Celebrate the return of the winter holiday season by hosting your own celebratory Elf on the Shelf breakfast! Even if you don’t have an Elf on the Shelf, you can create a memorable North Pole breakfast tradition to ring in the season!. Keep reading for ideas on how to decorate, what to serve and activities to enjoy as a family during a festive breakfast this Christmas season.
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This article originally published November 14th, 2020 and has been updated and republished with a new date.
Elf on the Shelf Breakfast
This is the first year that we have incorporated an Elf on the Shelf into our home. It’s mostly for the 4 year old, but my 8 year old son is sure to be excited about it as well! I wanted to create something special for my kids that would introduce the Elf on the Shelf into our home by creating this sweet elf breakfast.
The Elf on the Shelf North Pole breakfast would be an ideal way to welcome your family’s elf back each year, hosted on December 1st to kick off the holiday season! Despite not wanting to be in the photos (or inclined to wear matching pajamas!), even my teenagers enjoyed participating in this special holiday brunch.
This wonderful wintry breakfast can be a favorite tradition for the whole family. The Elf on the Shelf breakfast is sure to be one of the top family holiday traditions and I plan to incorporate it every year!
What is an Elf on the Shelf?
If you already have a special elf in your family, you know the Elf on the Shelf tradition. The elf is a newer Christmas tradition. An Elf on the Shelf comes in a box along with the explanatory book. This “scout Elf” appears at the beginning of the holiday season and returns every Christmas season to report news back to Santa Claus.
While in your home, the Elf has so much fun moving around the house and sometimes causing shenanigans! Search Pinterest for a ton of Elf on the Shelf ideas. Some people really get into the elf thing, using props and staging the elf in humorous situations throughout the month of December.
The scrumptious welcome back breakfast is a great way to reintroduce your own elf each Christmas time. On Christmas Eve night, the little elf returns to the North Pole until they come back next year!
Fun Elf on the Shelf Ideas
Enchanted portal – Set up this faux Elf door and props to use throughout the season.
MagiFreez accessories – Adorable outfits that have specially designed pieces that allow the Elf to stand or pose.
Elf Props – Look for miniature dollhouse accessories including furniture or mini drink bottles and food.
Introducing Our Elf on the Shelf
In preparation for our Elf on the Shelf breakfast I prepped my daughter about the arrival of this new elf into our house. I explained how the elf would be “reporting” behavior back to Santa each day leading up to Christmas. My daughter is 4 and she was nervously excited.
We chose to have the Girl Elf on the Shelf with Dark Eyes join our family this year! (They also have a boy with dark eyes and blue eyed boy and girl options as well.)
To get into the seasonal spirit, I gifted my kids a pair of winter pajamas. I’m all about matching up my two youngest kiddos but you could go all out and get coordinating jammies for everyone in the family!
I gave my kids their matching Children’s Place pjs so that they could be dressed appropriately for the Elf on the Shelf breakfast theme.
When the kids came to the special breakfast table, everything was prepped and ready. The Elf was there too and my daughter quickly named her “Rosy Snowflake”.
While my kids snacked, I read The Elf on the Shelf book that explained why the elf visits every year.
North Pole Breakfast Menu
I’m sharing the menu of brunch foods we served during our Elf on the Shelf breakfast. I’ve heard of some families incorporating food ideas that are inspired by Buddy the Elf from the movie Elf. But the thought of spaghetti and marshmallows with maple syrup wasn’t very appealing!
I went with heartier options for my Elf on the Shelf breakfast with a good mix of sweet and savory that wasn’t simply a sugar-fest. If you prefer to have more treats, consider a North Pole dessert bar instead.
Tiny foods seemed appropriate. And it’s easy to be creative with the menu for this fun breakfast! Keep reading for some inspirational photos on what Christmas food I served, along with additional suggestions.
Yummy treats served during our Elf on the Shelf Breakfast:
- Instant Pot egg bites
- Christmas trees cinnamon rolls (tutorial included later in this post)
- “Candy Cane” fruit salad (alternating banana and strawberry slices)
- Hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Yogurt covered raisins
- Mini chocolate chip muffins
- “Grinch juice” green smoothies (keep reading for the recipe)
- Mini white powdered donuts stacked on a plate. Stick a “North Pole” (soft peppermint stick) through the center
- Assorted candies, including Sugar Cookie Hershey’s Kisses, Peppermints and Spice Drops
More North Pole Breakfast Ideas
- Mini pancakes, using my recipe for fluffy pancakes
- Parfaits of layered strawberry and key lime pie yogurt with graham cracker crumbs and whipped cream
- Christmas snack cakes
- Cranberry Cake Bars (one of our favorite holiday dessert recipes that we often splurge on for breakfast!)
- Powdered doughnut holes piled up like snowballs
- Yogurt covered pretzels
- Peppermint popcorn – plain popcorn drizzled with melted white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candies
- Elf on the Shelf Cereal (it’s a seasonal thing!)
Decorating for a North Pole Breakfast
This is one opportunity where you can pull out all the holiday stops for a showstopping tabletop! It’s a Christmas-lover’s dream, but no need to go crazy on the costs though.
