For Christmas this year, I wanted to decorate my mantel with a whimsical feel with a bright color palette that would appeal to kids. I knew that Christmas elves would be a great way to celebrate the holiday season, so I decided to make them the focal point of the decor.

Oversized Elf Figures

I designed two Christmas elves and created printable patterns to make it easy for me to trace them onto some thin plywood.

Keep reading below to see how you can get these patterns to create your own oversized elves!

Then I cut the elves out with my jigsaw and painted them with a bright red and green color scheme.

The first elf sits on top of the mantel, with his leg charmingly hanging down. Next to him, I placed a decorative Letters to Santa mailbox that I picked up at Hobby Lobby, and in his hand, I placed a letter that I drew on a piece of cardstock.

By the way, that big red snowflake design behind the elf is just wrapping paper that I put around the existing art that normally hangs over my living room fireplace. It was a really easy way to add some more holiday spirit to the decor.

The second elf stands in front of the fireplace, ready to spread some Christmas magic with his nearby ornaments.

Christmas Mantel Decorations

To fill out the mantel display, I started with some evergreen garland along the mantel. Natural elements are always a great choice, but by using this pre-lit faux garland, I had the perfect Christmas mantel garland that would last throughout the season. I added some beaded garland and plenty of decorative picks and pom-pom garland for a pop of color.

Of course no mantel would be complete without Christmas stockings, so I hung red and green ones from hooks on one side.

In front of the fireplace, on either side, I put these miniature trees. I used string lights and garland that matched the red and green of the elves, for a cohesive look.

I also wrapped some boxes in coordinating red and green giftwrap and stacked them on one side, with a festive bow on top. For a fun accent rug, I repurposed a red plush tree skirt, which I folded in half. Centered in front of the fireplace, it was the perfect place for my cheery elf to stand.

The Finished Holiday Decorations

When it all came together, I had a fun and festive look that breathed a whole new life into my living room fireplace. From the mini trees to the light strings and bold red and green color scheme, I could not be more pleased with the outcome.

Oh and don't worry about the items being too close to that roaring fire... it's not actually a real fire at all, nor is it even a typical faux fireplace!

Since I have no need for extra heat in the space, but love the look of a fire, I actually inserted a small smart TV into my fireplace and I play fireplace videos on it when I'm in the mood. Check out our fireplace TV video on Instagram to see how I did it.

 

Printable Elf Patterns

If you'd like to create these oversized elves to add to your Christmas decorations, these patterns will make it so easy! I've got them bundled up into a print-ready PDF file. Just print the pages onto standard 8.5" x 11" paper and tape them together to create a pattern ready to transfer.

If you've seen our other Christmas projects, these elves might look familiar to you. We used the same design on the North Pole Post Office decorations that we added to Jo's front door last year!