Come to find out the Grinch didn’t steal Christmas after all. At least not in Lawrence, according to early sales tax returns for the holiday season. City Hall received its January sales tax payment recently, and it was up an impressive 6.1 percent from the same period a year before. The January payment essentially accounts for sales made in Lawrence from mid-November to mid-December. The city collected $1.87 million during the time period, up from $1.76 million during the same period a year earlier. Sales tax followers would caution that one month’s worth of data isn’t overly meaningful, and they’re right. But January’s total does continue a longer-term trend. Despite all the negative news nationally about the economy, Lawrence sales tax totals now have increased eight out of the last 12 months.