wish you’d never started, with parents scouring the internet for constantly creative ways to entertain the kids. 

And like anything, creativity can bring its fair share of fails…

Here are some of the funniest Elf on the Shelf fails. Got your own to share? Let us know in the comments. 

The fire hazards

What’s cooking? One parent cleverly hid the elf in the oven, only to forget and preheat it later. The result? A melted elf and a lesson learned the hard way.

A beacon of light: An elf perched on a light fixture met an unfortunate end when the heat caused its face to melt, leaving behind a scene that could scare a child for life.

Remember, remember: Hiding the elf in the fireplace seemed clever until the fireplace was used, leading to a savage end for one little elf.

Never trust the pets

A new toy: In one household, the family dog found the elf first, resulting in a chewed-up elf and a need for a quick replacement.

Snow angel: Creating a snow angel with sugar seemed like fun until the family cat mistook it for litter… never eat brown snow.

Elf in the dog’s bed: A parent placed the elf in the dog’s bed for a cute photo opportunity, only to find the elf shredded to pieces in a matter of minutes.

Foodie fails

Cheeto catastrophe: Placing the elf with a bag of Cheetos led to an unfortunate and unintended placement of the snacks… rated 18+

Marshmallow mishap: Setting up the elf to roast marshmallows over a candle seemed like a cute idea until the marshmallows caught fire, nearly causing a disaster.

Bubble bum blunder: An attempt to make the elf appear to blow a bubble with gum backfired when the bubble deflated, making it look like the poor elf had been sick on itself.

The best of the rest 

Taking a swim: An elf set up to appear as if it was using the toilet ended up falling in… washing machine job or straight-up replacement?

Swinging gone wrong: Hanging the elf from the ceiling with fishing wire led to a frightful scene when it fell, leaving the elf head down in a pot of soaking dishes.

Markers are for life, not just for Christmas: A parent thought it would be funny for the elf to draw on the children’s faces while they slept, but the marker proved difficult to remove, resulting in an unplanned trip to school with doodled faces.

Sticky situation: An elf set up with a glue stick ended up glued to the table, requiring some careful extraction, a new table, and a lesson in adhesive use. An expensive fail.