Whoville in Oklahoma: Lawton family transforms home into Grinch wonderland

At the Paras family’s house, Monday is all about “Grinchmas.”

Your house may have a tree trimmed with Christmas decorations. As Dr. Seuss would say: “Like bingle balls and whofoo fluff.” Perhaps even some “bizilbigs and wums.” And that’s perfect for you.

But you’ll be green with envy from the greenest Christmas dining room you can imagine. For everywhere you look, the Grinch is near.

That’s the dream, according to Tracy Paras. She and husband Nate wear anything but Grinchy frowns. That is, unless you count the ones turned upside down.

Tracy said her connection with the Grinch roots in her childhood.

“I just fell in love with it as a kid,” she said. “It takes me back to being a kid. It has a good message to treat others with kindness.”

Her husband agrees. Not just because that’s what a supportive husband does but because it rings true to him as well.

“The Grinch is just one of those deals that has aged really well,” he said.

The Paras home on Northwest 40th Street is easy to spot.

There’s inflatable grinches as well as Cindy Lou Who and Max the dog, er, reindeer, greeting passersby. Yes, there’s a Santa Snoopy and a festive Christmas Buck-ees Beaver as well. But we all know who’s the star of the show in this yard.

And if you don’t, approach the door and then tell us what you think.

Just inside the Paras’ enclosed porch is a 6-foot-tall animatronic Grinch joined by the curled tree that accompanies him, a stuffed Max and more Seussical paraphernalia than you can take in with the first, second or even third glance.

It’s that life-sized Grinch that’ll get your goat. With the Paras kids aging out of the childhood wonder stage, Tracy said she and her husband still get a kick out of their daughter Mayci’s startled surprise when arriving home from work late and being startled when the Grinch starts talking.

“We’ll see her leap back off the porch in surprise on the security cameras,” she said, “even though she knows it’s there. It just catches you.”

Once calmed down from being startled by a green one described by his creator, Dr. Seuss, as “a bad banana with a greasy black peel,” and enter the Paras abode, you will find more Grinchiness in store. Ranging from their four rambunctious French Bulldog puppers clad in Grinch pajamas, the green inferno of Grinchmas erupts into view from the family dining room.

Tracy said the entire family could match their canine companions’ couture.

“We all have matching Grinch pajamas,” she said.

Nate, however, declines to wear his for a photo. It’s based on principal if not fashion.

“I’ve got an outlaw image to uphold,” he said.

But lest you think he could be the family Grinch in a pinch, Tracy is quick to point out this year’s décor is courtesy of his hard work. It was time to get the Christmas display together and Tracy had to undergo foot surgery.

It’s pretty impressive. A seven-minute video Tracy made of the dining room shared to her Facebook page has captured a lot of attention. Much attention. Just think what people would say if they saw it all.

“This is just about half of it,” she said. “It normally takes up two rooms and the front porch.”

The collection began growing over the past three years. Before that, Peanuts comic characters were the overarching theme for the holidays, according to Tracy. Specifically Snoopy was the stalwart showpiece.

“I was on Charlie Brown forever,” she said. “I have an attic stuffed with Christmas decorations.”

Nate has promised a whole new storage shed for it all. Tracy said she’s holding him to it.

There’s something about the Grinch that lit Tracy’s fire. And, while she approves of the 2000 film and other adaptations of the Grinch tale, she’ll tell you it’s the 1966 original animated version that holds her heart.

“Oh yeah, the O.G. original is always the best,” she said. “The older stuff is best: movies, music, it just is.”

But new additions to the collection are pretty good, too, Tracy said.

“Amazon is my best friend,” she said, “and his (Nate’s) card is attached to it, so that’s even better.”

The couple enjoy making day trips to different places to find those items just off the beaten track to add.

One of the prizes from those journeys is from an H.E.B. store in Texas. On the dining room table, a curved “Grinch tree” stands out prominently. Technically though, it’s a “grouch tree” due to trademarks, Tracy said.

The Grinch collection has even rubbed off on friends. Tracy said one friend has been hitting her up for Grinch ideas. She has plenty, but they come with a warning.

“I told her, ‘Be prepared, it’s not cheap,’” she said.

Nate agreed but said his wife obsessive collection isn’t a problem for the couple. He likes to buy guns so, he said, it seems fair.

“I always tell her, ‘You might as well get it or you’ll regret it if you don’t,’” he said. “I just work lots of overtime to support her habit.”

These hobbies/collections are an outlet for the couple. As the kids grow and move toward their own lives, it offers a sense of comfort. Of course, with four French Bulldogs, and two Shiba Inus, along with daughter Macy’s Australian Shepherd, it’s still a full house.

Tracy said the Grinch décor will be up for a while. She’s due for a wrist surgery on Dec. 29. Besides, if you have it, why not enjoy it.

Once it’s put away, Tracy said they’re going to double their efforts to indulge in another holiday only 10 months away.

“We’re going to slowly build up our Halloween stuff,” she said.

Nate, however, may have had a little bit of the Grinch as his mouth curled up into a curved smile similar to the green man of the hour.

“We’re not going to go crazy,” he said. “She’s going through some empty nest stuff and I think this is occupying her time.”

However, when they plan that next day trip to here or there to find that treasure, they’ll do it together. And each will do it with love. That’s how you grow your heart three times.

And the story of Tracy and Nate Paras is, in its simplest, a love story.

Because, as Theodore Geisel, or Dr. Seuss as you choose, wrote in “How the Grinch Saved Christmas”:

“Welcome Christmas while we stand,

Heart to heart and hand in hand.”