Despite being touted as a work of fiction, The Grinch is alive and well and very much real, plucking a Christmas tree from the top of one man’s car in San Mateo, California.

The now-infamous Scrooge decided to spearhead an IRL reboot of the Dr. Seuss holiday classic, swiping a full-sized evergreen tree tied to a car after the driver dropped by the Bridgepointe Shopping Center to run a few errands.

Though the thief’s identity is still unknown, authorities referring to the perp as “Mr. Grinchmas,” the man was able to nab a replacement.

We can only hope this Grinch enjoys his stolen tree … and that its branches are filled with owls, possums, and a ton of praying mantises. 

Seriously. Who steals a family’s newly purchased Christmas tree? This happened to a man in San Mateo on Friday evening, 10 minutes after he went into a store to run an errand.

Watch as the white SUV person snips each rope & loads the tree into his vehicle like it’s no big deal.… pic.twitter.com/LzS3bjRk1h

— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) December 4, 2023