I used items that were already in my seasonal decoration box. Additional items were purchased at the 99 Cents Only Store (I seriously couldn’t believe the fantastic items I found there!)
For our Elf on the Shelf table décor, my color theme were in traditional Christmas colors – red, green and white. All the décor was moved to my kid’s shared bedroom for the Christmas holidays.
Wrapping paper table runner – Skip the linens and go for paper. Roll out inexpensive wrapping paper for a cheap and colorful table runner that will set the stage for your Elf on the Shelf breakfast treats. This red and white candy cane striped paper was from the 99 Cent store.
Serving displays in varying heights – Create an eye-popping winter wonderland by highlighting snacks at different levels. I used my vintage glass hobnail cake platter alongside a red metal plate stand and paper boxes (both from 99 Cents Only).
More Elf on the Shelf Breakfast Decorating Ideas
Mail box for Santa letters – I also found this small metal mail box at the 99 Cent Store. My kids wrote their Santa letters and dropped them into the mailbox for our Elf, “Rosy Snowflake” to deliver back to Santa!
Christmas Trees – Faux greenery can be used year after year. I chose realistic looking Christmas trees along with whimsical miniature flocked trees to use on my North Pole breakfast table.
North Pole-worthy special effects – Give your elf a snowy welcome! Add frosty touches to the tabletop to remind you of the winter theme. This included our classic Hallmark snowman plush.
I added glittering snowflakes and a fluffy green pom-pom garland, both from the 99 Cent store. For additional inspiration to remind you of melted snow, consider sprinkling coconut or a powdered sugar dusting on plates.
Small plates with a peppermint pattern and inexpensive decorative paper boxes were used for serving treats. Snowman and penguins made an appearance in the form of mugs to hold hot cocoa with marshmallows!
Brunch Recipes Kids Will Love
Christmas Tree Cinnamon Rolls – Use a butter knife to carefully cut and unwind refrigerated Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. Carefully manipulate the dough into a Christmas tree shape. Stir a few drops of green food coloring into the included frosting tub. Decorate with spice drops or sprinkles.
“Grinch Juice” – These deceptively healthy green smoothies are a welcome beverage to your North Pole breakfast. Load this recipe into your blender for a delicious Grinchy green drink.
- Grinch Juice – Recipe for four smoothies – Blend until ice and greens are fully blended.
- 3 cups pineapple juice
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
- 2 frozen bananas
- 2 handfuls of spinach greens
- 1/2 cup crushed ice
My son, who had seen me making our Grinch Juice, blurted out that it had spinach leaves inside.
My daughter sipping away at her drink said, “No it doesn’t! This doesn’t taste like salad!” I think that these sneakily healthy Grinch smoothies will be appearing for breakfast more often!
More North Pole Breakfast Recipes
Instant Pot Egg Bites – These egg bites can be made ahead then reheated for 30 seconds in the microwave. I made these quick and easy inside the Instant Pot using this egg bite silicone mold.
- Recipe for egg bites –
- 6 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cooked broccoli, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar.
- Add the cheese to the inside of each cup mold.
- Whip eggs, milk, and seasonings together until well blended.
- Mash broccoli crowns until crumbled then add to egg mixture.
- Carefully pour mix into each cup, not too close to the edge.
- Cook in Instant Pot for 8 minutes. Allow to slow release for 5 minutes, then manually release. Cool 5 additional minutes before removing from cups.
“Candy Cane” Fruit Salad – Slice strawberries and bananas, then alternate into small custard dishes into candy cane stripes. Another option would be to thread the chunks of fruit onto wooden skewers.
“North Pole” In the Snow – Use soft peppermint sticks to gently nestle in the hole of mini powdered donuts. Rest them on a plate to resemble the North Pole in the snow!
North Pole Breakfast Activities
Once you’ve indulged in the Elf on the Shelf breakfast, try incorporating a few of these kid-friendly winter activities. These family games can become a family holiday tradition and the perfect jump start to the holiday season!
- Read favorite Christmas books together.
- Christmas music and sing-a-long. Start playing holiday classics and teach your kids the words, starting an impromptu pajama dance party.
- Have an living room “snowball” fight with these fluffy Indoor Snowballs.
- Write letters to Santa with a Christmas wish list of toys they’d like to find under the tree this year. Have kids post them into the tabletop mail box so that the Elf can deliver the letters to Santa. Use these free printable Letter to Santa templates!
- Play a holiday themed game like Christmas Bingo.
- Decorate a gingerbread house with leftover candies from the North Pole Breakfast. This miniature Elf on a Shelf Gingerbread House just requires basic assembly!
- If you’d prefer to have something non-edible, check out this adorable wooden Lasercut Gingerbread House, similar to this version on Etsy.
- Watch a favorite Christmas or winter-themed family movie, including The Polar Express, Home Alone or Frozen.
- Gift the kids a classic Advent calendar. The countdown to Christmas Day becomes more visual when children can open a window each day on the calendar.
