Our elf has found a swing. Unfortunately, somebody has filled the pond underneath it with crocodiles… made from socks! 🐊
His note says “Don’t feed the socks!” We think the laundry basket may have been involved.
This funny elf swing idea turns two spare socks into the danger below a very small adventure. The whole scene stays close to the floor, and the children can invent names for the crocodiles.
What you’ll need:
- One official Elf on the Shelf doll (paid link)
- A little red wooden elf swing (paid link)
- A stable clothes airer or another secure low horizontal rail
- Two spare green socks, scrap white paper and a pen
- Blue paper or a tea towel for the pretend pond
- A little folded cloth and a small piece of tape
Setup:
Put the airer on level flooring and tie the swing’s two cords securely to one low horizontal bar. Adjust the knots so the seat is only a short distance above the carpet. Sit the elf on the wooden seat with a small folded cloth behind his back if needed. Rest his mittens beside the ropes; a little tape beneath each mitten can hold the pose.
Fold each sock into a long crocodile shape. Draw paper eyes and a zigzag row of teeth, then tape them to the socks. Lay them on the blue-paper pond below the swing and add the note. Leave everything still for the morning reveal. It is a doll display, so nobody needs to climb on the airer or push the swing.
In the morning, ask the children which crocodile looks hungriest. They could draw a tiny fish to distract it while the elf makes his escape.
Make it cheaply:
Fold a little cardboard seat with a raised back, punch a hole at either end and thread spare string through. Hang it just above the carpet, or rest it on two small blocks and arrange the string to look like a swing. Any socks will do for the crocodiles, and an old envelope makes the eyes and teeth.
Try the living-room zipwire for another tiny adventure.
