Doug Henning wore a costume like the one Will Ferrellâs character wore in "Elf" while meeting his father face to face for the first time last week at Bostonâs Logan Airport. He even broke into the same awkward song from the 2003 movie. âWhen he came out of the airport, he probably thought I was a lunatic,â said Henning, 43, of Eliot, Maine. âIt was a really good way to break the ice.â His biological father didnât get the joke because he hadnât seen the movie, but still gave his son a big hug. Henning said he was raised by âamazingâ adoptive parents but he was excited when cousins he met through ancestry.com helped to put him in touch with his biological father.
Just like "Elf," the father didnât know about his son. The two met on Zoom and Henningâs dad was able to fly to Boston for Thanksgiving. His father gained a son and became a grandfather. Henning is the first of the fatherâs children to become a parent.