• by Danielle Oster , November 30, 2023

Meal kit delivery service HelloFresh is bringing back its popular Buddy the Elf Spaghetti Meal Kits for the holiday season, with additional elements celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Elf,” the movie that inspired the dish.

Available beginning Dec. 4, this year’s Buddy Meal once again includes  Colavita spaghetti and pre-portioned ingredients to recreate the over-the-top dish, with sweet toppings including chocolate syrup, maple syrup, marshmallows, chocolate nonpareil candies, and chocolate frosted pastries  with utensils completely optional for eating the way Will Ferrell's Buddy did in the original movie.

“After receiving so many positive reactions to the Buddy the Elf Spaghetti meal kit released last year,”  Kirsten Walpert, vice president of brand and creative, HelloFresh US, said in a statement, the brand decided to bring back the “candy-topped, syrupy dish along with a few special additions.”

Walpert added that the partnership allowed the brand to tap into fan enthusiasm for “Elf,” while offering a way to help “them to create truly memorable cooking experiences and new holiday traditions.”

In addition to the spaghetti and pre-portioned ingredients, the limited edition meal kits, available through Dec. 8, will include two aprons designed to resemble Buddy the Elf’s familiar green suit; two portioned melamine plates designating the four main elf food groups (candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup); and a resealable plastic storage bag. The kits will be available exclusively through HelloFreshElfSpaghetti.com, with no HellloFresh subscription required to purchase.

Additionally, HelloFresh is expanding the Elf madness beyond spaghetti with Buddy The Elf’s Jolly Eats.

From Dec. 2, through Dec. 15, HelloFresh customers can choose from three recipes: Gimbels’ Santa Cheeseburgers features cheesy mashed potatoes served alongside a cheeseburger  coated in toasted panko breadcrumbs and “stacked like snowmen.” The World’s Best Cup of Coffee (Cake) brunch offering includes candied bacon, apple and orange slices, and a pecan streusel-topped maple brown sugar muffin served in a coffee mug  with “sugar plum” dipping sauce. Buddy The Elf Snowball Cake Truffles, meanwhile, are a nod to a Central Park snowball fight, with the spiced cake truffle snowballs covered with sweet cream cheese frosting, coconut, and powdered sugar.