One for the records,
a gaggle of elves
Indeed, some 600 gather to sing Christmas carols
By Toni Fitzgerald
Dec 9, 2009
It's not rare to see the occasional elf this time of year, hawking toys on television or herding kids to sit on Santa's lap at the mall.
But unless you live at the North Pole, you've probably never seen 600 of them in one place at one time, or at least you hadn't until they converged on the Pond at Bryant Park in Manhattan earlier this week.
The elves in question ranged from eight months to 75 years old. They wore tunics, booties and of course pointy ears, and they sang Christmas carols at the top of their lungs as passersby wondered what the heck was going on.
It was all a stunt to promote "Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe," an original ABC Family movie in which the elves at Santa's workshop go on strike.
Guinness officials were on hand to certify the event, held Monday, as the largest-ever gathering of Christmas elves, never mind the fact that it was also the only large gathering of Christmas elves on record. Guinness has never published an elf listing before.
"There was not a former record holder, this was a brand new record," says Danielle Mullen, ABC Family vice president of marketing. "We worked with Guinness to develop the idea. They let us know there was no world record, and we worked with them to figure out what we'd need to do to set a new record."
The key to certification was the elf costumes. People couldn't just bring their own; they had to be preapproved by Guinness. The costume the network eventually settled on included a tunic, pants, booties and a hat with pointy elf ears attached.
ABC Family sourced production of the items to several different companies, making 800 total costumes. People who showed up at the Pond were given an appropriately sized costume, which they slipped on over their clothes.
The event took place from noon to 2 p.m. on Monday. ABC Family recruited potential elves via local radio station Z100, which urged listeners to come out; an appearance by "Santa" star Jenny McCarthy on "Good Morning America;" and through the "25 Days of Christmas" Facebook page.
Once all the elves had arrived, Guinness required that they be in costume together for 10 minutes, and so the network staged fun family activities, such as prize giveaways and Christmas carol singalongs, to keep people occupied.
"It was particularly cute to see the toddlers toddling in elf booties," says Mullen.
The stunt worked for three reasons. First, it was festive, fun and slightly off the wall, which is just the kind of thing people are looking for during the hectic holidays. Second, it was a family-oriented event, and so parents felt safe about bringing their kids to take part.
Third, it related well to the movie, since the elf strike plays such a role in it.
The stunt received some press coverage, including pictures or stories on the Us Weekly and People web sites, as well as mentions in various Twitter feeds and on Facebook pages where people posted their own pictures. Plus it will be listed in the next "Guinness World Records" book.
And in case you're wondering, yes, attendees did get to keep their elf costumes, and yes, Mullen herself put one on.
"I didn't want to miss being part of the record," she says.
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