Will Ferrell attends NHL game as cigarette-smoking version of Buddy the Elf: 'Tough holiday season'

What's worse than cramming 11 cookies into the VCR? Buddy the Elf's holiday season, apparently.

Actor Will Ferrell proved as much when he attended an NHL game in Los Angeles on Sunday, Dec. 29 while dressed as his iconic character from the beloved 2003 Christmas movie Elf — though this version of the character has seen better days after a chaotic end to the 2024 calendar year.

"We've never ever seen him like this," reported broadcast journalist Carrlyn Bathe of FanDuel Sports Network, before indicating on the air that she approached Ferrell to ask about his interpretation of the character as he watched the L.A. Kings play the Philadelphia Flyers from within the Crypto.com Arena.

"I stopped by just to check in on him, he's smoking a cigarette ringside, he's got a five o'clock shadow, looking a little bit disgruntled," Bathe continued. "[He] said it was a tough holiday season, you guys, and he's looking for a Kings win."

Ferrell's seasonal magic worked, as the Kings eventually beat the Flyers in the end.

Related: The 25 best Hallmark Christmas movies, ranked for your comfort-viewing pleasure

Since debuting to $229 million at the box office 21 years ago, director Jon Favreau's Elf has become a seasonal staple, and is regarded as one of the most popular Christmas films of all time. The story follows Ferrell as Buddy, a human man raised by Santa's elves, who ultimately leaves the North Pole to search for his biological father (James Caan) in New York City.

Recently, actor Mark Acheson told PEOPLE that one of the movie's funniest scenes — which sees Buddy descend to the mailroom of his father's office, where he gets drunk with an employee — was improvised on the day of shooting, including a comical line about Acheson being a "young" 26 years old, despite his actual age of 46 at the time.

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"The producers wanted to axe the whole scene because of that," Acheson revealed, adding that Favreau fought for the bit to remain in the movie. "I think, ‘Who is gonna believe this guy is 26?’ I mean, seriously. I believe I was 46 at the time and an older 46 even at that. Because I never looked young in my life."

Watch Ferrell attend the L.A. Kings game as Buddy the Elf in the video above.

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