He may be a mean one, but the holiday season wouldn’t be what it is without the appearance of the infamous green one. Back for another year is Universal Studios Hollywood annual Grinchmas, a Who-lebration of fun featuring The Grinch, his faithful dog Max, and a slew of Who-ville Whos! It has been over two years since I had the chance to attend Grinchmas, so I was looking forward to seeing what holiday excitement the event had to offer.

Situated approximately in the center of the park is where all the Grinchmas festivities take place. Most impressive is the 60-foot tall whimsical “Grinchmas” tree which has become a holiday staple at Grinchmas. While waiting for one of the shows to start, I actually spoke to the Interior Designer of Who-ville who went into detail on how the tree was created, the time that was put in, and the ridiculous demands that certain Who’s gave her. As an Interior Designer by trade, I was captivated by her tales and her incredibly unique outfit which reminded me of a purple peacock. Once she was done gossiping about her fellow Who’s she decided it was time to move on to a new conversation and bid us all farewell as she skipped away.

It’s apparently that the Grinchmas tree is the center piece to this event, not only because of its design, but also because this is where a lot of the shows take place. Throughout the day, guests have the chance to enjoy performances by both the Wholiday Singers as well as Martha May and the Who-Dolls. The first show that we caught was the Wholiday Singers, a boy-band ensemble that sang modernized versions of Christmas song classics. Though I wasn’t sure how much I would like the performance, I will admit that I gave into the sugary sweet lyrics and dance numbers. Most importantly, it was quite adorable to see all the little kids singing along and interacting with these characters. Next up was Martha May and the Who-Dolls who serenaded the audience with Christmas songs and dance routines. My only critique for this was that I wished it was longer as the performances felt very short and stark compared to that of the Wholiday Singers.

As fun as those performances were, what I was really looking forward to was the meet and greets. First up was the infamous man himself, The Grinch, who was a blast to interact with! Not only did we get our picture with him, but he also made sure to strike some vogue poses that exemplified his best assets. Afterwards, we headed over to meet The Grinch’s faithful dog, Max, who looked as though he just smoked the biggest blunt and was coasting along on that high. Once we left Max we walked around Who-ville and interacted with some of the other characters such as Cindy Lou who commented on my Dracula earrings wanting to know who he was and if he was scarier than the Grinch. I informed her it was probably best that she stay away from Dracula and with a serious expression on her face, she nodded in agreement.

Along with the musical numbers and the character interactions, there were a slew of treats that we tried that were specially made for Grinchmas. As I salivated over the Grinch cupcake, my boyfriend purchased the hot mini-donuts which easily melted in our mouths. There was also giant donuts with the Grinch’s face, cookies, cotton candy, and much, much more! I absolutely loved the cupcake and was beyond happy to find that the frosting wasn’t too heavy, instead it felt like I was biting into a sugary cloud. In terms of merchandise, Grinch fans will have an array to choose from as there was everything from mugs, to T-shirts, to scarves, and more. Even the Grinch would be hard-pressed not to smile seeing his face on everything!

As it came time for us to leave, we made sure to get a photo op with a peculiar looking snowman (we think The Grinch had something to do with how the snowman looked…) before heading to the Who-ville post office to mail a card to the Grinch himself. This may seem like a children’s art’s and craft display but each person that writes a card to the Grinch is helping School on Wheels, an organization that provides one-on-one tutoring for homeless children. All you need to do is retrieve a postcard from one of the Who’s, write down three things you are grateful for, get the postcard stamped, and then slip it into the mailbox that is on site. What better way to spread holiday cheer than by giving back!

All in all, I had a great time at Grinchmas. There were some lulls in the activities and I would suggest adding in some more things to do in-between shows, but other than that I thought the event was a success! I loved meeting the Grinch as well as watching the Who’s interact with everyone. This is the perfect event to bring your family too and a great way to to see the classic Dr. Seuss story come to life. Grinchmas will be taking place daily from December 14 through December 30, 2018 and I highly recommend that you stay for the evening tree-lighting as it is truly a sight to behold!

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Shannon McGrew

Founder/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Shannon is the Founder of Nightmarish Conjurings and a lover of all things horror and haunt related. When she's not obsessively collecting all things "Trick 'R Treat" related, or trying to convince everyone that "Hereditary" is one of the greatest horror films ever made, you can find her designing interiors for commercial restaurants. An avid haunt fan, Shannon spends the entire year visiting haunts and immersive experiences throughout the Southern California area and hopes to one day design her own haunted attraction.

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