Michael Phelps and Sons Dress as Elves on Christmas for Sweet Family Photo
Michael Phelps/Instagram, Noam Galai/Getty
Michael Phelps is exchanging his bathing suit for an elf suit this holiday.
The 23-time gold medalist shared Christmas family photos on Instagram, posing with his wife Nicole Phelps and three sons – Maverick Nicolas, 3, Beckett Richard, 4 and Boomer Robert, 7. To celebrate this year, the family opted for a coordinating dress code, with Phelps, his boys and their pug Herman wearing elf costumes.
Michael posted two shots of the family. The first shows a more silly shot, with Michael laying on the ground while his eldest son peeps out from behind his back. His middle son crouches to place an elf hat on Herman as Nicole and Maverick also smile on the side. The second photo is a classic holiday one, with them cozying up together in front of the Christmas tree.
"Merry Christmas 🎄🎁!!!," Phelps captioned the photos on Instagram.
His wife, in Christmas pajamas, also posted her own set of photos, snapping some additional shots of her sons posing in their elf clothes – a onesie with a collared green petticoat, black belt and yellow pants printed – in front of the Christmas tree. Each boy wore a different colored hat with the ensemble.
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She also captured a cute moment with Michael smiling at the camera holding a gift in his hand with Maverick in his lap and Beckett and Boomer smiling right next to him. Nicole ended her post with a simple black and white photo of her and her husband, with their arms around each other smiling at the camera.
"I love all my elves 💛💚🎄," she wrote in her post. "Merry Christmas from my family to yours 🥰"
This is the first holiday for Michael celebrating without his father, Fred, who passed away in October. Michael honored him in an Instagram post, posting a set of photos through the years with his dad.
"You'll always be my dad… ," the swimmer wrote on the post. "And I'll always be your son… Love you dad and I will miss you❤️❤️ rip dad"
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Michael told Sports Illustrated that he and his father had drifted apart after his parents divorce, but they reconnected after Michael's 2014 drunk driving arrest and subsequent trip to rehab.
"Our relationship is really great, and it's continuing to grow," Michael told SI at the time. "We've learned that we have a lot in common."
