Ever since I was young, I’ve liked Christmas a lot,

But that shadow, my personal Grinch, did not.

I didn’t know he was there, he always got overlooked

Creeping in my mind, a holiday Babadook.

I can’t quite tell you why, he’s just always been there,

Cursing the season when I wouldn’t dare.

Christmas was good when I was still young,

But as I grew up, my thoughts on it swung

The lights grew dimmer and farther apart

There was no cure in sight for that Grinch’s small heart

I kept him at bay with cocoa and stockings

But it never quite stopped my Grinch from knocking

He dragged my attention to the lack of lights

Decorations and cheer were nowhere in sight

The tingle and terror of Christmas Eve night

Seemed to have left me all alone out of spite

I thought about why, and I thought it up quick

I knew somehow I would make next Christmas stick

I’d save up more money for gifts for my friends,

And my family, and I would somehow make amends

Next year would work, we’d see come Christmas Eve,

But that Grinch, he just laughed because I was so naïve

But that year came and went, and the one after that

I didn’t bother with decorations or my Santa Claus hat

The cheer, it was gone, wrapped up in a sack

That my Grinch carried away happily on his back

I sat after that and I watched him a while

He seemed to be taller, and when I noticed, he smiled

Dancing around and Grinchishly humming,

He said, “You’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming!”

I trudged through that year and I kept polite

But my Grinch had finally won this long fight

It meant nothing now, Christmas cheer had long gone

And that holiday morning was met with a yawn

Christmas was cancelled, its future in flux

But I was just glad now I’d save a few bucks

Then a thought hit me and made me stop on a dime

I hadn’t seen my Grinch in quite a long time

He’d finished his job and moved on to the next

Knowing someone else was cheerless left me feeling quite vexed

I went to a friend’s house, he ushered me in

And the sight of the living room, it made me grin

Lights, and a tree, and a wreathe on the door

He asked me what I had such a strange look for

“I forgot it was Christmas,” I said with a sigh

And I knew I didn’t want to let this year go by

I’d gotten my proof that Christmas was here

That’s when I heard a familiar voice in my ear

That Grinch whispered noise about my holiday

How the cheer and decorations had all gone away

But I knew he was wrong and I soon tuned him out

My focus was wrong and I’d need a new route

I’d focused so long on superfluous things

Trees, and lights, and boxes with string

I’d fed my own Grinch and let him take me down

I ran back to my family, Christmas was still around

I expected so much, after each year was through

Because that family gave me so much, then I knew

It came without ribbons, it came without tags,

It came without packages, boxes or bags

My Grinch turned and gave me a knowing smile

He’s known this story’s end for a while

But it’s one that I needed to see for myself

Now I could take my ego and put it up on a shelf

“Christmas,” he said, “doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

And with that, he was gone and he left me alone

To enjoy that holiday and know that I’ve grown

I didn’t need Christmas to just work for me

But I’d try to make it work for my friends and family.

I needed them more than I needed that stuff

They needed to know that they were more than enough.