Son of a Nutcracker! It's Elf Spaghetti 🎄

During Christmas and the whole holiday season, food rules. 'Tis the season of indulging in all of our favorite sweet and spiced treats. And showing our loved ones how much we care with gifts of delicious goodies and home-cooked meals.

The gift of a home-cooked meal is just what Buddy the Elf had in mind in the Christmas movie classic Elf. At first glance that meal may look rather commonplace... just a plate of spaghetti with sauce, right? But actually, there's a secret ingredient in there!

My son and I gave this Elf Spaghetti a try, and it was... an experience.

If you haven't yet watched Elf, the first thing I must ask is, why the heck not?? You're missing out on a very funny and sweet holiday flick.

Elf was released in 2003, and stars Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf. The cast also includes Bob Newhart as Papa Elf who narrates the tale, Ed Asner as Santa, Zooey Deschanel as Buddy's crush, Jovie, and James Caan as Buddy's Scrooge-like father.

Buddy is a human who was adopted by Santa and his elves as a baby. He was raised to be an elf but he quickly and literally outgrows his fellow North Pole elves. So, Buddy travels to New York City (still in his elf clothes and pointy shoes) to find his real father. The hilarity of a man with the mentality of an naively innocent elf navigating gritty NYC quickly ensues.

This movie came out when our kids were still so small, and it very quickly joined the ranks of our other classic, family Christmas movies like Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

The unlikely dish of Elf Spaghetti comes to life in the scene when Buddy goes home with his father to meet his human family at their Upper West Side apartment. Spaghetti with tomato sauce is the dinner that evening, a dish that Buddy has never tried. Yet, he instinctively knows that something is missing.

He tells his stepmom Emily (played by Mary Steenburgen), that elves stick to four main food groups: "Candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup." And what do you know? Right there up his elf sleeve is a bottle of emergency maple syrup—which he pours all over his tomato-sauced spaghetti as his young brother Michael looks on in disbelief.

That's Elf Spaghetti: spaghetti with tomato-based spaghetti sauce topped with maple syrup. (He goes on to add a whole bunch of other sweets to his spaghetti: crushed Pop Tarts, chocolate sauce, marshmallows... but we're not going to go quite that far!)

Well, like Buddy, I always have maple syrup on hand, too. (Stashed in my fridge; not up my sleeve.) So I figured, why not try it?

For this adventure, my son Logan joined me for big plates of maple-y Elf Spaghetti. My husband Christian offered to record the video in exchange for not having to eat of this stuff.

Watch our video here! ↓

As you can see in the video, my son and I had differing opinions on this maple-coated spaghetti. At the time, he was not a fan of spaghetti sauce, so his pasta was plain, while mine was topped with whatever jarred tomato sauce we had in the pantry that day.

Needless to say, I think Logan had the better deal! Plain spaghetti topped with sweet maple syrup is not bad... in fact, it's pretty good, especially for a kid with a sweet tooth. He seemed pretty happy with his mouthful of syrupy noodles.

I, however, was not so lucky! That jarred spaghetti sauce, with its salt, spices, and intense savory flavor, (knowing our tastes, it probably also had a lot of garlic and red pepper flakes)... yeah, I did not care for the combination of sticky sweet maple with spaghetti sauce.

I remember how very quickly my tastebuds and stomach began to threaten revolt against this Elf Spaghetti. (That's why the video ends where it does!) And I remember how hard Logan started laughing when he realized I was struggling.

Don't get me wrong: I'm a big fan of sweet-savory flavor pairings, and I even have a recipe for tomatoes tossed into a sweet fruit salad. But maple syrup with spicy spaghetti sauce? That gets a thumbs down from me!

That's probably not the answer you were expecting after reading this review. But would I do the Elf Spaghetti experiment again, with my kids or grandson, or friends? You bet I would!

Even though I didn't care for maple-topped spaghetti with sauce, doing the experiment that day with my son was so much fun! My family is always down for edible adventures and goofy antics, Elf Spaghetti included. And all these years later, our family still talks about the day we tried that maple-topped spaghetti and laughs at our video.

So yes: go ahead and try it! Invite your kids and grandkids, nieces, nephews, roommates—whoever, to join you in the challenge. Then leave a comment and tell me what you think!

You'll make some fun memories for sure. And, son of a nutcracker—you might just like Elf Spaghetti!

Host your own Elf-themed party!

Throw an Elf movie screening night or an Elf-themed holiday party for your family and fellow Christmas elves! Decorate your house with paper snowflakes, candy cane-striped streamers, and miniature Christmas trees. If you're not watching the movie, put together a playlist with songs from Elf, like Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby", "Louis Prima's Pennies From Heaven", "Sleigh Ride" from Ella Fitzgerald, and the movie theme music, too.

Get some Buddy the Elf hats for everyone to wear, and encourage folks to choose festive outfits, like ugly Christmas sweaters or color-themed clothes. (Green, red, silver, etc.)

And then there's the food! Remember that four main food groups for Buddy and the other elves are candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup. It's easy during holiday time to find Christmas candies, candy canes, and red-white-green candy corns; pour them into bowls and set them out around the house.

I have fun Christmas treats recipes you can make for your party or movie night, like Christmas White Chocolate Bark, Christmas Krispie Treats, Cranberry Nutella Sandwich Cookies, and Peanut Butter Balls.

For the syrup, try making a batch of snack-size mini waffles, mini pancakes, or French toast sticks, and serve them with a dish of real maple syrup for dipping. Or, make an ice cream bar with an assortment of flavors plus syrups of all sorts (chocolate, caramel, maple) for toppings.

And of course, let's not forget the spaghetti! Cook up a big pot of spaghetti with sauce, and keep it warm in a slow cooker. Set it out next to bowls, forks... and a big bottle of maple syrup. Challenge your guests to try Buddy's Elf Spaghetti, with prizes for anyone brave enough to try it.

• If you don't care for tomato-based sauces, try Elf Spaghetti with plain pasta instead.
• Want to really go all out, Buddy the Elf style? Don't stop at maple syrup: add crushed Pop Tarts, M&M's, chocolate sauce, and marshmallows to your Elf Spaghetti, too. (But if you're not really actually an elf with an elf's metabolism, maybe don't add all that stuff!)

Get the Elf Spaghetti recipe

Here's how my son and I made our Elf Spaghetti; the recipe is below! And for dessert, here are a few of my family's favorite Christmas-time treats:

💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.