Ok, I failed. My plan was to get this post up prior to Christmas but I didn’t balance painting my room (which I did manage to get done on Sunday – yay!!) with all the pre-holiday prep plus writing this post. So I failed. I then told myself I’d get this post up on Christmas Day but I didn’t anticipate just how busy we’d be between last minute wrapping, cooking, cleaning, house hopping for gift exchanges and then recovering from all that on Christmas night and the entire day after Christmas. So I failed. Yesterday morning however, I decided that Thursday would be my cleaning day and today would be my day to return to being productive and having a normal life – aka texting everyone back, posting on social media and finally finishing this post.
Luckily, I’d already told myself prior to Christmas that since the holiday was at the beginning of the week I was going to celebrate all week/weekend long until New Year’s Day by turning on our tree lights, watching festive movies and putting out holiday-themed content happily and unapologetically. I mean if Universal Studios can keep their holiday festivities going a week into the New Year, so can the rest of us, right?! So without further ado, here is my better-late-than-never post-Christmas Christmasy post on our trip to Universal to see the Grinch…
As awesome as the decorations, costumes and makeup look in these photos, they were even BETTER in person. We truly felt like we’d stepped into Whoville from the moment we walked in…
After a few minutes in the photo line, Ella ditched the rest of us in favor of dinner with her dad and stepmom which probably wasn’t the worst idea considering we ended up waiting over an hour and a half to see the green guy! Luckily, the long line was well worth it and we enjoyed some hot chocolate as well as hearing the Whos on stage as they sang and danced.
Other snacks – including mini donuts – were available but surprisingly Hendrix and Sadie were more focused on getting to the Grinch than eating anything. They waited patiently and watched as other kids and families met the man of the hour and took their photos. We didn’t do much in the way of dressing up but some people went all out with dresses, hair and even makeup for a whole Who look for their photos.
When their turn finally came, Hendrix and Sadie headed over to the Grinch with shy grins on their faces, holding hands the entire time…
During their meeting, Hendrix took the opportunity to tell the Grinch what he’d like for Christmas to which he replied, “Go tell the old fat man!!” We all had the biggest laugh afterward!
Once we were done, Ella joined us again to explore a little more and meet the Who’s Who of Whoville which was just as much fun as meeting the Grinch himself…
As someone who loves decor, the decorations and props were definitely my favorite part. I have so many more photos that I had to leave on the cutting room floor for this post or it would have been packed with an excessive amount of lights and baubles!
What I failed to photograph was the stage and the Whoville post office which I really regret but I was trying to balance being a blogger with being present. Enjoying every moment while simultaneously capturing the most special moments can get a little tricky!
Once it was dark, the Whoville square became packed with people – young and old – trying to get a glimpse of the Grinch and the giant tree which lit up the night for all to see…
This last shot is the result of me asking Hendrix for his “best Grinch face” and the previous one is my obligatory blogger photo of my Starbuck’s red cup backed by holiday light bokeh plus poinsettias and basked in a Grinch-y green glow because, well, the blog and coffee.
I hope you enjoyed this post on our journey to meet the Grinch as much as we enjoyed meeting him and seeing all there was to see in the Southern California version of Whoville. If you’re planning a trip to Universal Studios soon, Grinchmas will be celebrated until the 30th, Christmas at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – including nightly snowfall – is on until January 6th and they’re hosting a Hollywood-worthy New Year’s Eve party on December 31st that keeps the celebrations going until 2am! Now that the holiday rush is subsiding, I should be back to posting more regularly so be sure to check back soon!! Until next time, I’m wishing you the happiest of holidays and a happy #Grinchmas too! xx
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