Welcome to our Grinch theme! It was 10 days before Christmas, and I was not planning a theme for Christmas. With everything else that needed to be done, I decided we would just forego the theme. Surprised? I know my husband was! If you want to know why, I wasn’t planning one was because I could not come up with anything creative. I started planning months ago but came up empty. But I kept thinking, we really should do one.
So then I decided to ask my Facebook friends for ideas. There were some cute ones! However, my sister-in-law gave the idea of a Grinch theme. I liked it, and I knew right away (and so did those that commented on Facebook!) that my husband could pull off the Grinch. Plus, our pup could be Max! But, I was unsure of my character. Honestly, I couldn’t really remember the characters. Yes, I have seen the movie and liked it. But I had to research in order to refresh my memory so that I could then make a decision. Can you guess which character I chose? Read on!
When my husband came home from work that day, I told him I decided we would do a theme after all. I asked him what he thought about being the Grinch? Fortunately for me, he responded as he normally does – whatever you want! So, I got to work with very little time if we wanted to do this anytime close to Christmas.
I know it is after Christmas but ‘tis the season through at least the first week of the new year, right??
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The Grinch
Once again my husband was the star of the show! He was a fun Grinch!
Here are some poses that are (somewhat) reenactments from the movie. You have heard it before and often, but my husband is just so patient and goes with the flow. I love that he gets into character.
Costume
My husband’s costume was easy enough to pull together because he already has a Santa suit! You can see his full Santa costume here in Our First Christmas at Home post.
So, for the Grinch he wore most of his costume: his jacket, pants, belt, boots and Santa hat. However, I did have to buy the *Grinch mask and furry hands since he has never been the Grinch before. The good news was that Amazon had various options. I guess not everyone dresses up in costume at Christmas! I decided to go with the Santa pants because I did not see wasting money on bright green pants that he would never wear again. So on with the Santa pants!
Cindy Lou Who
Who guessed Cindy Lou?
You were right!
Costume
The Cindy Lou Who costume took more research and time than the Grinch. Then after my research, I did what I always do. I took the general idea of the character then added my own details to the costume. It was fairly easy to put the outfit together. But, I had to buy the *Santa stole and the *black and white dress (ok maybe several in order to find the right one). However, as with any theme, I do try to find other uses for the costume pieces. I haven’t gotten that far yet, but something will come up, I am sure! Again, Amazon saves the day for these items.
Also, I added a red pearl necklace (like she wears) and added red earrings *from this set. I then added *red pearl bracelets that I had from other costumes. All from Amazon.
She might not wear more jewelry than the necklace, but I do! I prefer my real-life jewelry to be dainty, so I enjoy the costume jewelry when I can!
I also decided to add a little flare with my *Santa boots that I bought last year on Amazon and wore at Our First Christmas at Home.
Hair
You cannot be Cindy Lou Who without her iconic hairstyle. And what a hairstyle it is! Since I am not even close to a hair stylist, and never do anything interesting to my hair, I expected this to be quite the job. It turns out that the hardest part for me was the braids. I have never braided my hair, or anyone else’s for that matter. The top was easier than expected, well sort of!
Interestingly, there are a lot of videos for how to do a Cindy Lou Who hairstyle. This is the one I used. She used a water bottle cut in half for the top. This did not work for me. It kept crumbling. So I gave up after .. um .. a while. I then found a small juice bottle I saved, apparently just for this purpose. Once I did that, it was smooth sailing.
As for the braids, don’t ask how long they took me and how many times I re-did them. I finally succumbed to the fact that they weren’t getting any better. And they would never be sleek and without whispys, lots and lots of whispys!
I added three red bows and some red twirly ribbon. I was not about to try a tea cup!
In the end, once I ignored the flyaways, I was surprised how well it turned out. What do you think? Drop a comment below!
Now you may ask, why do so many of the characters I end up with have blond hair? Well, I have no idea. But like Tinker Bell I chose to not go blond nor make bangs. It’s not my color, and bangs aren’t my thing. Further, I prefer not to wear wigs. Although, a wig would certainly have been faster! So I my blond characters are brunette!
Makeup
As usual I had to research her makeup. I am by no means a makeup artist nor can I look at someone’s makeup and figure it out on my own. So back to YouTube I went. I basically did my own thing after watching a few different videos. But I think this link would be the most helpful for anyone interested in keeping it simple.
One thing they all had in common was that they all reference attempting to look young due to her age in the movie. Well, since I’ll be 50 in a little over a week of writing this, that’s not going to happen! There is not enough foundation in the world to make me look like a child!
So, I stayed with my usual Mary Kay foundation primer and CC cream and added a dusting of a lighter shade of powder. I rarely wear blush, but I did add a dark pink blush to make my cheeks look a little “rosy.”
For my eyes I used a light purple with a touch of silver. Also, and for my first time, I used *fake eyelashes since Cindy Lou has long lashes. I didn’t take the time to properly apply, as is obvious. However, they worked fine.
