In 2023 Nikki Austin, the activities director at Trinity Place Retirement Community, received a TikTok video with a message from her friend Jessica Weseli that would change the trajectory of her life.
The video showed a woman donning a large heart costume and acting out a very elaborate song and dance as a singing telegram. Weseli encouraged Austin to do something similar.
Austin decided to try out the gimmick but with her own twist.
“I dressed up as an elf, just because I had the T-shirt,” Austin told The Dispatch. “And I was like, ‘Let’s do it … it’s funny.’”
Austin, 39, also known as the singing elf from party entertainment service Elf Your Friend, is a performer who dresses up as an elf to surprise individuals on special occasions with a jolly song and dance. She’s done nearly 400 surprise performances since March 2023, she said, ranging from birthdays and anniversaries to more niche holidays like National Boss Day.
The Elf Your Friend experience is a roughly 5-minute show, during which Austin appears unannounced in her signature elf costume, tutu and tambourine to drop off balloons and candy before singing to the special person, she said.
Austin’s bit has gone viral over the past two years, amassing more than 13,000 followers on her TikTok and Facebook accounts. With the help of her 15-year-old daughter Kyndal, who Austin calls her “hype girl,” the business has expanded outside of Columbus to Amory, Starkville and Caledonia.
Austin’s clients range from her own friends, to Col. Justin Grieve, the former wing commander for Columbus Air Force Base, and even Mayor Stephen Jones just last week.
Part of the gimmick is the embarrassment people feel when Austin appears from nowhere and calls them out by name before singing a specially-selected song for them as friends and family members have their cameras at the ready.
But Austin said her favorite performances are the ones that leave the “client” feeling cared for by their loved ones.
“When people book me, the person they booked me for, I guess even though they feel (a little embarrassed) they know that their friend took the time to do that, and to me that would make them just feel special and loved,” she said.
While Austin is outgoing in her daily life and as a performer, she said she wasn’t always this way.
Austin was admittedly more self-conscious growing up because of a stutter, which has continued into adulthood despite efforts with speech therapy and medical devices, she said.
“It was so bad, and I was just depressed, just like, ‘Oh, this sucks, I just want to talk normal,’” Austin said. “ … I just have learned to cope with it and deal with it and if people choose not to like me because I talk differently, that’s their loss.”
Through her performances, Austin found her stutter vanishes while she’s singing, which has given her more self-confidence in her everyday life.
A tutu, tambourine and tons of fun
No matter where she is, Austin always brings her same rambunctious personality, though sometimes it’s in less jolly attire. When not out and about performing at gigs Austin is typically either operating her catering business or working with residents at Trinity Place, she said.
“I have to keep them lively and pepped up and positive, just because you never know if that’s going to be their last moment of laughter or fun or smile,” Austin said. “So I try to keep it upbeat and positive.”
Weseli, who has known Austin since they were in elementary school together, said she is proud of how far Austin has taken her random idea in the last two years.
“Nikki is just such a deserving individual for all the good things in life,” Weseli told The Dispatch. “… All she wants to do is just make people smile, make them happy (and) turn a bad day into a good day for them. That was kind of her ultimate goal with this.”
Austin is hopeful the business will have continued success and is anticipating requests to pick up even more once the holiday season comes around. Though it really doesn’t matter the season, there’s one thing that will never change for Austin – her outfit.
“Elf is always going to be the theme,” she said
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
