“Maybe Christmas perhaps, Means A Little Bit More.”

Does it get any better than this one?

#21 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

“Then he got an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch got a wonderful awful idea”- Boris Karloff, narrator of HTGSC.

That face. That smile. You know the one I’m talking about. Terrifyingly evil. I was horrified of that clip for years and I even get chills now.

The Grinch is a masterpiece. A once in a lifetime oil strike. If you came to read about Jim Carey’s lame silver screen adaption, leave now.

**All background info is generally courtesy of Wikipedia. ** On December 18, 1966 CBS aired the special for the first time. Narrated by the horror icon, Boris Karloff, it became one of the most loved Christmas Specials of all time. Though I didn’t realize until much later, thanks to the previously mentioned source, the Grinch’s voice was supplied by Karloff.

I have been watching it for as long as I can remember. I know we taped the Special Edition of HTGSC on Sunday Dec 3, 1995 off of a TNT holiday marathon (we went to St. Cecilia’s Church that day for a Christmas/advent social, made advent wreaths and the 49ers beat the Bills that afternoon 27-17. Other specials on the marathon included Yogi Bear’s 1^st Christmas, A Flintstone Christmas, A Scooby Doo Christmas, HTGSC and the accompanying Making Of feature with the late Phil Hartman…they also aired two additional Dr. Seuss cartoons The Cat In The Hat and Daisy-Head Mayzie, which was a film adaption of the last book Dr. Seuss wrote before his death.)

The making of special was captivating to me and I loved that as much as the cartoon. Leave it to me to be a documentary geek at the age of 8. Chuck Jones (an icon in his own right) said Seuss had to be convinced to make the leap from the book to a television special.

I also had no idea that the voice featured in the classic “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” was not sung by Karloff, as incorrectly credited on the screen, but by the voice of Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger, Thurl Ravenscroft. He explains the error went without notice of the producers and it was too late to fix it and Seuss felt terrible about this, writing a letter to many columnists nationwide, explaining that Ravenscroft was indeed the voice behind this soon-to-be holiday classic. June Foray (voice master, known especially for her work on grossly underrated The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle) was the voice of Cindy-Lou Who.

This special, is at the heart of it all very funny. A lot of things go over your head as kid, but you find the humor in later (For example, the battle the Grinch endured to get his sled down Mt. Crumpit and Max ends up behind the sled only to shrug and wave). At the same time, it’s got sugary Christmas cheer at the heart of it all.

Once the Grinch sees…and perhaps my favorite line in the special…"He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming. It Came. Somehow or other, it came just the same.” He suddenly becomes overrun with the spirit and joy of Christmas. “And then, well in Whoville they say that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.”

We all have a little Grinch, yes even me, but it doesn’t take long before we are reminded all the positive aspects of the holiday.

“Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer, cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Welcome Christmas while we stand. Heart to heart and hand in hand.”