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Life-size Grinch yard display brings Christmas cheer

It took months of planning and two weeks of hard work to bring the Grinch all the way from Whoville to a front yard in East Tennessee.

He's a mean one. As cuddly as a cactus and charming as an eel. According to the song, the Grinch is as bad as a banana with a greasy black peel, and thanks to one woman in Farragut he's got a new home in her yard.

It took months of planning and two weeks of hard work to bring the Grinch all the way from Whoville to a front yard in East Tennessee.

While most decorations warm the heart and welcome the holiday season with a twinkle, Paige DeFreece's Grinch is more of a warning how not to be this Christmas. She even included the Grinch's dog Max in her life-size handmade sculpture of the Grinch stealing Christmas presents in his sleigh.

Paige DeFreece, of Farragut, Tennessee, made a life-size Grinch display for her front yard.

"He's got the PVC pipe holding him up and even his antlers here,” DeFreece said, describing the statue's construction.

This project is a labor of love for the small business owner.

"Everything's handmade. It's PVC pipe, newspaper and plaster gauze,” she explained.

She's wanted to do the Grinch for five years, and the project came together in smaller parts inside the family home before making its debut on the lawn.

"I'm sure they think I was crazy when I was first setting it up,” she said of her neighbors' reaction.

DeFreece said neighbors enjoy this and her other projects. Her goal is make life a little more fun.

Paige DeFreece, of Farragut, Tennessee, made a life-size Grinch display for her front yard. Photo courtesy Paige DeFreece.

"Just for a minute they forget about their worries, they forget about the hardships they may be going through,” she explained.

Before starting her business "Off the Paige," she was an art teacher sharing the love of creativity.

Something she hopes this project will pass on to anyone passing by.

"That's just the kind of joy that is more important to me than money. Which I know I need to work that way towards the business side. I'll get better at that,” DeFreece said.

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