Dr. Seuss came up with the idea for The Grinch the day after Christmas when he looked in the mirror and saw a rather Grinch-ish look on his face. “Something had gone awfully wrong with Christmas or maybe with me,” he said. Weary of the over-commercialization of Christmas and sensing that the meaning of the holiday was being lost in the wrappings and ribbons, boxes and bows, Ted Geisel sat down and wrote How The Grinch Stole Christmas!when he was 53 years old.