There is something about Christmas that makes people stop and reflect, and I believe that the majority of these Christmas quotes are the result of their authors doing just that. As I was researching these 101 Christmas quotes for this article, I was struck by how often the themes of togetherness, nostalgia, comfort, and hope are evident in people’s thoughts of Christmas. Kindness, generosity, and giving are also represented here, as are renewing and starting over.
We look back on Christmases past with fondness, and we look forward to Christmases future with joy and anticipation. Christmas gives us the opportunity to be the best versions of ourselves. Some of the Christmas quotes featured here also serve as a reminder that Christmas isn’t about what’s under the tree. I think those of us who stress over giving the perfect gifts need this reminder.
What is your favorite Christmas quote? Did I miss one that should have made our list of 101 Best Christmas Quotes? Leave me a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
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1. Anonymous
“May you never be too old to search the skies on Christmas Eve.”
2. Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl.”
– Louisa May Alcott, “Little Women”
3. Maya Angelou
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way [they] handle these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
– Maya Angelou
4. Aristotle
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold.”
– Aristotle
5. Oren Arnold
“Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.”
– Oren Arnold
6. Jane Austen
“At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather.”
– Jane Austen, Emma (spoken by Mr. Weston)
7. Jane Austen
“I sincerely hope your Christmas … may abound in the gaieties which the season generally brings…”
– Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice
8. Zuzu Bailey, It’s a Wonderful Life
“Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
– Zuzu Bailey, “It’s a Wonderful Life”
9. Josephine Daskam Bacon
“Remember this December, that love weighs more than gold.”
– Josephine Daskam Bacon
10. Peg Bracken
“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”
– Peg Bracken
11. Phillips Brooks
“Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both.”
– Phillips Brooks
12. Phillips Brooks
“The world has grown weary through the years, but at Christmas, it is young.”
– Phillips Brooks
13. Buddy the Elf
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
– Buddy the Elf
14. David Cameron
“Christmas gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect on the important things around us.”
– David Cameron
15. W. J. Cameron
Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year – and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority.
– W. J. Cameron
16. Charlotte Carpenter
“Remember, if Christmas isn’t found in your heart, you won’t find it under a tree.”
– Charlotte Carpenter
17. Mary Ellen Chase
“Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.”
– Mary Ellen Chase
18. Winston Churchill
“Christmas is a season, not only of rejoicing, but of reflection.”
– Winston Churchill
19. Kelly Clarkson
“The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what kind of year you’ve had — it’s a fresh start.”
– Kelly Clarkson
20. Calvin Coolidge
“To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
– Calvin Coolidge
21. Bing Crosby
“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white.'”
– Bing Crosby
22. Frank Cross, Scrooged
“It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”
– Frank Cross, “Scrooged “
23. Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street
“Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.”
– Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street
24. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
– Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
25. Phyllis Diller
“Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered.”
– Phyllis Diller
26. Steven Dodrill
“Nothing seems to bring people together like Christmas.”
– Steven Dodrill
27. W. T. Ellis
“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.”
– W. T. Ellis
28. George Eliot
“Fine old Christmas with the snowy hair and ruddy face, had done his duty that year in the noblest fashion, and had set off his rich gifts of warmth and color with all the heightening contrast of frost and snow.”
– George Eliot
29. Dale Evans
“Christmas, my child, is love in action.”
– Dale Evans
30. Richard Paul Evans
“The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood.”
– Richard Paul Evans
31. Francis of Assisi
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
– Francis of Assisi
32. Benjamin Franklin
“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
– Benjamin Franklin
33. Edna Ferber
“Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.”
– Edna Ferber
34. Carrie Fisher
“I don’t think Christmas is necessarily about things. It’s about being good to one another.”
– Carrie Fisher
35. B. C. Forbes
“Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves.
– B. C. Forbes
36. Frosty the Snowman
“There’s a certain magic that comes with the very first snow. For when the first snow is also a Christmas snow, well, something wonderful is bound to happen.”
– Frosty the Snowman
37. Joanna Gaines
“We count down the days just to experience it nearly exactly as we always have. It is so comfortable, familiar, and perfectly nostalgic that, frankly, we have no desire to improve upon it at all.”
– Joanna Gaines
38. John J. Geddes
“Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin – inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night.”
– John J. Geddes
39. Richelle E. Goodrich
“Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every taste bud, making you wish it could last forever.”
– Richelle E. Goodrich
40. David Grayson
“As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all throughout the year.”
– David Grayson
41. Edwin Osgood Grover
“Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows.”
– Edwin Osgood Grover
42. Burton Hills
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”
– Burton Hills
43. Jenny Han
“There’s nothing cozier than a Christmas tree all lit up.”
– Jenny Han
44. Marjorie Holmes
“At Christmas, all roads lead home.”
Marjorie Holmes
45. Bob Hope
“If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”
– Bob Hope
46. Bob Hope
“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.”
– Bob Hope
47. Bob Hope
“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things — not the great occasions — give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
– Bob Hope
48. Washington Irving
“Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.”
– Washington Irving
49. Jesse Jackson
“Your children need your presences more than your presents.”
– Jesse Jackson
50. David Jeremiah
“In God’s sight, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas whenever we rediscover the simplicity of His love and bow down in thankfulness and worship, where we are and whatever our circumstances.”
