Man Dresses as Buddy the Elf to Meet Biological Dad in Nod to Iconic Christmas Movie

An iconic scene from the 2003 Christmas movie “Elf” just came true in real life! Doug Henning, 43, dressed up as Buddy, famously portrayed by Will Ferrell, to meet his biological father for the first time.

“I was just thinking, man, how awesome would it be to just break the ice with greeting him as Buddy the Elf?” Henning told Inside Edition. “I said, our story is the same. He never knew about me, I was adopted and then he found me. So I figured, what better way to do it?”

Henning tracked his dad down through Ancestry.com and surprised him in costume at the airport in Boston. He recreated the scene from the movie where Buddy meets his dad for the first time. Henning's 11-year-old daughter, Finley, captured the moment on her phone.

“At one point I fell on my knees, because it was so funny. I couldn't stop laughing,” Finley said.

Henning put on his “Elf” costume just for Inside Edition — still radiating delight over meeting his dad for the first time and relieved the joke went over well.

“It's given a lot of people a lot of laughs and a lot of joy, hopefully, in this time that we're in,” Henning said.

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