Christmas elf letters to print
The elf’s arrival letter, a note for every morning until Christmas Eve, and the goodbye, with your child’s name. Free, no sign-up. Names and notes ↓
Who writes to whom?
Appears in every letter. Up to 16 characters.
The elf signs with it. If your elf already has a name, use that. Up to 16 characters.
Elf writing paper so your child can write back, with mini envelopes: under Blank, above.
Tap a letter to swap it or edit its text.
How to make printable Christmas elf letters
- Type your child’s name and the elf’s name. The child’s name goes into every letter, and the elf signs each one with its own name. If an elf already visits your home, use the name your child knows; if not, short, sparkly names like Jingle, Tinsel, Pip or Nutmeg read well aloud.
- Pick the age. For ages 2 to 4 each note is at most two short sentences (25 words or fewer) with a row of little pictures, so a child who cannot read yet can still “read” it. For ages 3 to 5 the notes are two to four sentences you read aloud at breakfast in half a minute. For ages 6 to 9 almost every note has a riddle, a code to crack or a small mission your child can read and do alone.
- Go through the letters. First comes the arrival letter, in which the elf introduces itself and explains the one big rule: never open the tiny door. Then come 24 daily notes and, last, the goodbye letter: on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve or Twelfth Night, saying the elf will be back next year, that it is moving on for good, or just a short farewell. Any daily note can be swapped for one of the other notes in the set, and every text, the arrival and goodbye too, can be edited.
- Download the PDF and print at 100%. The arrival and goodbye letters each fill a landscape page. The daily notes come four to a sheet (4.25 × 5.5 in on US Letter, 105 × 148 mm on A4, postcard size) or eight to a sheet if they need to fit in front of a small elf door (about 2.75 × 4.25 in or 74 × 105 mm). Cut along the dashed lines.
- Make the elf door extras. With the extras box ticked, the PDF adds a sheet of miniatures sized for a door about 4 to 8 in (10 to 20 cm) tall: a name plate with the elf’s name, a WELCOME doormat, the signs “Please don’t touch!” and “See you next year!”, a Do Not Disturb door hanger, The Elf Times with your child’s name in the headline, a mailbox sign and twelve tiny stamps. Cut on the dashed lines, fold on the dash-dot lines.
- Put the day’s note out once your child is asleep. The checklist at the end of the PDF tells you what to set up the night before, what you need for it and the answers to the riddles.
Questions about elf letters
Is the elf arrival letter printable really free, as a PDF?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no payment, and you can make as many sets as you like, one for each child for example. Unlike a ready-made template, every letter already has your child’s name in it, drawn and set on your own device: the names never leave your browser. The PDF holds the arrival letter, all 24 daily notes, the goodbye letter, the extras sheet if ticked and the checklist, ready to print. Each page is also available as a 300 dpi PNG if you would rather print one letter at a time or send it to a photo printer.
What goes in an elf welcome letter?
A good welcome letter does four things in under a minute of reading: the elf says its name, says where it lives now (behind the tiny door), explains the one rule that keeps the magic going (the door stays shut, the elf’s things are not moved), and promises a letter every morning until Christmas Eve, with a hint that there may be some mischief. The letter for ages 6 to 9 adds riddles and missions to the promise; the one for ages 2 to 4 says it all in three short sentences with pictures of the elf, the door and a letter. You can rewrite any part of it, and if your elf arrives with a doll or a different story, the text box takes whatever you write.
Can I use this as an elf letter template and write my own?
Yes, in two ways. Every letter has an Edit the text box: change a word or replace the whole note, and the name, date badge and design stay. Or tick Add a sheet of blank notes to get the same frames with ruled lines and the elf’s name already signed, to fill in by hand.
We need ideas: what does the elf do each day?
Each daily note comes with an idea the grown-up sets up the night before, and the checklist lists them all with what you need. About half are harmless pranks that take two minutes and leave nothing to clean beyond a minute’s tidying: a nibbled cookie, a snake of socks across the floor, toilet paper stuck to the bathroom door with painter’s tape, bananas with faces drawn in ballpoint pen, teddies at the breakfast table, a cushion fort, a toy riding a string zip line between two chairs. The rest are small things to do together: paper snowflakes, a secret code that spells I LOVE YOU, a wish list for Santa, a walk to look at Christmas lights, a card for a neighbour, the longest night on December 21 and cookies and a carrot on Christmas Eve. Nothing needs climbing, nothing breaks, no food is thrown away, and the notes for the youngest children are checked against a list of choking hazards, so none of them asks for coins, marbles, beads, balloons, button batteries or similar small parts.
Which paper size does it print on?
US Letter is preselected if your browser is set to American or Canadian English and A4 otherwise; you can switch at any time. Print at 100% or actual size, not fit to page. Plain printer paper (20 lb, 80 g/m²) works; heavier paper or light card (120 to 170 g/m²) feels more like real elf mail. Without a color printer, pick Ink saver, or Color it in so your child colors the frame.
Does it work for December 2026?
Yes. The notes carry only the dates December 1 to 24, never a weekday, so they fit any year. In 2026 December 1 is a Tuesday and Christmas Eve a Thursday.
Is this the elf from a store-bought kit?
No. The elf in the drawings is our own, a small figure in a red pointed hat, and the letters are written from scratch. They work whether your elf is an invisible one behind a door, a doll or a toy you already own, or just a name.