Mum embarrassed as ill-fitting Grinch costume leaves her kids 'traumatised'
Dressing up as the Grinch at Christmas is a funny way to keep the magic alive for children, or a fantastic fancy dress party idea - but when one mum ordered a costume online, she was accused by her daughter of dressing like an alien.
The Grinch is a beloved character known for his attempts to ruin Christmas for the Whos of Whoville, and his sarcastic quips and sassiness make him instantly recognisable - as does his green fur. But when Angie Dickinson bought a £40 Grinch costume from Amazon, complete with Santa hat and coat, her daughter was left mortified.
She said: "What we thought was coming was this nice Grinch outfit, but what turned up was like something off 'Scream'. The baby was actually playing with the mask and loving it but my 17-year-old said: 'Oh my god, mum, get away from it. Get away from it, it's awful'.
"She didn't like it at all. She was a bit traumatised. It is a scary mask, and it's more Halloween than Christmas. I think I might get lynched by parents if I walked around with the alien-looking thing on."
The mum from Blackburn usually dresses up as an Elf to appear at local events and has done so for five years but ordered the Grinch costume in 2022 instead, thinking it would be "brilliant" - but when the monstrosity arrived, she was equally angry and tickled by the daft costume, which she said looked "nothing like" the seller's picture.
Viral sausage roll debate leaves Brits confused about how to order at GreggsShe said: "We thought: 'We'll get The Grinch;. It's getting more popular. I was expecting it to look like the picture on Amazon. When I opened it, I looked at it and put it on and I was laughing but I was actually a bit mad. But how can you be that mad when you see something like that? It wasn't even the same colour. It was nothing like I had ordered. It looks like an alien. It's bizarre. I can't even get over that they would send that out. I thought it would be brilliant, but I could not walk around a Christmas fair in that. People would be running scared."
Angie said she had messaged the seller after she received the outfit, who had agreed to offer her a full refund on the condition that she removed her online review. But she said she wasn't too worried about getting her money back and said she had ordered a new "Grinch" mask for £24, which was an improvement.
She said: "I message him and left feedback on the Amazon page. He's asked me to remove the feedback, he'll refund me and I don't have to send the outfit back apparently. But I wasn't really that bothered because I just ordered another mask. That's not like the picture, but it is a lot better. I should have looked at the reviews – stupid mistake on my part – because the reviews showed pictures of what it actually looked like. You don't expect it to come any different than the picture shows."
Amazon has been approached for comment.