Celebrities Are Participating in the Viral “Elf on the Shelf” Meme—and LOL

Even though memes go viral online all the time, we somehow always end up delighted and surprised when things catch on and become the latest viral sensation. Case in point: the new Instagram “Elf on a Shelf” challenge that all your favorite celebs are getting in on, proving that all it takes is a little photo editing magic and a good sense of humor to spark a hilarious holiday trend.

It all seemingly started when a Real Housewives fan account posted a ‘shopped photo of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais sitting atop the shoulder of one Pharrell Williams (Garcelle on Pharrell—get it?), captioning the pic, “You’ve heard of Elf on a Shelf, now get ready for this…” which itself was inspired by a Tumblr meme from all the way back in 2016. So yeah, this thing’s got legs, because four years in internet time is truly a lifetime in “real time.”

Naturally, Beauvais found the meme version of herself so hilarious that she shared it to her own page, which then inspired fellow celebs to get in on the action themselves, sharing their own versions and tagging their famous friends to do the same.

Elizabeth Banks was the first celeb inspired by the meme, so she created her own, showing off her version called “Hanks on Banks.” And yep, it’s Tom Hanks as his iconic titular role of Forrest Gump, perched atop the shoulders of Banks in a glam red carpet look.

Then, Reese Witherspoon jumped in, captioning hers, “Oh hey @elizabethbanks! I see your Hanks-on-Banks and I raise you a Grease-on-Reese.” She showed off a tiny version of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta dancing together in their classic hit Grease.

Now, seemingly every celebrity on the planet is in the mix with their own hilarious versions, because at this point in 2020, we all need some good LOLs. Here are some of our favorites:

[Katy] Perry on Kerry [Washington].

[Allison] Janney on Annie [Hathaway].

Erykah [Badu] on America [Ferrera].

Mick [Jagger] on Nic[ole Kidman].

[David] Bowie on Zooey [Deschanel].

[Harry] Styles on Kyle [MacLachlan].

[Sean] Penn on Jenn[ifer Garner].

A Bestseller [The DaVinci Code] on [Sarah Michelle] Gellar. (LOL.)

In perhaps the most on-theme one of all, the queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey, shared her own festive version: Jim Carrey as The Grinch on Carey.

This year has no doubt been rough for all of us, but we’re grateful for these celebs giving us something to chuckle about these days. Maybe it’ll inspire you to try one of your own to share with your friends and family. The opportunities for laughs here are truly endless.