I like red lipstick, so I used a deep red lip color.
Photoshoot
More Reenactments
Maybe you need a time out? ~Cindy Lou Who
He slunk to the ice box. Where’s the Roast Beast? He even stole the last can of Who Hash!
Santa Claus, what are you doing with our tree?
~Cindy Lou Who
Clearance Sale! Everything must go!
~The Grinch
Just Being Us
Max!
Our pup wanted no part of the antler but was not about to give up his treats!
Decorations
Since it was Christmas time, I did not have to add much to our decorations. Bonus! Although I will say that I really do enjoy decorating for our themes, I was happy to do a Christmas theme when the decorations were already done. Mostly because the last two months have been busy with launching this blog and our YouTube channel. Plus we added in two themes over Halloween! All very time consuming.
But, because guess I can’t leave good enough alone, we did have a small addition to the decorations.
In an attempt to include something that would resemble one of the notable scenes in the movie, my plan was to wrap a bunch of empty boxes to use here. But, as I gathered the boxes, I thought “what am I doing?!!” Fortunately, a large gift bag was sitting out from Christmas and my new idea was formed. The gift bags and various sized decorated boxes (that did not require wrapping) did the trick! All from our own supplies.
First, this was significantly less time consuming than it would have been to wrap a bunch of boxes. Secondly, it was less wasteful. I couldn’t see wasting all of that wrapping paper! What do you think? Did it work?
If you haven’t already, check out our video, click here! It includes a brief reenactment of this scene!
Here’s a little preview. Apologies for the poor quality. They are snapshots from the video.
Dinner
We had a nice dinner by the Christmas tree and fireplace. Although our son chose to opt-out of the costumes, he did join us for dinner.
The Menu
Roast Beast & Who Hash
First, our Roast Beast was a mini but it served it’s purpose. This was my first time making any kind of roast. We went with a rib eye roast with a dry rub. I generally followed this recipe. But, somehow it was a little overcooked, but it at least had a good flavor. There wasn’t much left so I guess it wasn’t too bad!
Next, the Who Hash was a delicious potato dish with scallions and bacon. I highly recommend it. Here is the recipe.
Also, we added green (guacamole) chips and red salsa for the Grinch colors (and a snack). We never had these chips before. They were really good!
The table was set with a casual Christmas/Grinch colored theme with a holly tablecloth, red dishes and utensils along with bright green napkins. And red and green candles.
Dessert
No theme is complete with dessert, right?
The Menu
Grinch cookies & Grinch Jello Shots
Cookies
First, let’s talk cookies. The idea came from this recipe. However, I followed the basic Nestle recipe for the cookie dough. Then added the food coloring and M&M’s like the linked recipe. They may not be pretty (as usual for my baking) but they were delicious. In addition, I happened upon Grinch Hershey Kisses! They are so cute!
You could add any food coloring for your next theme, holiday or date night at home for an easy and tasty dessert. Well, easy for any normal person. They were a project for me like any baking I do. But, I like to add a homemade dessert. I guess I am a glutton for punishment.
Jello Shots
Next, the Jello shots – Yum! I have only had Jello shots a couple of times and have never made them. But when I was looking for a themed cocktail, I happened upon these Grinch jello shots (contains alcohol). So I decided we would try them.
When I couldn’t find my little containers for the shots, I stopped at the dollar store. They were out of half of the things in the store, so no luck with little shot glasses. But I found a set of 6 little bowls that seemed just fine for the shots, even if we couldn’t eat/drink them the traditional way. Plus they had whipped cream on them, how do you take a shot with that?! A spoon worked just fine!
As I was making them, I remembered we had these little red shot glasses that ended up working perfectly for additional shots. They also fit right into the color scheme.
Keep in Touch
We hope you enjoyed this Grinchmas theme!
Let us know in the comments below how you think we did. Would you do a theme like this next Christmas? It is also a great couples costume idea for Halloween!
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Happy Holidays!
69 thoughts on “Grinch DIY Theme at Home”
This looks like so much fun! And I absolutely love how you did you’re hair you made just like Cindy’s, genius!
Thanks, it was fun! Thank you for that, the hair was key. I had no idea how it would turn out because I did not practice it ahead of time.
This is such a fun theme! The grinch is so cool and unique! great photos!
Thank you! It was fun and definitely something different to do!
This theme looks so fun and festive!! The grinch was my favorite Christmas classic growing up. I love the costumes, the decor and the menu! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you! It’s a fun Christmas idea!
Wow, look at all the fun photos and yummy food too! Your hair is amazing, great job on this Grinch theme!
Thank you! The hair!! It was important and I was determined
This looks awesome, great job!! My family is big Grinch fans so this is amazing to me!! Your husband is such a great sport! I think he had fun!!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed! Yes he is! Thanks for seeing that .
Such a super cute Christmas theme. I love the movie the Grinch.
