Grinches are real, and at least one just stole Christmas from a three-year-old in South LA.
For parents Duron and Sybil Hicks, it was a tradition to put up candy canes, Santa Claus, reindeer and lots of Christmas lights on their front lawn each year. But on Thursday, thieves left nothing but hooks, wires and some fake snow on the grass, ABC reports.
Three-year-old Christian Hicks told his mom that he was sad that the decorations were gone. Duron Hicks, who estimated the value of the stolen goods at more than $1,000, said he will try to put up a few other decorations for his son and the other children in the neighborhood.
"I just like to see the smile on the kids' faces," he said.
Unfortunately, the Hicks are not alone. So far this year, hundreds of dollars were stolen from three houses in a neighborhood in San Diego, Calif., Patch reports. According to a crime prevention specialist, you can use stakes in the ground to tie down decorations, but unless you're constantly watching your yard, it's hard to prevent theft.
Apparently, that's even true for large, heavy decorations. In Laguna Niguel, Calif., an 80-pound Frosty the Snowman was stolen from a woman's porch, the Orange County Register reports.
Last year, a family in Arizona took matters in its own hands when its decorations were stolen, the Daily Mail reports in the video below. Instead of calling the police, the victims erected a massive sign with a harsh Biblical message for the vandals.
This year, another Arizona family had a happier ending to their decorations being stolen. This family is that of Linzy Smith, 5, who has a potentially terminal form of dwarfism and has to spend the holidays in the hospital.
When Phoenix police officers heard that the decorations at Linzy's house had disappeared, they rekindled the girl's Christmas spirit by lighting up her home with new Christmas lights.
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