1. The Safe Cracker
A little mask cut out of black felt or fabric and a way to attach the elf to your gun safe (I used blue sticky tack, as you can see) and you’ve got yourself a safe cracker. This is especially effective if you follow it up with photo No. 2, the rifle scenario, the next morning.
2. The Tactical Shooter
To stage this one, you’ll need a rifle with a bipod and some little green Army men or other helpers, because your elf can’t see out of the scope and pull the trigger at the same time. Of course, you also need to observe safety rules with this scenario, including keeping the bolt open, triple-checking that the gun is unloaded, finding a safe direction for the muzzle to point in, and keeping all ammo out of the room or locked up. This scenario might or might not be practical depending on your household situation, considering that most people keep their elf in the same position all day. You might also consider setting this up early in the morning rather than the night before if you don’t want to leave a gun out of the safe all night.
3. The Treestand Hunter
Your Christmas tree will work fine for this, but I happened to have a skinny little Alpine tree that worked well. Then you’ll just need an animal for your elf to hunt and an elf-sized bow or gun borrowed from some other toy—all the better if you can scrounge up or make some elf-sized camo or hunter orange. Frankly, I’m just not that enterprising.
4. The Deer Drag
After a successful hunt comes the drag out, right? I used a different animal, but if you set this up the day after the treestand hunt, you can use the same one. A simple drag rope and a way to prop your elf up are all you really need. I used a green blanket as a backdrop and pinned the elf to it with a straight pin so it looked like she was walking.
5. The Ammo Angel
This is my favorite one on this list, and it’s simple to do if you have enough ammo. Just pile it up (22 LR works best because it’s so small) and have your elf make a “snow angel” in the middle. I used about 500 rounds in this picture, which is probably the minimum to make it work—I think more would be even better. Safety note: Make sure your guns are locked up and inaccessible if you’re going to have ammo sitting out.
6. The Fan Girl
A couple of turkey feathers are all you need for this peek-a-boo look.
7. The Taxidermy Connoisseur
Incorporating the taxidermy in your home is perfect for those oh-shoot-I-forgot-to-move-the-elf nights when you really don’t want to get elaborate!