– David Jeremiah
51. W. C. Jones
“The joy of brightening other lives becomes for us the magic of the holidays.”
– W. C. Jones
52. Garrison Keillor
“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.”
– Garrison Keiller
53. Craig D. Lounsbrough
“Christmas is not a story of a hope. It is hope.”
– Craig D. Lounsbrough
54. Hamilton Wright Mabie
“Blessed is the season, which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
– Hamilton Wright Mabie
55. Janice Maeditere
“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.”
– Janice Maeditere
56. Johnny Mathis
“My mom and dad always tried to make Christmas special for us. We were poor, but it’s funny because we had no idea.”
– Johnny Mathis
57. Harlan Miller
“I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.”
– Harlan Miller
58. J. R. Miller
“We should learn the true Christmas lesson of gentle, thoughtful kindness to those we love and to all we meet in life’s busy ways.”
– J. R. Miller
59. Joan Mills
“Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence.”
– Joan Mills
60. Kevin Alan Milne
“Christmas magic is silent. You don’t hear it – you feel it. You know it. You believe it.”
– Kevin Alan Milne
61. Clement Clarke Moore, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
– Clement Clarke Moore, ‘ Twas the Night Before Christmas
62. Mother Theresa
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
– Mother Theresa
63. Carol Nelson
“Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home.”
– Carol Nelson
64. Agnes M. Pahro
“What is Christmas? It is the tenderness of the past, courage of the present, and hope for the future.”
– Agnes M. Pahro
65. Robert Paul
“You know you’re getting old when Santa starts looking younger.”
– Robert Paul
66. Norman Vincent Peale
“Christmas waves a magic wand over the world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
– Norman Vincent Peale
67. J. C. Penney
“Christmas is not just a time for festivity and merry making. It is more than that. It is a time for the contemplation of eternal things. The Christmas spirit is a spirit of giving and forgiving.”
– J. C. Penney, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Merry Christmas! 101 Joyous Holiday Stories
68. Edward Pola & George Wyle
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
– Edward Pola & George Wyle
69. Pope Francis
“God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If He gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it.”
– Pope Francis
70. Catherine Pulsifer
“When we remember a special Christmas, it is not the presents that made it special, but the laughter, the feeling of love, and the togetherness of friends and family that made that Christmas special.”
– Catherine Pulsifer
71. Helen Steiner Rice
“Peace on earth will come and stay, when we live Christmas every day.”
– Helen Steiner Rice
72. Nora Roberts
“Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard, or too sad when you’ve got a Christmas tree in the living room.”
– Nora Roberts
73. Mo Rocca
“Christmas is a stocking stuffed with sugary goodness.”
– Mo Rocca
74. Mr. Fred Rogers
“I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.”
– Mr. Fred Rogers
75. Mr. Fred Rogers
“I, for one, wish you good memories of this holiday. And I hope you’ll be able to look for all the different ways that people have of showing that they love you.”
– Mr. Fred Rogers
76. Andy Rooney
“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.”
– Andy Rooney
77. Queen Elizabeth II
“At Christmas, I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with gifts to worship the Christ child.
– Queen Elizabeth II
78. Shirley Sallay
“Christmas now surrounds us, Happiness is everywhere. Our hands are busy with many tasks as carols fill the air.”
– Shirley Sallay
79. Ann Garnett Schultz
“Let us keep Christmas beautiful without a thought of greed.”
– Ann Garnett Schultz
80. Charles M. Schulz
“Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”
– Charles M. Schulz
81. Dr. Seuss
“‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘ doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!'”
– Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
82. Dr. Seuss
“Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.”
– Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
83. Eric Sevareid
“As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is.”
– Eric Sevareid
84. Eric Sevareid
“There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves.”
– Eric Sevareid
85. Alexander Smith
“Christmas is the day that holds all time together.”
– Alexander Smith
86. Roy L. Smith
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”
– Roy L. Smith
87. Toni Sorenson
“The true Christmas spirit is putting others’ happiness before our own, and finding you’ve never known such happiness.”
– Toni Sorenson
88. Freya Stark
“Christmas is a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.”
– Freya Stark
89. Gladys Taber
“Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today’s Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday.”
– Gladys Taber
90. Margaret Thatcher
“Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day to spend in the warm circle of family and friends.”
– Margaret Thatcher
91. Rosie Thomas
“Christmas works like glue; it keeps us all sticking together.”
– Rosie Thomas
92. Henry David Thoreau
“The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.”
– Henry David Thoreau
93. W. J. Tucker
“Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.”
– W. J. Tucker
94. Thomas Tusser
“At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.”
– Thomas Tusser
95. Donald E. Westlake
“As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December’s bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same.”
– Donald E. Westlake
96. Deborah Whipp
“Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance — each beautiful, unique, and gone too soon.”
– Deborah Whipp
97. Kristen Wiig
“There’s something about a Christmas sweater that will always make me laugh.”
– Kristen Wiig
98. Larry Wilde
“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.”
– Larry Wilde
99. Laura Ingalls Wilder
“We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.”
– Laura Ingalls Wilder
100. Winnie the Pooh
“Christmas is a together-y sort of holiday.”
– Winnie the Pooh
101. Brigham Young
“Love the giver more than the gift.”
– Brigham Young
