52 quotes · copy or put on a card
Christmas quotes
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” The famous ones, checked word for word against the books they came from — and short, warm and funny quotes for cards, tags and captions.
Famous Christmas quotes — checked against the original books
Every quote here is word for word from the source, with the book and year. No invented "Dickens said".
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
— Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)
“God bless Us, Every One!”
— Tiny Tim, in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843)
“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour.”
— Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843)
“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.”
— Ebenezer Scrooge, in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843)
“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round … as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.”
— Fred, in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843)
“Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
— Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz (1836)
“Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents.”
— Jo March, in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1868)
“It is, indeed, the season of regenerated feeling—the season for kindling not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart.”
— Washington Irving, The Sketch Book (1819)
“Heap on more wood!—the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We'll keep our Christmas merry still.”
— Sir Walter Scott, Marmion (1808)
“At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.”
— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1573)
“At Christmas I no more desire a rose Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled mirth.”
— William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
— Calvin Coolidge, Christmas message (1927)
Short Christmas quotes
For a card, a tag or a caption.
Peace, love and Christmas lights.
The best gifts don't come in boxes.
Home is where the Christmas tree is.
Christmas is better with the people you love.
Joy to the world, and to you.
Warm hearts, cold noses, merry Christmas.
Tis the season to be together.
May your days be merry and your nights be bright.
Hope, peace, love and joy.
Christmas: a feeling, not a date.
Kindness is the best decoration.
Let there be peace on earth — and cookies.
Inspirational Christmas quotes
About kindness, light and what the season is really for.
Christmas isn't about what's under the tree. It's about who's around it.
The most beautiful thing about Christmas is how many people choose kindness at once.
Light a candle, call someone you miss, give something away. That's Christmas.
A little kindness in December can warm someone all year.
You don't need snow to have a white Christmas — just a clean slate and an open heart.
Christmas reminds us that even the longest nights end in light.
The gift you give without being asked is the one that's remembered.
Make room at the table. That's the whole idea.
Christmas quotes about family and love
For the people around your table.
Christmas is where our family's story gets a new chapter every year.
The table gets louder, the kids get taller, the love stays the same.
Our favorite tradition is simply being together.
Family: the people who know all your Christmas stories and still let you tell them.
Nothing on the wish list beats everyone home for Christmas.
Every ornament on our tree has a story, and every story has you in it.
Christmas with you is my favorite place.
Love is the only gift we never have to wrap.
Funny Christmas quotes
For the group chat, the gift tag, or the cousin who takes Christmas too seriously.
I'm dreaming of a cookie-filled Christmas.
Santa, I can explain.
Define 'naughty'.
Calories don't count in December. It's science.
My Christmas spirit animal is a sloth in a Santa hat.
Resting grinch face, merry heart.
All I want for Christmas is a nap and a snack.
Ho ho hold my cocoa.
Sleigh all day, nap all night.
Jingle all the way — to the fridge.
Official Christmas cookie tester. Results pending.
Too cute to be on the naughty list.
Questions
- What is the most famous Christmas quote?
- Probably Tiny Tim's "God bless Us, Every One!" and Scrooge's promise "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year" — both from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843).
- What are some short Christmas sayings?
- "Peace, love and Christmas lights." "The best gifts don't come in boxes." "Home is where the Christmas tree is." "Christmas is better with the people you love."
- Did Dickens really say that?
- Many quotes online credited to Dickens, Dr. Seuss or famous people were never written by them. The famous quotes on this page are checked word for word against the original books on Project Gutenberg, with the title and year.