diff --git a/dist/flickity.pkgd.js b/dist/flickity.pkgd.js
index dfe794dc..79d6810d 100644
--- a/dist/flickity.pkgd.js
+++ b/dist/flickity.pkgd.js
@@ -654,9 +654,15 @@ utils.filterFindElements = function( elems, selector ) {
   elems = utils.makeArray( elems );
   var ffElems = [];
 
+  var isElement = function (elem) {
+    return (
+      typeof HTMLElement === "object" ? elem instanceof HTMLElement : elem && typeof elem === "object" && elem !== null && elem.nodeType === 1 && typeof elem.nodeName === "string"
+    );
+  };
+
   elems.forEach( function( elem ) {
     // check that elem is an actual element
-    if ( !( elem instanceof HTMLElement ) ) {
+    if (!isElement(elem)) {
       return;
     }
     // add elem if no selector