December brings twinkling lights, chilly mornings, and plenty of reasons to reach out to the people we love. Between festive gatherings and quiet moments of reflection, the last month of the year invites us to celebrate, look back, and find a little warmth in the everyday.
Of course, December looks different for everyone. Your calendar might be full of holiday parties, or you might prefer peaceful evenings at home with a warm drink and a favorite movie.
These 80 December quotes offer words for those moments. Use them in holiday cards, social captions, texts to loved ones, or year-end messages to share a little holiday joy and winter cheer.
Table of Contents
- Hello December Quotes
- Short December Quotes
- Holiday December Quotes
- Cozy December Quotes
- Funny December Quotes
- Inspirational December Quotes
- Reflective December Quotes
- December Quotes About Love, Family, and Friendship
Hello December Quotes
1. “Chill December brings the sleet, / Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.” — Sara Coleridge
2. “I heard a bird sing / In the dark of December. / A magical thing / And sweet to remember.” — Oliver Herford
3. “In longest, darkest nights take rest and ease” — Helen Hunt Jackson
Source: “December (A Calendar of Sonnets)”
4. “The first snowfall is worth having winter for.” — Gladys Taber
Source: Stillmeadow Daybook, December chapter
5. “Close by the jolly fire I sit / To warm my frozen bones a bit;” — Robert Louis Stevenson
6. “Silent, and soft, and slow / Descends the snow.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
7. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.” — Robert Frost
Source: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
8. “Has given my heart / A change of mood / And saved some part / Of a day I had rued.” — Robert Frost
Source: “Dust of Snow,” an excerpt describing the effect of falling snow
9. “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” — Charles Dickens, through Ebenezer Scrooge
10. “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” — Percy Bysshe Shelley
Source: “Ode to the West Wind”
Short December Quotes
11. “We are nearer to Spring / Than we were in September” — Oliver Herford
12. “I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
13. “Snow had fallen, snow on snow, / Snow on snow” — Christina Rossetti
14. “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.” — Clement Clarke Moore, through St. Nicholas
Source: “A Visit from St. Nicholas”
15. “And tree and house, and hill and lake, / Are frosted like a wedding-cake.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
16. “A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world.” — Charles Dickens, through Ebenezer Scrooge
17. “Come see the north wind’s masonry.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
18. “It sifts from Leaden Sieves – / It powders all the Wood.” — Emily Dickinson
Source: “It sifts from Leaden Sieves – (311)”
19. “While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads” — Clement Clarke Moore
Source: “A Visit from St. Nicholas”
20. “Late lies the wintry sun a-bed, / A frosty, fiery sleepy-head” — Robert Louis Stevenson
Holiday December Quotes
21. “Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind” — Calvin Coolidge
Source: Quoted in remarks at the National Christmas Tree lighting
22. “The finest Christmas gift is not the one that costs the most money, but the one that carries the most love.” — Henry van Dyke
Source: The Spirit of Christmas
23. “Christmas was close at hand, in all his bluff and hearty honesty; it was the season of hospitality, merriment, and open-heartedness” — Charles Dickens
Source: The Pickwick Papers, excerpt collected in The Book of Christmas
24. “Yet what I can I give Him, / Give my heart.” — Christina Rossetti
Source: “A Christmas Carol,” a Christmas poem
25. “The Wrong shall fail, / The Right prevail, / With peace on earth, good-will to men.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
26. “Kindle the taper like the steadfast star / Ablaze on evening’s forehead o’er the earth, / And add each night a lustre till afar / An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.” — Emma Lazarus
Source: “The Feast of Lights,” a Hanukkah poem
27. “So hallowed, and so gracious is the time.” — William Shakespeare, through Marcellus
Source: Hamlet, an excerpt about Christmas collected in The Book of Christmas
28. “Heap on more wood!—the wind is chill; / But let it whistle as it will, / We’ll keep our Christmas merry still.” — Sir Walter Scott
Source: Marmion, introduction to Canto Six
29. “After all, Christmas-living is the best kind of Christmas-giving.” — Henry van Dyke
Source: The Spirit of Christmas
30. “Everything conspired to produce kind and happy feelings in this stronghold of old-fashioned hospitality.” — Washington Irving
Source: “Christmas Day,” collected in The Book of Christmas
Cozy December Quotes
31. “Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, / Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round” — William Cowper
Source: The Task, “The Winter Evening”
32. “Ah! there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” — Jane Austen, through Mrs. Elton
33. “I wonder if the snow LOVES the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?” — Lewis Carroll, through Alice
Source: Through the Looking-Glass, Chapter 1
34. “The housemates sit / Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed / In a tumultuous privacy of storm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
35. “The winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.” — Louisa May Alcott
Source: Little Women, Chapter 2
36. “Shut in from all the world without, / We sat the clean-winged hearth about, / Content to let the north-wind roar / In baffled rage at pane and door.” — John Greenleaf Whittier
Source: “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl”
37. “The mug of cider simmered slow, / The apples sputtered in a row” — John Greenleaf Whittier
Source: “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl”
38. “I weathered some merry snow storms, and spent some cheerful winter evenings by my fire-side, while the snow whirled wildly without, and even the hooting of the owl was hushed.” — Henry David Thoreau
Source: Walden, “Former Inhabitants and Winter Visitors”
39. “So let us welcome peaceful evening in.” — William Cowper
Source: The Task, “The Winter Evening”
40. “The merry firelight flickered and played over everything without distinction.” — Kenneth Grahame
Source: The Wind in the Willows, Chapter 4
Funny December Quotes
31. “Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, / Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round” — William Cowper
