Firefighter Dressed As Christmas Elf Attacks Unsuspecting Pedestrians — With Pillows

BOSTON, MA — An area firefighter decided to kick off the holiday season by picking fights in Boston with passing pedestrians.

“We’ve released some videos here and there this year, so we said, ‘Let’s do one for Christmas. What can we do to spread Christmas cheer?’” Brendan Edwards, 27, told Boston.com. “So we came up with pillow fights with strangers featuring Buddy the Elf.”

Edwards, who is a fan of creating comedy shorts, told WHDH that he chose Will Ferrell’s version of Santa’s not-so-little helper because “it’s just like an iconic character now for Christmas.”

So while his little brother, 16-year-old high school student Ryan Sullivan, filmed the festivities, Edwards, armed with two fluffy white pillows, picked his prey in Boston Common, Newbury Street and Faneuil Hall in the center of the Massachusetts capital.

His favorite battle? Edwards recalled one gray-haired senior never stood a chance after he launched his surprise onslaught.

“I had her hit me with the pillow and I fell to the ground,” he said of playacting an injury. “When she helped me up I came in with the sneak attack.”

Even during moments of ceasefire from his pre-Christmas antics, the firefighter-turned-overgrown elf managed to create a stir.

“We needed to stop and get something to eat, so we walked into a restaurant, and people, they couldn’t not turn their head and stare because Buddy the Elf was eating a sandwich at a bar,” Edwards said.

"We just wanted to spread holiday cheer, make people laugh, smile," he noted. "That's what we're out there for.”

Read more: Boston.com, WHDH