He may be a mean one, that Mr. Grinch, but he is a beloved character that both children and adults adore. But what are the best Grinch quotes that we can keep in our repertoire?
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas spins an unforgettable tale. Using rhyme and verse, it explores family, loneliness, and commercialism.
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Let’s revisit this classic and re-discover the true meaning of Christmas with 54 of the greatest Grinch quotes!
Why ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ Is A Classic
How The Grinch Stole Christmas is arguably one of the best children’s stories ever written. First released in 1957, generations of kids have grown up on the original Dr. Seuss book. Its screen adaptations have also become holiday staples, with the 1966 TV special and the 2000 film starring Jim Carrey being amongst the most remembered.
But what makes How The Grinch Stole Christmas so special? Well, it’s simple: The book and its adaptations deliver a pointed discussion on commercialization.
The glitz and glamour of Christmas push aside people like Mr. Grinch. Until he meets a little girl named Cindy Lou, he doesn’t have any loved ones to welcome or appreciate him. For the Grinch, Christmas is not just vain—it’s lonely.
Throw in humor, cuteness, and quote-worthy rhymes, and you end up with a splendid story anyone can enjoy.
To show you just how special this Dr. Seuss tale really is, we present 54 of the best Grinch quotes!
12 Perfect Grinch Quotes for the Christmas Season
What’s Christmas without the Grinch? Probably a good day if you were to ask him. However, for the people of Whoville, it’s painfully shallow. The 2000 film, in particular, builds on this message.
Throughout the movie, we see that while getting what we want for the holidays is nice, your Christmas spirit has nothing to do with presents.
Let’s take a look back on both the film and the original book with these 12 Grinch quotes:
1. “No one should be alone on Christmas.” – Cindy Lou
2. “Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” – The Narrator
3. “You can’t hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, because it isn’t about the gifts or the contest or the fancy lights. That’s what Cindy’s been trying to tell everyone.” – Lou Lou Who
4. “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did not.” – The Narrator
5. “Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to grasp.” – The Whos
6. “I am the Grinch that stole Christmas…and I’m sorry.” – The Grinch
7. “It was me. I stole your Christmas. I stole it because I thought it would fix something from the past. But it didn’t.” – The Grinch
8. “I know just what to do. I become Santa Claus to steal their Christmas. If he could deliver it one night, then I can steal it. What’s Santa have that I don’t?” – The Grinch
9. “That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s what it’s always been about. Gifts, gifts… gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts! You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I’m saying? In your garbage.” – The Grinch (emphasizing the commercialization of Christmas)
10. “It came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.” – The Narrator
11. “Are you having a holly, jolly Christmas?” – The Grinch
12. “Now you listen to me, young lady! Even if we’re horribly mangled, there’ll be no sad faces on Christmas.” – The Grinch
14 Funny Grinch Quotes
Call us old, but we’re still big fans of the Jim Carrey adaptation.
Whereas the TV special and original book are heart-warming, the 2000 film is hysterical. It has no shortage of stupid jokes, and we’ve yet to tire of Carrey’s comedic timing.
We had no choice but to list 14 of our favorite Jim Carrey Grinch quotes:
13. “Those Whos are hard to frazzle, Max. But, we did our worst, and that’s all that matters.” – The Grinch
14. “What’s that stench? It’s fantastic.” – The Grinch
15. “Kids today. So desensitized by movies and television.” – The Grinch
16. “It’s because I’m green, isn’t it?” – The Grinch
17. “Oh. Bleeding hearts of the world UNITE.” – The Grinch
18. “Vengeance! I mean… Presents… I suppose.” – The Grinch (about the meaning of Christmas)
19. “All right, you’re a reindeer. Here’s your motivation: Your name is Rudolph, you’re a freak with a red nose, and no one likes you. Then, one day, Santa picks you and you save Christmas.” – The Grinch
20. “Max, grab a bag. We’ll come back for the rest. Of course when I say ‘we’ I mean ‘you’.” – The Grinch
21. “One man’s toxic sludge is another man’s potpourri.” – The Grinch
22. “Cute kid, bad judge of character.” – The Grinch (about Cindy Lou)
23. “Be it ever so heinous, there’s no place like home.” – The Grinch
24. “Well, Santa had eight reindeer, he looks like he ate the other seven.” – The Grinch
25. “They’ll eat their Who-Pudding and rare Who Roast Beast. But that’s something I just cannot stand in the least. Oh, no, I’m speaking in rhyme!” – The Grinch
26. “Oh, the Who-manity!” – The Grinch
10 Uncomfortably Relatable Grinch Quotes
The Grinch is a shockingly relatable character, no matter what adaption you’re watching
He’s cranky, he hates nosy kids, and he occasionally enjoys dark humor—Mr. Grinch is just about every tax-paying adult ever.
