Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 27, 2010

Grandma’s always seem to be able to hit a nerve.

LOL! Go Granny!

He’s such a fine little fella, NOT!!

I never sent thank you notes to an uncle when I was a kid. When he died he left me $1000. I thought that was cool until an aunt told me he would have left me MUCH more if I had sent thank you notes.

Grandmas are awesome.

That hurts.

My grandfather left me $100 and his socks. Since I wasn’t expecting anything, I thought that was cool. Years later I found out that all the grandkids, except for me and one other, got $10,000. Each.

Ouch.

Sometimes grandmas have nothing to give it away!!

Aaron McGruder of “Boondocks” just drew a good fascimle of Calvin in today’s feature

Thanks for reminding me guys, I need to send a Thank You note to my Aunt!!

Thank You’s cost so little but can yield so much.

I always called my grandmother to thank her.

Good Morning, Marg, Mike & ♠Lonewolf♠

My Aunt was born on December 21. She always felt shortchanged at Christmas as her “special” present was never any better or worse than her brother’s or sister’s.

Once my conscienciousness was raised (somewhere past seven years of age), I always tried to send a separate Christmas Card (in addition to the card my family sent). This has become much easier in the e-card age.

I do not expect anything special in return. In fact, I understand her Will donates everything to charity. Bravo Aunty.

And a Very Merry Christmas to all.

**Good morning Marg! Good morning Fran and Kizzzy! Good Morning L’Wolf! Good Morning Grog!**

My grandmother send me a book when I was a kid, and I thought it was boring as hell because it was about how to manage money. I didn’t write her back and when she came to visit she asked me if I had read it and I told her I had. Then she asked me if she could buy it back from me for five bucks so I handed it over.

There was a pair of twenties hidden in the book.

While these kinds of lessons are all well and good, kids are kids. Sometimes it’s more important to let them be kids.

Of course if I had kids at this stage in my life I’d probably spoil them too much.

Mike Firesmith that was sneacky of your grandmother. Next time look through the book. I received one Christmas gift from an aunt been gone for awhile and she forgot she did it a homemade pajama small doll no money. I know I looked. My own mom doesn’t send her own grandkids money.

Grandma is very wise….

Mike, just to let you know, Fran said that Kizzy is no longer with us. I understand she left everything to charity.

A major problem for kids who have to write thank-you notes is that they don’t know what to say, and they don’t feel confident that they are writing well enough for an adult to read it, with correct grammar and spelling. I know someone who gives gifts to kids and tells their parents that the kids don’t need to send a thank-you.

My grandmother bought me a shirt one year that had buttons down the front of it and cuffs with buttons on them. My grandmother had become housebound after having surgery to save her knee, left her with no cartilage in it, so it was very painful for her to walk. Since she couldn’t go to the store she ordered everything from catalogs. It was a very pretty blue shirt but when I tried it on I found they sewed one sleeve on it upside down so it buttoned on the top of the cuff instead of on the bottom. It felt odd to wear and it made us both laugh. She tried to get another one like it from the catalog but I think it was on clearance(now we know why) for Christmas. She felt so bad and I did like the shirt so I decided to keep it. Everytime I wore the shirt it would make me laugh and it make me feel happy because my grandma ordered it especially for me! I still have it for the memory of her and it makes me feel warm inside when I see it in the drawer!

Dino-1….and that is what it’s all about, isn’t it?

I was like Ralphie in “The Christmas Story” and it took my Grandfather to be the one to give it to me. His gifts were always my favorite. He and my Grandmother even got me my first brand new bicycle. I just regret that I wasn’t even more thankful for their generosity, but at least I got to spend our Christmas’s with them.

Comic strip but great life lesson here; being a grandparent I think that thank you notes are a lost art and it is a shame

I was raised to always send thank you notes to people. Raised my sons the same way. Someone thought enough of you to buy you or make you a gift. Whether you like it or not is irrelevant. Saying thank you makes the giver happy, and shows that you yourself have some class.

