Ever since his heart grew, the Grinch has become a staunch Christmas supporter, as well as an avid reader.

On Saturday, the Grinch will visit Square Books Jr. to celebrate both Christmas and reading on Saturday during the annual holiday tradition that got its inspiration from Dr. Seuss’ classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“The event encourages readers to ‘grow your heart three sizes’ through the celebration of family reading, giving from the heart and community spirit,” said Alissa Lilly with Square Books.

Grinch Day

Random House launched the program in 2013. National Grinch Day, Dec. 1, kick-started the 25 Days of Grinch-mas.

During this time, bookstores and local retailers all over the country are hosting Grinch-mas events that incorporate holiday story times for families and opportunities for customers to purchase items to donate to others.

Square Books Jr. event will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the bookstore on the Square.

“We will have Grinch-mas activities, prizes, a reading of ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas,’ and holiday music performed by Miss Jill, but, most importantly, the Grinch himself will make an appearance,” Lilly said.

A new twist for this year’s Grinch-mas campaign is that Random House has partnered with Toys for Tots that will sponsor toy and book drives during the in-store event. Square Books, Jr. will have donation boxes at the store through Dec. 12, and customers will receive a 10-percent discount on any item purchased for donation.

Square Books Jr. has participated in the event since it began in 2013.

“We’ve always held it during our regularly scheduled Saturday morning story time,” Lilly said. “We love participating because it is a ton of fun for the children and parents who come to the event. Everyone loves to hear Miss Jill read the classic Grinch story and the children are usually in awe of the Grinch because he is really, really big, and, well, because he’s the Grinch – not to mention the great photo opportunities there.”

Lilly said special events like Grinch-mas are always a good opportunity to connect with customers and to, hopefully, attract new customers.

“Also, the giving component of Grinch-mas gives everyone a much-needed reminder of what the season is really about and a chance to give back to the community and ‘grow our hearts three sizes,’” she said.

For more information, visit the official Grinch-mas website at http://www.seussville.com/growyourheart.

Santa sightings

Despite his busy schedule this month, Santa Claus will make several stops in Oxford as well this weekend.

At 8 a.m. Saturday, he will be Chick-fil-A on West Jackson Avenue where he will be available for photo opportunities and mingling with his biggest fans.

“People are welcome to come, eat breakfast and take pictures with Santa,” said owner Lance Reed. “It’s a great way to give back to our customers and have a positive impact on the lives of our local families.”

Professional photos will be available for $5 each.

Santa will return to Chick-fil-A at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to share dinner with customers and again on Dec. 17 at 8 a.m. for breakfast.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/CFAWestJackson.

On Saturday, Santa will visit the Gingerbread Village at the Gertrude Ford Performing Arts Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Guests are welcome to take their own photos with their little ones and Santa. There’s no admission charge; however, organizers ask those coming to the Gingerbread Village to bring canned or nonperishable food to donate to The Pantry for local families in need during the holiday season.

For more information, visit www.fordcenter.org.