In the haze of the gift shopping madness that so often accompanies the Christmas holiday season each year, it can be hard to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. December 24 and December 25 are not only important dates in the Christian religion, but they also mark two special days out of the year when people show each other how much they care, whether that's through a DIY holiday card with a special Christmas greeting or the reading of a Christmas poem the whole family will love. And Christmas quotes in particular remind us that the holiday is not just about exchanging gifts and enjoying gingerbread cookies — although that can certainly be part of it — but it's also about coming together under a tree, just being happy to be with our friends and family.
While some of these best Christmas quotes can also function as a Christmas Day prayer or a Christmas dinner blessing in addition to or in replace of Christmas Bible verses, there are also quotes about the winter season and hilarious Christmas movie quotes that would be perfect for an Instagram caption. Reading aloud some of these wintery quotes on Christmas Eve may help pass the time until Santa Claus arrives. Or, you can share them on Christmas Day as you open up presents under the Christmas tree.
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Christmas Quotes for Friends and Family
- "Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas." — Dale Evans
- “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” — Garrison Keillor
- "Christmas always rustled. It rustled every time, mysteriously, with silver and gold paper, tissue paper and a rich abundance of shiny paper, decorating and hiding everything and giving a feeling reckless extravagance." — Tove Jansson
- “Your children need your presence more than your presents.” — Jesse Jackson
- "Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin—inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night.” — John J. Geddes
- "For Christmas is tradition time — traditions that recall the precious memories down the years, the sameness of them all." — Helen Lowrie Marshall
- “Christmas is a time when you get homesick — even when you're home.” — Carol Nelson
- "Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance — each beautiful, unique, and too soon gone." — Deborah Whipp
- "Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime." — Laura Ingalls Wilder
- "The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." — Burton Hills
- "Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every taste bud, making you wish it could last forever." — Richelle E. Goodrich
- “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
Merry Christmas Quotes to Get You in the Spirit
- “Remember, if Christmas isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under a tree.” — Charlotte Carpenter
- "Christmas is the day that holds all time together." — Alexander Smith
- "The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn't matter what mood you're in or what kind of a year you've had - it's a fresh start." — Kelly Clarkson
- “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 Bagg Taber
- “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
- "And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent…” — Taylor Caldwell
- “But I did know that nobody ever asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Had any adult with the power to fulfill my desires taken me seriously and asked me what I wanted, they would have known that I did not want to have anything to own, or to possess any object. I wanted, rather, to feel something on Christmas Day.” — Toni Morrison
- "Let us have music for Christmas. Sound the trumpet of joy and rebirth; let each of us try, with a song in our hearts, to bring peace to men on earth." — Mildred L. Jarrell
- “What is Christmas? It is the tenderness of the past, courage for the present, and hope for the future." — Agnes M. Pahro
- “Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance — a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.” — Augusta E. Randel
- “Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.” — Bess Streeter Aldrich
- “Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves.” — Eric Severeid
- "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." — Helen Steiner Rice
- "Christmas gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect on the important things around us." — David Cameron
- "Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day." — Helen Steiner Rice
- "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." — Norman Vincent Peale
- “Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.” – Valentine Davies
- "Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store. — Dr. Seuss
- "At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year." — Thomas Tusser
- “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” — Charles Dickens
- “Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.” — Charles Schulz
- “At Christmas, all roads lead home.” — Marjorie Holmes
- “There's nothing cozier than a Christmas tree all lit up.” — Jenny Han
- “Christmas is a stocking stuffed with sugary goodness.” — Mo Rocca
- "Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago." — Tom Baker
- “Christmas is a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.” — Freya Stark
- “The joy of brightening other lives becomes for us the magic of the holidays.” — W. C. Jones
- “Remember this December, that love weighs more than gold.” — Josephine Daskam Bacon
- "Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." — Edna Ferber
- “Christmas is not a story of hope. It is hope.” — Craig D. Lounsbrough
- “Christmas works like glue, it keeps us all sticking together.” — Rosie Thomas
- “Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence.” — Joan Mills
- "Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white.'" — Bing Crosby
- "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." — Roy L. Smith
- "Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." — Peg Bracken
- "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." — W.T. Ellis