Source: The Task, “The Winter Evening”
32. “Ah! there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” — Jane Austen, through Mrs. Elton
33. “I wonder if the snow LOVES the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?” — Lewis Carroll, through Alice
Source: Through the Looking-Glass, Chapter 1
34. “The housemates sit / Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed / In a tumultuous privacy of storm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
35. “The winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.” — Louisa May Alcott
Source: Little Women, Chapter 2
36. “Shut in from all the world without, / We sat the clean-winged hearth about, / Content to let the north-wind roar / In baffled rage at pane and door.” — John Greenleaf Whittier
Source: “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl”
37. “The mug of cider simmered slow, / The apples sputtered in a row” — John Greenleaf Whittier
Source: “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl”
38. “I weathered some merry snow storms, and spent some cheerful winter evenings by my fire-side, while the snow whirled wildly without, and even the hooting of the owl was hushed.” — Henry David Thoreau
Source: Walden, “Former Inhabitants and Winter Visitors”
39. “So let us welcome peaceful evening in.” — William Cowper
Source: The Task, “The Winter Evening”
40. “The merry firelight flickered and played over everything without distinction.” — Kenneth Grahame
Source: The Wind in the Willows, Chapter 4
Funny December Quotes
41. “Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.” — Victor Borge
Source: Parade’s funny Christmas quotes collection
42. “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.” — Buddy, played by Will Ferrell
43. “I’m a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.” — Buddy, played by Will Ferrell
44. “When I grow up and get married, I’m living alone.” — Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin
45. “If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses.” — Uncle Frank, played by Gerry Bamman
46. “I don’t know what to say, except it’s Christmas and we’re all in misery.” — Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D’Angelo
Source: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
47. “The little lights… they aren’t twinkling.” — Art Smith, played by E. G. Marshall
Source: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
48. “Double hate. LOATHE ENTIRELY!” — The Grinch, played by Jim Carrey
Source: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
49. “The cold wind burns my face, and blows / Its frosty pepper up my nose.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
50. “Bah! Humbug!” — Ebenezer Scrooge, written by Charles Dickens
Inspirational December Quotes
51. “Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without the words, / And never stops at all” — Emily Dickinson
Source: “Hope is the thing with feathers (254)”
52. “Behind the clouds is the sun still shining” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
53. “Ring out the old, ring in the new, / Ring, happy bells, across the snow” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Source: “Ring out, wild bells”
54. “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott, through Amy March
Source: Little Women, Chapter 44
55. “Hold fast to dreams / For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
56. “I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul.” — William Ernest Henley
57. “He started to sing as he tackled the thing / That couldn’t be done, and he did it.” — Edgar Guest
58. “But to act, that each to-morrow / Finds us farther than to-day.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
59. “But the feeling must be more than the token; else the gift does not really belong to Christmas.” — Henry van Dyke
Source: The Spirit of Christmas
60. “Ring in the love of truth and right, / Ring in the common love of good.” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Source: “Ring out, wild bells”
Reflective December Quotes
61. “The new years come, the old years go, / We know we dream, we dream we know.” — Ella Wheeler Wilcox
62. “But time once torn away / No voices can recall” — John Clare
63. “Better by far you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad.” — Christina Rossetti
64. “There’s a certain Slant of light, / Winter Afternoons – / That oppresses, like the Heft / Of Cathedral Tunes –” — Emily Dickinson
Source: “There’s a certain Slant of light (258)”
65. “Between the woods and frozen lake / The darkest evening of the year.” — Robert Frost
Source: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
66. “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.” — Charles Dickens, through Ebenezer Scrooge
67. “In love and friendship, small, steady payments on a gold basis are better than immense promissory notes.” — Henry van Dyke
Source: The Spirit of Christmas
68. “For blessings common in our sight / We rarely offer praises.” — Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Source: “Thanksgiving,” excerpt included on the Academy of American Poets’ “The Year” page
69. “That I could think there trembled through / His happy good-night air / Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew / And I was unaware.” — Thomas Hardy
70. “Each sunrise sees a new year born.” — Helen Hunt Jackson
December Quotes About Love, Family, and Friendship
71. “And deck thee with the holly’s sheen, / That, when December blights thy brow, / He still may leave thy garland green.” — Emily Brontë
72. “Love came down at Christmas, / Love all lovely, Love Divine” — Christina Rossetti
Source: “Love Came Down at Christmas”
73. “I am thinking of you to-day, because it is Christmas, and I wish you happiness.” — Henry van Dyke
Source: The Spirit of Christmas
74. “But, they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time” — Charles Dickens, describing the Cratchit family
75. “I only wish we may all keep well and be together, nothing else.” — Louisa May Alcott, through Beth March
Source: Little Women, Chapter 13
76. “It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home” — Edgar Albert Guest
77. “Love is like the wild rose-brier; / Friendship like the holly-tree.” — Emily Brontë
78. “Let no shadow of forgetting come between me and friends far away: / Bless them in their Christmas mirth” — Henry van Dyke
Source: The Spirit of Christmas, “A Christmas Prayer for Lonely Folks”
79. “Mother is always ready to be your confidant, Father to be your friend” — Louisa May Alcott, through Mrs. March
Source: Little Women, Chapter 9
