It’s December, so you know what that means — it’s almost time to watch the Christmas classic Elf every day until Christmas and then on repeat all day on Christmas itself. It’s tradition!

Another potential tradition percolating is guys dressing up like the iconic Will Ferrell character and adopting all of his mannerisms, terrorizing the streets of New York (or any other large urban area) just as Buddy himself did. One Chicago man serves as the inspiration for this new tradition, after a video of him dressed up as Buddy went viral because he committed to the bit too hard, got a little overexcited and smashed a window.

@getdownlo__ will ferrel what r u doing here? #chicago #chicagobar #christmasbar #christmas #buddytheelf #elf #fyp #foryoupage #viral ♬ original sound - ☯︎ ☯︎

In the video, the guy dressed as Buddy can be seen approaching the window behind a blonde woman and banging on it with his palm, at which point it promptly shatters, showering her in glass. Both the woman and Buddy are shocked, with Buddy himself frozen in shock for the rest of the video as onlookers laugh in amazement. A reasonable reaction, tbh — the window should not have been that easy to break.

@getdownlo__ Replying to @sparis03 backstory to Buddy the Elf in Chicago #foryoupage #fyp #viral #christmasbar #chicago #buddytheelf ♬ original sound - ☯︎ ☯︎

According to a follow-up video from Eugenie who posted the original, Buddy the Elf is actually an actor who works for Elf’d Up, the festive pop-up hosted by Wrigleyville’s Stretch Bar & Grill, whose entire job is to dress up as Buddy and do “outlandish s h * t.”

In a DM to Eugenie, the actor, whose name is Matthew P. Sitz, wrote, “Thanks for capturing the moment! I wasn’t planning on breaking the window! Lol.” Prior to breaking the window, Sitz had run around the bar encouraging everyone to look at him, before going outside and banging on the window in an attempt to scare the woman. Instead, he broke the glass, which Eugenie clarifies was indeed real glass.

Here’s hoping Sitz is recognized for his commitment to his job, and that the bar replaces their windows with thicker material before next Christmas rolls around.