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via IMDBIt’s no wonder these 10 relatable Grinch quotes hit all too close to home:
27. “Blast this Christmas music… it’s joyful and triumphant.” – The Grinch
28. “Look, I don’t wanna make waves, but this whole Christmas season is stupid, stupid, stupid!” – The Grinch
29. “Am I just eating because I’m bored?” – The Grinch
30. “I guess I could use a little social interaction.” – The Grinch
31. “Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate. Double Hate. Loathe entirely!” – The Grinch
32. “4:00, wallow in self-pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one; 5:30, jazzercise; 6:30, dinner with me – I can’t cancel that again; 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing. I’m booked.” – The Grinch
33. “The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote: Stink, stank, stunk!” – The Grinch
34. “Stupid. Ugly. Out of date. If I can’t find something nice to wear I’m not going.” – The Grinch
35. “Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9, I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness.” – The Grinch
36. “I specifically bought enough food to last me until January. How much emotional eating have I been doing?” – The Grinch
8 Disgustingly Wholesome Grinch Quotes
One of the greatest things about How The Grinch Stole Christmas is its cute factor. The Grinch himself may even go so far as to describe Cindy Lou as disgustingly adorable.
If your heart is in danger of growing, then you look no further. Here are 8 wholesome Grinch quotes that are sure to triple your heart size:
37. “Santa, don’t forget the Grinch. I know he’s mean and hairy and smelly, and his hands are cold and clammy, but I think he’s kinda… sweet.” – Cindy Lou Who
38. “I don’t need anything more for Christmas than this right here. My family.” – Lou Lou Who
39. “I’m all toasty inside.” – The Grinch
40. “No matter how different a Who may appear, he will always be welcome with holiday cheer.” – Cindy Lou Who
41. “Your daughter’s kindness changed my life.” – The Grinch
42. “To kindness and love, the things we need most!” – The Grinch
43. “How did I end up with such a wonderful daughter?” – Donna Who
44. “Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we.” – The Narrator
10 Classic Dr. Seuss Grinch Quotes
Did you know that Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) was personally involved in the production of the 1966 TV special? He and animation legend Chuck Jones decided that the Grinch should be green as opposed to black and white like in the original book.
Naturally, we couldn’t complete this list without honoring Dr. Seuss. Here are our top 10 Grinch quotes from the children’s book:
45. “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch who lived just North of Whoville did not!” – Dr. Seuss (the opening line of How The Grinch Stole Christmas!)
46. “The Grinch hated Christmas—the whole Christmas season. Oh, please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. It could be that his head wasn’t screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all…may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.” – Dr. Seuss
47. “He brought everything back, all the food for the feast! And he himself, the Grinch, carved the Roast Beast!” – Dr. Seuss
48. “And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.” – Dr. Seuss (How The Grinch Stole Christmas! and its adaptations most famous line)
49. “With a smile to his soul, he descended Mount Crumpet / Cheerily blowing “Who! Who!” on his trumpet.” – Dr. Seuss
50. “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more?” – Dr. Seuss
51. “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled’ till his puzzler was sore.” – Dr. Seuss
52. “He rode into Whoville. He brought back their toys. He brought back their floof to the Who girls and boys.” – Dr. Seuss
53. “And they’ll feast, feast, feast, feast. They’ll eat their Who-Pudding and rare Who-Roast Beast.” – Dr. Seuss
54. “And then all the noise. All the noise, noise, noise, NOISE! They’ll bang on tong-tinglers, blow their foo-flounders, they’ll crash on jang-jinglers, and bounce on boing-bounders!” – Dr. Seuss
Final Thoughts On Grinch Quotes
From the classic 1966 animation to the more recent 2018 film, enjoying How the Grinch Stole Christmas in some way or form is an essential yuletide practice.
What’s your favorite Grinch quote? Better yet, what’s your favorite Grinch movie? Tell us in the comments below!