Thank you! We enjoy the movie too!
This is so stinking fun I love it! You guys are the best I swear.
Aww that’s sweet! Thank you!
Wow, you went all out. Great costumes and I forgot about the grinch food. Never thought of themes for holidays but cute idea.
Thank you! This was definitely one of the more involved themes. We never thought of it either, until 2020!
I absolutely love the Grinch, so much so that my nickname is Cindy Loo Hoo. This looks like such a wonderful Christmas theme.
That’s so cool! Try her hair! Thanks!
This is the cutest thing ever! I love how much fun it looks like you had. What an awesome theme!
I’ll confess, I’ve never seen the Grinch
That little fact aside, I’ve seen images from it. You guys did an amazing job putting your costumes together! LOVE your hair! And I love seeing Max as always!!
Before this year, I probably only saw it once all the way through. Over the years I saw bits and pieces. Thank you! We try! “Max” wasn’t happy so we had to move quick and bribe him with treats!!
Wow, Love it. Your husband nailed it!! Your hair turned out great and I love all the pictures. I think ya’ll did an awesome job on that theme in 10 days before Christmas. So creative!! And I loved Max!!
Thank you! Sometimes not having weeks to prepare works out!
Wow, looks like a lot of fun! I like how you added your own ideas to Cindy’s costume – to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Grinch so I had to research. Your husband made a good Grinch!
Thank you! Also, thanks for taking the time to check out the real Grinch to give a true review!
This is priceless!! So stinking cute!
Haha! Thank you!
What a fun theme! So creative! Your costumes looked really great too
Thank you so much! It was fun!
Oh my goodness! You did an amazing job with your Grinch Christmas. How heavy was your hair? Your husband is a good sport. My dog, Henry, would probably have the same reaction as your dog if I asked him to play Max. But he’d love sitting and waiting for something to drop from the table and me try to get to it quicker than him. You certainly put my low-key Christmas to shame. I aspire to be more creative like you.
Thank you! Hair wasn’t heavy at all. A little awkward to move around but it popped back in place fairly easily. Yes, my husband is an incredibly good sport! Our pup always has to get involved but in his own way! He just wants to be with us. But he is camera shy! My goal is to inspire people to be creative, so thank you for that!
I love Grinch and you guys nailed it! Great teamwork
Thank you!
You guys nailed this! The grinch is one of my favorite films and you guys did great
Thank you!
That’s a nice detailed post on your Christmas. My favorite theme and fun is always Grinch. It’s a lovely theme. The costume is great and love your hairdo and look too. And I live those gift box ideas and not wasting paper. That’s was also quite creative. Good you had fun. Xx
Isa A. Blogger
https://www.lifestyleprism.com/
Thank you for your comments! I appreciate it! Fortunately I thought about the gift bags!
Such an interesting article. All of the photos here were awesome. Overall the Grinch DIY theme looks outstanding!
Thank you so much!
We had a Grinch party a few years ago! So much fun.
That’s great! I like having an all around theme. So a Grinch party sounds fun!
Teamwork keep going on, thanks for sharing such an informative experience.
Thank you!
This is a great idea! So fun!
Thank you!
This is just wonderful! Y’all look like so much fun! Some great ideas too, I think I see a Grinch theme in my future.
Thank you! That sounds like a great idea! Hope we gave you some ideas!
Looks like a lot of fun at your house! Thanks for the fun read. 🙂
We try! Thanks!
Looks like fun.
Thank you! It was!
Wow you guys really went all out for it, the whole theme looks incredible
Thank you so much!
What a super cool and fun idea! LOL the grinch is such a character.
Thank you! Yes, he is!
I love that you had a theme for Christmas, I’ve never done anything like this before. And you did so well with the costumes, your hair looks amazing x
Thank you! We never these things prior to 2020. We started them as a way to have fun when stuck at home. Thank you!
This is really amazing, I am going to have to do it next year! It is genius to use a cut water bottle for your hair – and those themed treats are so good!
When I first picked this theme, I had no idea how I was going to do Cindy Lou’s hairstyle. Fortunately, there were plenty of tutorials. I never would have thought of the water bottle! Thank you!
It looks like you had lots of fun! We love dressing up, but I never thought of doing it with a Christmas theme. Thanks for the inspiration. I will be sure to arrange something this year!
We used to only dress up for Halloween and the occasional event so I understand! I never would have imagined we would dress up “just because.” But it has been fun! Thank you!
This is such a fun idea! I am definitely going to try to do this this year for sure. I am a huge fan of the Grinch!
Great! Let me know if you do!
My kind of family! I love this theme I want to do a Grinch Brunch!
Thanks! Yes, you should do it! It’s fun!
This looks so cool! Really makes me wish it was still Xmas time
Thank you! Yes, I agree. It’s always sad once the decorations are down.
You guys are too funny! It looks like you guys had a blast and I love the photos.
it looks lot of fun!