There’s The Grinch, and then there’s The Schuylkill County Grinch.

They look alike, for sure, with their green skin and yellow eyes.

But while the former has his sights set on stealing Christmas - as the story goes - the local one wants to share it with all.

Chris Wagoner, who has suited up as the Schuylkill County Grinch over the past few holiday seasons, has spent recent evenings doling out gifts to children from a former garage at 785 Barnesville Drive (Route 54) in Barnesville.

In his costume, he’s also posing for photos and offering snacks and hot chocolate.

It’s a blessing to make the community happy, he said, and it’s something that started several years ago as a joke.

“I bought the Grinch (costume) originally to just mess with my kids getting off the bus from school,” he recalled. “But then COVID hit, and my daughter Cassidy suggested that we go out and wave to all the traffic that passes on 54 and spread Christmas cheer.”

And he did. Wagoner and his family spent cold December evenings waving to motorists who passed their home at the intersection of Route 54 and Grier Avenue.

They did the same the second year, and added free photo opportunities with a costumed Wagoner.

“The third year we tried to raise money for hospice (because) we lost our grandma at that time,” he said. “We only raised $68. We matched it and sent it in.”

In 2022, Wagoner put out a few toy collection boxes and began offering free pictures and gifts.

He wanted to go bigger this year.

With help from friends, family and the community, Wagoner collected almost 150 toys.

“We had donation boxes at the Frackville American Legion and my house. We also received a few monetary donations that we match then use it to go buy more gifts with,” he explained.

On Wednesday evening, Wagoner alternated his time between standing alongside the busy highway waving to vehicles, and spending time inside with the youths who visited.

As he waved, drivers beeped their horns and yelled out Christmas greetings.

And inside, children picked a present and sat for photos.

One of them was Olimay Patterson, 8, of Tamaqua.

“Why are you wearing Santa’s suit?,” she asked the Grinch.

Her mother explained that it’s because the Grinch wants to steal Christmas.

“You are not going to steal Christmas this year,” Olimay said, clutching her present tight. “We are not going to let you.”

Her brother, Levi Patterson, 6, tried to playfully touch the Grinch’s nose, and laughed all the while.

The Patterson family FaceTimed with a grandmother, who watched as the Grinch combed the shock of green fur atop his head.

The Grinch, err, Wagoner, was assisted by his wife, Samantha Wagoner, and their children, Cassidy, 9, and Gunner, 7, all of Barnesville.

“Some kids are scared to meet him. Some are excited. There are kids who scream their heads off, and there are kids who give him a hug,” Samantha said. “It’s so worth it to see all of their reactions.”

The Grinch has welcomed those as young as two months, and those old enough to have grandchildren. Even dogs have stopped by for photos, Samantha said.

Recent evenings have been busy, and she scurried back and forth from a donation to keep toys on a table for visitors.

“The word is getting out,” Samantha said. The Schuylkill County Grinch has a Facebook page, which has quite a few fans. Others spread news of his goodwill through word-of-mouth, phone calls, church visits or in their school classrooms.

“We are getting people from all over,” Samantha said.

Wagoner explained that he grew up in Ohio, where he was raised by his grandmother. While the woman he and others called “gram” passed away, he said she taught him to “Love your neighbors as yourself.”

“This all started with my daughter’s idea mixed with the kind heart my grandmother, and topped with a bit of faith,” he said. “And that’s what keeps it going: faith and family and seeing the happiness in the kids’ faces. It’s all a blessing.”