Fairy in the Garden: An “Elf on the Shelf” Summertime Alternative

I can’t summon the energy to pull off “Elf on the Shelf” in the already chaotic month of December. Our relaxed summers, on the other hand, are the perfect time to make a little extra magic for my kids. I decided our family would have a fairy in the garden instead of an elf on the shelf.

A few weeks ago my kids found a small cast iron butterfly-shaped box in the garden. Inside there was a tiny envelope made of floral paper with an itsy bitsy note inside. The note was from a fairy asking if she could build her home in our garden and live here for the summer. If they agreed, the kids were to leave two pretty rocks in the box for her.

The kids were thrilled and—after interrogating us to find out if the fairy was real or if Mommy did it—carefully scoured the garden for two pretty rocks. They know Mommy is behind the fairy, but they’re so excited to play along with the magic. The fairy left a second note letting them know they may see her in the garden, but if they touch she will lose her magic, and she’ll have to leave for a while. So far they have been VERY careful not to break this rule. Of course they can rearrange the fairy’s stuff and play with her pet turtle.

Every day I move the fairy to a new spot in the garden. Some days she leaves a note in her box asking the kids to find things or help her with something. For example, the owl delivering the fairy’s fence panels dropped them in the woods, and the kids had to hunt them down. Those delivery owls are worse than Fedex, I swear. Sometimes she leaves something interesting in her mailbox—a seed pod, an unripened peach, a cicada shell, etc. There has been a lot of bickering about who gets to keep the fairy’s gifts and notes.

Each day I add a little something to the fairy’s home under a favorite tree. A river rock floor, a gazebo, a bridge with a pond, miniature cast iron pots and pans, hanging bells wind chimes, solar powered tea lights that turn on automatically after dark, and more. I am having too much fun finding all these little surprises.

The motivation to check on the fairy gets the kids outside (often when they’re still in their pajamas), and once they’re out there they usually get caught up playing. I love their additions to the fairy’s home—a real toad, luna moth wings, tiny bouquets of fresh flowers.

I’m hoping our garden fairy will make the magic of the garden more tangible for them. I want them to always feel a sense of wonder and nostalgia when they’re in a garden. And hopefully they’ll grow up to love gardening as much as we do. (Yeah, I’m playing the long game here.)

Around the time the kids go back to school at the end of the summer and schedules get hectic again the fairy will migrate for the winter. She’ll pack up her stuff until next May when she’ll return again. Assuming the kids are still into it. I think they will be.

Below are links to the fairy garden items I’ve gathered. The widely available resin fairy garden pieces have broken very easily for us in the past, so I’m trying to source cast iron fairy garden pieces. They get a little rusty in the rain, and they get a little hot in the sun, but to me they look ancient and mysterious, and they blend into our garden beautifully.

• Cast iron fairy garden decor from BugStoreDesigns on Etsy or their website.
• Tiny fairy sized envelopes from HeartStreet on Etsy (I type the messages, print them, and cut them out, because I can’t write that small.)
• Cast iron butterfly “fairy mailbox” from MagpiesHoardVintage on Etsy
• Fairy and other fairy garden decor items from Amazon (This is an affiliate link—this list only includes items I purchased with my own money and loved.)
• Tumbled river rocks in various sizes from local garden shop (you can usually find small quantities near the houseplants)