Letter to Santa

(via Bad Newspaper)

Christmas Day at the Bunkers

Archie didn't get the Christmas bonus he was counting on because of a screwup at work, but he doesn't want to let his family know. Still, Christmas depended on that bonus. This episode of All In The Family aired on December 18, 1971. 

Jingle Rock Bell

This one's for my three-year-old grandson, because it's his favorite version of his favorite song. I don't think Princess has yet forgiven me for introducing him to it. 

Refugees

(via Fark)

The Shepherd: A Story of the First Christmas

A disabled shepherd in the Levant just wants to live his life and serve his God, but runs into rejection from all sides. By the end of the story, he is an example of "the last shall be first."  

Movie director Dallas Jenkins made this short for his church's Christmas Eve service about ten years ago. It went over well, and ended up as the pilot episode of the TV series The Chosen. 

The Hallelujah Chorus

The Gramophone Chorus in Ghana joyously performs the song of the day. And He shall reign forever and ever.

The Gift of Giving

Studies show that the best way to achieve happiness is to give to others. And the most valuable thing you can give is your time. Bonus: when you spread love and happiness, you increase, rather than deplete, your own supply. (via Nag on the Lake) 

Robert Reich on It's a Wonderful Life

Robert Reich looks at the economics of the movie It's a Wonderful Life. Well, let's say the opposing economic philosophies of George Bailey and old man Potter. It's all obvious in the story, but the questions apply to more than just a small town. Is it better to be rich, or to see everyone around you doing okay? Is life about community or competition? Your answer says a lot about you.   

The Great Backyard Ice Rink Disaster of 2025

Jonathan Stanley and his family bring us their Christmas card for 2025. The kids have transformed the driveway into a hockey rink by flooding it with water. The oldest is operating a Zamboni fashioned from the lawn mower. Dad, in the same sweater he's worn for years, lacks skates so he's fallen. See more details by enlarging this image at reddit. Click to the right to see Stanley's previous Photoshopped Christmas cards going back to 2014, when there were only two kids (although they seemed like a half-dozen back then). He calls them "honest Christmas cards" because they illustrate the chaos of life with three children. (via reddit) 

Here Comes Jeffrey Combs

John C. Worsley has unveiled his annual Star Trek Christmas supercut. Who is Jeffrey Combs? He's an actor and voiceover artist who has become the go-to guy in the Star Trek universe. Combs has played nine aliens so far- some of them recurring characters, including the Vorta clone Weyoun and the Ferengi character Brunt in the series Deep Space Nine. On Star Trek: Enterprise, he was Andorian military officer Schran. He also appeared on Voyager and Lower Decks. You need to be a real Trekkie to know all that, but you don't have to have a photographic memory of all the players to enjoy the cleverness of this song. (via Metafilter) 

Good Enough

(via Fark)

Presents That Are Really For Yourself

Even the simple act of giving a gift can be selfish. Third Leg Studios presents a scenario in which every gift comes with a selfish intent fro the giver. You think that there must be an end to the ways this can be done, but they go on and on, until every in the family implies their true intent. This poor guy. He probably just wanted some candy for Christmas. And he probably put a lot of thought into the gifts he bought for everyone else. We aren't quite sure he's really related to the rest of them. Five days later, College Humor visits the same idea, except this time it's an office party, and only one guy bought all the gifts.



In this case, it's just Raphael who's figured out the way to manipulate Christmas to buy himself stuff and make himself look generous at the same time. Or so he thought. The recipients called him on it.

Interrogation

Based on a true Christmas story... Previously unreleased BONUS panel below! 👇

[image or embed]

— Litterbox Comics (@litterboxcomics.com) December 23, 2025 at 4:51 PM

Santa Claus Goes to School

The company American Events and Promotions connect their 900 Santas across the country with Christmas jobs. How do these men become the premiere Santa Clauses of the nation? Santa Claus University, of course! Noerr Programs, recently merged with Cherry Hill, hold their Professional Santa Claus School for a week every year. AARP visited this year's class and made a video to show us what training for this unique career looks like. 

The training session convenes each year in Westminster, Colo. It’s not required of Cherry Hill’s employees, which means the 73 Santas here paid their own travel and lodging to learn the ins and outs of portraying old St. Nick. For some, this is their first session; others return repeatedly, eager to reconnect with the brotherhood of the bearded. “There’s a lot of mentorship that takes place at Santa University,” says Santa James Smetana, 66, of St. Paul, Minn. “And it gets us so excited for the Christmas season.”

(via Laughing Squid)

The True Meaning of Christmas

According to Randall Munroe of xkcd, the true meaning of Christmas is to find the true meaning of Christmas. That reasoning is so meta that it folds in on itself. Whereas the true meaning of Christmas is a festival to light up the darkness of winter, eat enough carbs and fats to keep us from freezing, and cement social relationships while we have the time because we can't grow crops and build things this time of year. Yes, you will have religious traditions tacked onto those celebrations, because why not? Jesus' birthday was not recorded (that wasn't a thing in His culture), but if you're going to celebrate a date, the winter festival is as good as any to commemorate the momentous occasion. And there's nothing wrong with that. Meanwhile, you'll find similar holidays in other religions for all the reasons we have a celebration around the winter solstice.

Santa Dance

Nothing will make you feel sexier than an inflatable Santa Claus Suit. That said, it's just a feeling. Your audience may see it differently. (via Everlasting Blort) 

Santa's Song

(via Bits and Pieces)

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies

Use your electric wangjangler to mix the road tar. Don't forget to despatulize the sides. Get your cylindrical compression tube ready, it's time to make gingerbread men! They don't have to be men; you can make them any shape you want, like a pineapple or a hammer or slenderman. He left the tea out of his hot toddy, but never mind, since the main ingredient is whiskey.

But just when you thought you were going to watch him decorate the cookies, this video takes a sharp left into a Christmas wrapping lesson and a heart-touching story as our narrator is quite distractable. Even if you prefer to get your gingerbread from the cookie aisle, you'll enjoy this video from You Suck at Cooking. (via Tastefully Offensive)

Dear Santa

From 1950. (via Undine)

The Geek's Christmas

Ah, the comforts of home. Visiting your parents at Christmas has its rewards, in particular the familiarity and constancy of it all. Of course, one constant is that they will ask you to "repair" the computer, meaning dumping the trash, cleaning up the crowded desktop, and installing system updates. That will make you a hero in their eyes. I used to do all those things for my mother. Now when my kids come home, I ask them to fix the settings on my phone. Everyone has their limits. This comic is from CommitStrip. (via Geeks Are Sexy)