Homemade DIY Elf Peg Doll ornaments are easy for both adults and kids to make. These Christmas decorations were made by my preschool daughter with my assistance. They look spectacular on our Christmas tree alongside all of our other handmade Christmas ornaments!

Related: Angel Peg Doll Ornament

Related: 10 Reasons to Choose the Kindness Elves Over the Elf on the Shelf

Elf Peg Doll Ornaments Inspired by The Christmas Wish

These handmade elf ornaments were inspired by the book “The Christmas Wish.” It is the story of a little girl named Anja who dreams of one day becoming one of Santa’s elves.

A long time ago, a little girl named Anja dreamed of one day becoming one of Santa’s elves. She leaves a note for her family and sets out on a Christmas adventure, with many interesting winter animals assisting her in her journey to Santa.

Related: Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make Your Family Will Love!

Elf Peg Doll Ornaments: Materials

• Wooden Peg Dolls (This set contains enough for this project and others listed at the bottom of this post.)
• Painter’s Tape
• Round Doll Pin Stands (optional – we used these to help paint and dry peg dolls.)
• Christmas Red Acrylic Paint
• Christmas Green Acrylic Paint
• Multicolor Felt Set or Red Glitter Felt and Green Glitter Felt
• Glue Gun with Glue Sticks
• Paint Brush Set
• Singer Sewing and Craft Scissors Set
• Metal Ornament Hooks
• Mod Podge Matte (optional)

Related: Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make

How to Make Elf Peg Doll Ornaments

Paint the Peg Dolls

1. Use painters tape to tape off the heads of the peg dolls. This makes it really easy for your child to paint the bodies of the dolls without getting paint on the heads.

2.  Invite your child to paint peg doll bodies.  We learned that placing the taped heads into the round doll pin stands listed above made it really easy for my little one to hold onto it to paint, and set them down to dry. Use a little more or a little less painters tape to help them all fit. Optional – Paint them to use as stands for your elves.

Young children work best in short segments so we worked for 5 – 10 minutes at a time. We took breaks between each step to allow for drying and to give my daughter a break.

Make Felt Caps for Elf Ornaments

1. Draw a circle 10 centimeters in diameter onto card stock or onto a piece of a cereal or cracker box out of your recycle bin. Cut the circle in half, and then in half again. Use this quarter of a circle to trace as many felt caps as you need in the colors you are using. Alternatively, you can trace the circle and cut the felt circle into quarters. We made 2 green caps, 2 red caps, and 1 red glitter cap for Anja.

Note: I recommend using sewing scissors to cut felt. Please make sure that you are confident in your child’s scissor skills if you will be allowing them to cut the felt. Sewing scissors are sharp and dangerous.

2.  Fold one side of the quarter circle of felt into the middle to make the long cone shape for the hat. Apply glue to attach felt to felt to make the cap. Use enough glue to attach the cap well enough to support the weight of the peg doll. Work fast, the glue dries quickly. Another option is to sew the caps together and even add embroidery to make them look nice and pretty.

Note: Please make sure your children know how to handle a glue gun safely before inviting them to use one. They are hot and dangerous tools.

3. Make hangers for elf peg doll ornaments. Carefully poke one end of the metal ornament hook through the felt cap about 1 centimeter from the tip. Older children and adults can use a needle and bakers twine to create a nicer looking hanger.

Paint Simple Faces (Optional)

Use an incredible nib and black paint to dot on a simple face. For more detailed instruction see DIY Rainbow Peg Dolls or Peg Doll Boat Craft.

Seal and Protect Elf Ornaments

I recommend doing this, but you don’t have to. If you are going to make faces on the dolls, I would suggest doing this step last. It’s best to dot the faces on after the caps are in place. If you are not going to make faces on the dolls, I would suggest doing this right before placing the caps on the heads to give them some extra sticking power.

Related: DIY Rainbow Peg Dolls 

These elf peg doll ornaments inspired by “The Christmas Wish” are fun and easy to make with your kids. If you have a young child like I do, I recommend working in short segments and taking breaks.

Don’t forget to check out our Winter Bucket List and Meaningful Christmas Traditions for a Magical Holiday. You may also like our gift guide with DIY and ready-made ideas for the whole family.

This post is a part of the 10 Days of Kid-Made Ornaments Inspired by Books Blog Hop. Click on the link to see all of the amazing book-inspired kid-made ornaments from over 70 bloggers!

Don’t forget to check out a few other book-inspired kid-made ornaments posted on Day 2 of the series:

Wooden Sled Ornament | Fireflies and Mud Pies
Fingerprint Christmas Tree Ornament | Sugar Aunts
Vintage Inspired Jar Ornament | Mama Miss
Felt Robin Christmas Ornament | Mum in the Mad House