Playing Piano

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Living Room Difficulty ●●●○○ Messiness ●○○○○ Ages 3–10

How it's done

Your elf is busy hosting a private concert this morning by perching right at the keys of your piano. To help them reach the ivory, you will need to stack a few hardcover books to create a small platform for their feet. Use markers to draw tiny music notes on a piece of paper so it looks like they are reading sheet music during the performance. This setup takes about ten minutes to assemble and leaves zero cleanup for you later. This idea is Inspired by What Moms Love.

You'll need

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Pets in the house?

Should be fine around pets as long as you place it out of reach.

Why this works

Living-room scenes are the most photogenic. The Christmas tree, the couch, the mantel all frame the elf beautifully for the family photo you'll actually take (and maybe post). This mid-difficulty scene trades a little more setup time for a bigger 'wow' moment when your kids walk in.

Variations

  • Bigger-kid twist: For an older crowd that sees through simple scenes, step up to Canvas Self Portrait Art , same room, cleverer setup.

If it doesn't go to plan

If the elf ends up too well-hidden and the kids can't find it, nudge them with a vague hint ("Looks like our elf went somewhere cozy"), the discovery is the point.

Inspired by What Moms Love . Visit the original post for more photos and the full backstory.

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