Thermostat Warm-Up: Degree Duty

Author: Elfie Spot Finder Time: about 2 minutes.
The thermostat is already a tiny control room. Tonight the holiday elf is on degree duty. Two minutes. Cover stays on. Do not turn the house into a sauna. If you already have a posable holiday elf, skip to the recipe. If you don't, start with the setup kit.
Do not pull the thermostat off the wall. Do not change the set point more than one degree if you touch it at all. Sit the elf on a nearby shelf or chair, not balanced on the unit.
You Will Need This:
- • Your holiday elf
- • The hallway thermostat
- • A nearby shelf, picture ledge, or a chair you can reach from the floor
- • Optional: a sticky note that says "Holding at 68"
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Set the wall
Leave the thermostat on the wall. Clear the ledge, or use a chair that already lives there. You are not building a platform.
Step 2: Pose the elf
Sit the posable elf on the ledge or the chair, facing the thermostat. Do not balance them on the thermostat itself.
Step 3: Add the tiny details
A "Holding at 68" note on the wall beside the unit is enough. Do not change the program. Do not add a space heater. Do not add a fan.
Step 4: When kids find it
They find it when they walk the hall. If a toddler will drag the chair, skip the chair and use the ledge, or skip this brief.
Pro Tips:
- • A note is funnier than actually changing the temperature.
- • If there is no ledge, a picture frame on a nearby table can be the post.
- • Do not peel the thermostat off for the photo.
- • Keep this away from a space heater. That is not this scene.
More Ideas
Out of ideas tonight?
Brick Builder
Catch your elf on a toy-brick jobsite. A two-minute construction crew on the playroom floor using bricks you already own.

Bookworm Buddy
Your elf discovered a love of reading! Create this adorable scene that encourages kids to read too.

Bow Basket Bath
Your elf soaks in a basket of leftover gift bows like a spa day made of ribbon. Two minutes of wrapping-paper chaos without the paper mess.
