Even more holiday magic

Give your elf door a DIY makeover: craft a mailbox, doormat, and tiny lantern

How do you know if the elf is home? By the tiny elf door, a tiny lantern’s candle flickers and tiny shoes rest on the doormat. The mailbox can fit a real letter to Santa—just write it in extra-small handwriting.

Author Anette Nässling

Images Hannes Paananen

November 17, 2025Lue suomeksi

Elf door accessories: mailbox, doormat, and lantern

The elf door mailbox

Supplies:

two matchboxes or small boxes
red paint
glue
a utility knife.

Here’s how to make the mailbox

Cut an opening for the mail in the lid of your matchbox. Make sure the open side of the box’s inner drawer faces the cut, so the drawer stays intact.
Cut a canopy for the mailbox from another box.
Fold the canopy into shape and glue it in place.
Remove the inner drawer and paint the box holiday red. Also paint the bottom edge and part of the drawer’s sides, so they don’t appear white.
Once the box is dry, make a small nameplate and attach it on top.

The elf door doormat

Supplies:

knitting yarn
crochet yarn or thin cotton yarn
a shoebox or another small box lid.

Here’s how to make the doormat

Cut notches into opposite edges of the box lid, spacing them about 0.5 cm (0.2″) apart so you can thread an odd number of warp threads.
Thread the thinner yarn through the notches as the warp.
Start weaving the mat with the same warp yarn. Weave a few rows with the warp yarn, then continue with the knitting yarn, passing it under and over the warp threads in alternating rows. At the edges, make sure the yarn comes over on one row and under on the next.
Keep the mat evenly wide. You can use a wide-toothed comb to gently pack the rows if needed. Switch yarn colors when the stripe is thick enough.
Finish by weaving a few more rows of warp yarn at the other end.
Carefully remove the threads and tie them off in pairs. You can also use glue to secure the ends.

The elf lantern

Supplies:

black cardstock
an LED tealight
black crafting paint or an opaque marker
clear plastic, for example from a takeout container lid
glue and a piece of string.

Here’s how to make the yard lantern

Remove the tealight’s lid. You only need the LED unit with its batteries. Use wire cutters or sturdy scissors to trim the edges of the LED unit as narrow as possible.
Color the plastic parts of the LED unit black using a thick marker or crafting paint.
Measure the base. Cut a 5 cm (2″) tall piece of cardstock that’s wide enough to wrap around the LED, with the ends overlapping slightly.
Fold the lantern’s walls. Using a utility knife, cut triangular openings that form a cross pattern (see photo above). Leave about 1.5 cm (0.5″) uncut at the top.
Cut and glue clear plastic “panes” onto the lantern. Glue the vertical seam closed.
Shape the top of the lantern. Trim two opposite sides into triangles for the roof, and trim the other two sides down to the roof’s lower edge.
Cut a square piece of cardstock for the roof, making it slightly bigger than the opening. Glue it in place.
Glue on a short piece of string as the handle.
Cut a removable base from cardstock. Measure the lantern and add 0.5 cm (0.2″) on each side for edges. Fold these edges upward.
Place the tealight on the base, then insert both into the lantern. You can glue one side closed, but leave three sides open so you can switch it on and off.