Thank you Calvin for the best part of Christmas…Grandpa’s Revenge! I WILL remember that when it comes time to find out about a sent Christmas gift.

Thank you letters: From a kids perspective, they are tedious and mind boggling; why send a misspelled and obviously forced (by the parent) letter to someone you love for a gift that you enjoy? For the parent; we usually know the aftermath of not getting that letter - loss of gifts, loss of contact and hurt feelings.

A lot of Grandma’s DNA has made it’s way up the family tree.

Hey Calvin I agree with you,I think Grandma is real cool.

Well, written notes are fine, but maybe someone will eventually invent a device that will carry your voice over great distances, so that you can speak your thanks to the giver.

I think a hug is better than any thank you letter you could possible write.

Ah, but which Grandma is it? Is it Calvin’s Dad’s mother or his Mom’s? I’ve seen a lot of personality traits exhibited by both Calvin’s parents so it’s hard to say which one takes after someone who would send an empty box with a sarcastic note in it, but my money would be on Calvin’s Mom’s mother. What do you guys think?

This strip makes a great statement and I certainly agree with some of the other viewers that Thank You notes are sadly becoming a lost art. We’ve made a concerted effort in my family to preserve the idea of expressing gratitude and I’m always happy to hear of others doing the same.

Sorry, I think it has to be Calvin’s dad. Anyone who would tell his kid that the world used to be black and white (look at the old pictures) and that it changed to color (and pretty grainy too) somewhere in the 1920s has to have a mother that would send a package like that. GO GRANDMA!

@ wise guy411,

YOU SAID IT ALL’ GBY

From reading the comments I came to this conclusion ,gals write thank you notes to Grandmas a lot more than guys do.

I would prefer to call event though everyone else in my family believes in sending cards.

Plus4, I thought the same thing. He understands her sarcasm, she knew he would, and it worked!

Since all the relatives that give me presents are visited, i get to say thank you to their face. No thank you notes needed

I’m a gal of 35 and I have never written a thank-you note in my life. Maybe because of living in a small country, here people always say thanks, not write.

It doesnt matter how you thank someone for a gift, just do it!! I have a nieice who returns everything she gets because it’s not her style or what ever….one year when Grandma had not a lot for money she got a gift of a calendar and some kitchen pot holders. When she opened it her comment was “oh great, another F*ing calendar i will never use!” What an ungrateful ingrate and she was in her 20’s at the time!! Definietly old enought to know better!! Imagine how that hurt Grandma’s feelings. She still …6 years later… has not learned how to be gracious or grateful!!! I guess she never heard that it is the thought that counts!! (and btw…her Mom, my sister in law, is the same way! Guess the apple really doesnt fall far from the tree in this case! And I know her Mom DID NOT learn it from Grandma!!) I could tell you more stories …but that would take all day!

Vonda: I am so sorry. What a shame – especially for Grandma, who did the best she could with what little she had just to make sure her spoiled brat grand-daughter got something from her for Christmas. My heart goes out to her. :-(

Maybe your niece would learn some gratitude if only the people in her life would just quit giving her gifts no matter what the occasion. She obviously doesn’t want or have any appreciation for anything anybody does for her so why “reward” her for that kind of behavior simply because it’s Christmas or her birthday? But then, everyone would just have to listen to her b**ch about how mean they all were for not giving her anything, wouldn’t they?! I guess with some people, no matter what you do, it’s never good enough. So sorry about that.

Have we ever met the grandparents?

@Coffee-Turtle, we don’t–after Mr. Watterson realized how awkward it was that Dad’s brother, Uncle Max, couldn’t call his own brother by name, no other relatives ever appeared, as far as I remember.

lol If my mom had seen this when it first ran, she would have responded thusly:

Heartily laughed. Said, “Good for Grandma!” Clipped and posted the strip on the refrigerator. Said, “If I’m fortunate enough to have grandchildren someday, I’d better get thank-you notes or I’ll do the exact same thing. I’ve raised you right, so no excuses!” :-)

Thank you’s are NEVER wrong and not heard nearly enough

a box of crayons? calvin wanted dynamite!