The 2003 Christmas comedy Elf, starring Will Ferrell, is our favorite for many reasons. First, Buddy gave us our favorite new way to greet people over the phone: “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” (We don’t recommend using this for business calls, but it works wonders on telemarketers. They almost always hang up). Second, the beautiful and hilarious Zooey Deschanel plays his love interest, and their romance is strangely cute (and also produced one of the best comedy scenes ever; Buddy joining in on Jovie’s shower rendition of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” reminds us that during the holidays, every song is a duet!) And lastly, Buddy reminds us of the joy of Christmas, and helps us see the holiday once again with child-like wonder and amusement (though we definitely do not recommend picking chewed gum off the subway railing and chewing it again). But without further ado, here are 10 gifs from the film that are basically us every time Christmas comes around.
1. When it’s just barely the day after Thanksgiving and you’re already in the spirit.
2. When you notice stores have started playing Christmas music and you have to sing along.
3. When your family is no longer fazed by your endless renditions of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.
4. When your favorite game “Spot Santa on the Street” is finally seasonally appropriate again.
5. When you gotta put in a good word with Santa if you want your wishlist fulfilled.
6. When everything is just too cozy and cute to be unhappy.
7. When everybody is just so friendly to each other (or at least you’d like to pretend they are).
8. When you realize it’s the day after Christmas and the spirit is slowly disappearing.
