Man meets father for first time dressed as ‘Buddy’ the elf

BOSTON — It was like a scene out of a movie as Douglas Henning met his biological father for the first time at Boston’s Logan Airport on Thanksgiving.

“It was awesome, it was awesome to have that first physical embrace. I think he probably felt it more than I did,” said Doug Henning.

Henning says he was adopted and curious about his nationality, so after going on Ancestry.com, he was quickly connected to his father, who didn’t even know Henning existed.

They connected during the pandemic virtually for the last several months, but on Thanksgiving they finally met in person after taking COVID-19 tests.

“My story is almost exactly like Buddy the Elf’s,” said Henning. “I mean my Dad didn’t know about me and then we found each other and it’s happening this time of year. I said I should totally dress up as Buddy the Elf when he comes in,” he said.

So he did.

Henning found a Buddy the Elf costume like the one Will Ferrell wears in the movie “Elf,” and his 11-year-old daughter captured the moment on camera at the airport.

Henning says the funny part is, his Dad had never seen the movie.

“But my sisters who were coming in had seen the movie so they were dying,” said Henning. “So yeah, but then we watched the movie together as a family and he loved it.”

Henning learned he has two sisters and his Dad got to meet his granddaughters.

They also learned they have a lot in common: both father and son work in the TV industry.

“I mean it was the first Thanksgiving that I had with my actual dad, so I was pretty thankful for that,” said Henning.

Now they look forward to sharing many more memories together for years to come.

“You know he missed 42 years of my life that he wasn’t able to be there for,” said Henning. “But he was saying that hopefully he can give me 30 of his, and that’s the rest of his life so that was awesome.”

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