The Holderness Family is back — encouraging holiday cheer in their 2015 Christmas video, #ELFED. But Kim Holderness says it took them longer than normal to come up with the cheeky parody of Kendrick Lamar’s “i.”
“We were struggling coming up with anything too cheery with the recent headlines,” said Kim. “We took the kids to experience Christmas in New York last weekend, and hadn't come up with a song or anything as of then. I had packed the jammies hoping inspiration would strike, so we decided to just head out into the street and see what happened.”
So, with camera in hand, the family-of-four took to the streets of New York City in their green elf pajamas. Throughout the video, Kim, Penn, Lola and Penn Charles can be seen approaching strangers, encouraging them to dance and act silly along with them.
“Funny enough, no one even gave us a second look,” joked Kim.
Kim says once their New York City footage was filmed, they decided that “getting elfed” would be the theme of this year’s video.
Throughout the video, the family sings, “Let’s get elfed,” while updating viewers on their year — from Lola’s basketball team to Penn Charles’ eight girlfriends to Kim’s summer spent attending the kids’ swim meets.
As Kim recaps Penn’s year, she reminisces about the time she made him go into labor for Mother’s Day, the family’s successful Thanksgiving parody, and the funny spoof of their original ‘Christmas Jammies’ video, performed by Saturday Night Live.
In addition to footage shot in New York City, the family features videos sent in from fans, showing families across the globe dressed as elves and having fun together.
Friends and neighbors from the family’s Raleigh, North Carolina, hometown also make appearances, including Jennifer Cuthbertson, who has appeared in several Holderness Family parodies. Kim says Jennifer recently took a break from being on camera to support her sister, Paige, who is undergoing breast cancer treatment.
“Jen sat in the chair next to her sister while she had to shave her thinning hair. Jen, being amazing, shaved her head too, without a second thought,” said Kim. “They both rocked the look, and Jen jokes how much time it has saved her during her morning routine. We are happy to have her back.”
As the family’s video greeting comes to a close, Penn offers some holiday wisdom.
“If we all acted like elves, I’m sure, this world would be much happier.”