The Celebrity Elf On The Shelf Meme That's Going Viral

It seems we all have a lot of time on our hands in 2020 — yes, even with the holidays rapidly approaching, perhaps faster than many of us would like to admit. Need proof? Celebrities who have been quarantining too are apparently bored, as they have started competing for the best Elf on the Shelf meme, using their fellow stars as inspiration.

The whole thing was started by Garcelle Beauvais, of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame, who posted an Instagram photo of a tiny, elf-like version of herself, poised on singer Pharrell Williams' shoulder (via New York Post). Garcelle on Pharrell — get it?

It seems Beauvais was really onto something, as many stars, from Reese Witherspoon to Ryan Seacrest, have jumped on the elf yourself trend. But after the reality star, actress Elizabeth Banks was the first to up the ante, sharing an image of Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump on her shoulder. Hanks on Banks — you with us?

Apparently Reese Witherspoon was inspired by Banks' original take on the elf yourself meme, as she commented on the actress' Instagram post, writing, "Hahahahah!" Not to be outdone, the Little Fires Everywhere star created her own meme, dwarfing Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta from Grease, and photoshopping them onto her shoulder. "Oh hey @elizabethbanks! I see your Hanks-on-Banks and I raise you a Grease-on-Reese," she captioned the hilarious image. "I'm hopelessly devoted to this photo," Banks commented. Many other celebrities also enjoyed Witherspoon's meme, with comments cropping up from the likes of Julianne Moore and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The next celebrity to join in on the fun was Ryan Seacrest, who shrunk country star Luke Bryan onto his shoulder and captioned his Instagram post, "You've heard of the Elf on the Shelf but how about.... #LukeBryanOnRyan." 

Not to be outdone, comedian Amy Schumer came up with her own meme that takes this entire concept to the next level. On Instagram, she posted an image of Rumer Willis on top of her own image, with Orlando Bloom on top of Willis, topped off by Heidi Klum — and all images were taken from Zoom calls. "Klum on Bloom on Ruum on Schum on Zoom," she captioned the inventive shot, adding, "challenging @katyperry to beat this!!" Bloom quickly commented, "Schum always raising the bar." Meanwhile, Willis also chimed in, commenting, "I didn't think it could get better." 

As for the always-hilarious Perry, at time of writing she hadn't responded with her own meme, but here's an idea: How about Prince Harry on Kerry (as in Washington) on Teri (Hatcher) on Perry? Just trying to help, Katy! Good luck!