Christmas Quotes About the Bible
- “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
- “It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” — Mother Theresa
- "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." — Hamilton Wright Mabie
- "Before we took down the tree each year, Dad would always say a prayer that we would be together the next Christmas. I cling to that prayer, which serves as a reminder that it's important to be grateful in the present for the people you love because, well, you never know." — Catherine Hicks
- "My brothers and sisters, may the spirit of love which comes at Christmastime fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year." — Thomas S. Monson
- "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
- "Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world." — C.S. Lewis
- "At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concert." — Mother Teresa
- "We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice." — Pope Paul VI
Meaning of Christmas Quotes
- "The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." — Burton Hills
- “Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.” — WJ Tucker
- "Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values." — Thomas S. Monson
- "Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving." — B. C. Forbes
- “Christmas is forever, not for just one day. For loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away.” — Norman Wesley Brooks
- “I don't think Christmas is necessarily about things. It's about being good to one another.” — Carrie Fisher
- “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand." — Dr. Seuss
- “Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” — Washington Irving
- "My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" — Bob Hope
- "Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most." — Ruth Carter Stapleton
- "Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts." — Janice Maeditere
- “I hate the radio this time of eyar because they play ‘All I want For Christmas Is You’ like, every other song. And that’s just not enough.” — Bridger Winegar
- “Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.” — Andy Borowitz
- “Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.” — Victor Borge
- “Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.” — Dave Barry
- “I haven’t taken my Christmas lights down. They look so nice on the pumpkin.” — Winston Spear
- “Nothing’s as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas.” — Kin Hubbard
- “What I like about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with the present.” — Don Marquis
- “Adults can take a simple holiday for Children and screw it up. What began as a presentation of simple gifts to delight and surprise children around the Christmas tree has culminated in a woman unwrapping six shrimp forks from her dog, who drew her name.” — Erma Bombeck
- “I love Christmas. I receive a lot of wonderful presents I can’t wait to exchange.” — Henry Youngman
- “That’s the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me.” — Jerry Seinfield
- “For Christmas this year, try giving less. Start with less attitude. There’s more than enough of that in the world as it is — and people will usually give it back anyway!” — Anne Bristow
- “I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.” — Shirley Temple
- “Did you ever notice that life seems to follow certain patterns? Like I noticed that every year around this time, I hear Christmas music.” — Tom Sims
- “Christmas, here again. Let us raise a loving cup; Peace on earth, goodwill to men, and make them do the washing up.” — Wendy Cope
- “Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.” — Unknown
- “Three phrases that sum up Christmas are: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men, and Batteries not Included.”
- “I left Santa gluten-free cookies and organic soy milk and he put a solar panel in my stocking.” — Unknown
- “Elf has become this big holiday movie, and I remember running around the streets of New York in tights saying, ‘This could be the last movie I ever make,’ and I could never have predicted that it’d become such a popular film.” — Will Ferrell
Christmas Quotes From Movies
- “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” — 'Elf'
- “I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” — 'A Christmas Carol'
- “Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.” — The Polar Express“Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight.” — 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'
- “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” — 'The Polar Express'
- “Faith is beliving in things when common sense tells you not to.” — 'Miracle on 34th Street'
- “Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.” — 'It’s a Wonderlife Life'
- “Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” — 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'
- “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love is actually all around.” — 'Love Actually'
- “I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love.” — 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'
- “I’ll just be hanging around the mistletoe, hoping to be kissed.” — 'Love actually'
- “Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.” — 'Christmas Vacation'
- “I suppose it all started with the snow. You see, it was a very special kind of snow. A snow that made the happy happier, and the giddy even giddier.” — 'Frosty the Snowman'
- “Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” — 'The Santa Clause'
- “Guys, I’m eating junk and watching rubbish! You better come out and stop me!” — 'Home Alone'
Olivia Muenter
Olivia Muenter is a freelance writer and former fashion and beauty editor who writes about fashion, beauty, lifestyle, relationships, travel, home decor, and more for Woman's Day and beyond.
Elizabeth Berry
Editorial Assistant
Elizabeth Berry (she/her) is the digital editorial assistant for Woman’s Day, where she covers seasonal recipes, holiday gift ideas, and other lifestyle topics for the website.
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