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‘Grease’ on a Reese? Celebs put their own spin on ‘Elf on the Shelf’ viral meme

Reese Witherspoon in a silver dress.
Actress Reese Witherspoon is one of many celebrities participating in a viral “Elf on the Shelf” meme chain.
(Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press)
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You’ve heard of “Elf on the Shelf.” Now get ready for... celebrity on the celebrity?

The latest viral meme trend among the rich and famous is a clever twist on “The Elf on the Shelf,” the popular children’s book that inspired a Christmas tradition involving small, magical house guests that pop up around the holiday season to keep an eye on kids vying for a spot on Santa’s nice list.

But instead of “Elf on the Shelf,” Garcelle Beauvais, Reese Witherspoon, Elizabeth Banks, Sterling K. Brown, Kerry Washington and other entertainment luminaries have been flexing their rhyming skills with their own Photoshopped creations.

It all started with actress Beauvais’ “Garcelle on a Pharrell”: An image of a tiny Beauvais casually sitting on singer-producer Pharrell Williams’ shoulder. And a flood of similarly cheesy posts soon followed...

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Take, for example, Banks’ “Hanks on a Banks,” featuring Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) resting on the “Charlie’s Angels” director‘s shoulder. Or Washington’s “Perry on a Kerry,” an edit of pop star Katy Perry atop the “Little Fires Everywhere” actress’ shoulder.

Some of the festive fad’s participants have stepped even further outside the box, expanding their collages to include whole movies and TV series. (Obligatory shout-out to all the Hollywood assistants who were likely tasked with Photoshopping these social media gems.)

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Observe: “This Is Us” actor Brown’s “‘The Crown’ on Brown,” featuring the entire cast of Netflix’s hit royal drama. Or Witherspoon’s “‘Grease’ on a Reese,” which sees Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) and Danny Zuko (John Travolta) using the Oscar winner’s shoulder as a dance floor.

Others, such as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s “Bestseller on a Gellar” — juxtaposing the “Buffy” actress with Dan Brown’s hit mystery novel “The Da Vinci Code” — require a little more critical thinking to puzzle out. But Christmas queen Mariah Carey‘s “Carrey on a Carey” — guest starring Jim Carrey’s Grinch — is about as on-the-nose as it gets.

From “The Good Place” star Jamil’s “Lauryn Hill on a Jamil” to “Wonder Woman” actress Gal Gadot’s “(Pedro) Pascal on a Gal,” here’s a more comprehensive sampling of some of the best celebrity “Elf on the Shelf” memes so far.

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