The Grinch Who Stole Christmas seems to be in Whitehorse after an estimated $10,000 Christmas lights display was wrecked overnight.

'It makes me wonder why I do this,' said Collin Moonen.

He woke up this morning to find lights and ornaments he had arranged in his Fir Street yard, strewn on his lawn with some down the street as well.

'My yard's a mess,' he said.

Four-wheeler tracks are all over his property as well, he said.

Moonen set up the display featuring between 8,000 and 15,000 lights, silhouettes and decorative candy canes for spectators, especially young children, to enjoy.

Some people, he said, have even come by to take pictures of his and other neighbours' lights.

For Moonen, this is the first time his annual display has been vandalized, though he noted he's heard of it happening to other residents in the city in past years.

'It's just depressing,' he said, noting that he hasn't figured out yet exactly how many lights were stolen.

While he'll be able to pick up some of the items up from his lawn and the street, he said, some of the lights were stolen. He suspects they're in the bush somewhere.

In addition to the money he spends on lights and decorations, Moonen estimates his electricity costs about $300 in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.

Moonen phoned the RCMP about the situation and was set to make a statement to them later today.

Cpl. Leanne Lind said this morning police haven't noticed a trend in reports of vandalized Christmas displays this year.

Because reports of such incidents from previous years fall in with other vandalism reports, it's difficult to find out statistics of how many such reports came in in past years, she explained.

As a precautionary measure to protect Christmas displays, she suggested residents report any suspicious people they might notice to police at 667-5555 or to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.