For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 26, 2020

This is the time to head down to your local store and snap up all the half-priced candy and cookies.

It is so sad that even with giant discounts, a lot of parents had to tell their kids there would be no Santa this year. And even sadder is that so much of this could have been avoided. Maybe it gave some of us a chance for a reset and time to try and recall what the holiday is about and I don’t mean crass commercialism and the acquistion of new shiny things.

Well THIS strip didn’t answer a question that popped into my head as it was loading: Does Canada have boxing day?

According to my father, he thinks the customer service desk at my employed grocery store is going to be the store’s busiest department. (Item too small, too big, wrong size, wrong color, all sorts of complaints.)

Father’s reading a history of the Trent Canal, which connects Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay (on Lake Huron) via Lake Simcoe.

OMG where are we going?

The complaint about the commercialization of Christmas seems kind of old-fashioned and quaint this year, when I find myself intentionally visiting local shops and businesses in some kind of bizarre “I am helping people survive the pandemic” motivation for shopping.

Nevertheless, there are some real questions here:

1. Did the colourist fall asleep? There is all the potential here for spectacular colouring and it looks like the colourist said, “No, I think colouring almost everything in the panel a single colour is great!!”

2. Why is there a boom box next to John? Is it to keep him awake while he reads about the history of the Trent Canal?

3. Did Michael get the mother lode or what? A telephone, CD, CD filing cabinet, TV, Super Nintendo, Video games?

4. Did Elizabeth only get stuffed animals, and by stuffed animals, I mean the creepy kinds that look like they might get up in the middle of the night and drag you off to hell?

5. Why does Elly’s loot include a drill and a Raggedy-Ann / teddy bear combination? Why do I get the impression that when people buy for Elly, they really buy for themselves?

For those that don’t get gifts on that special day from others, this is when Xmas starts for them.

The best gift I got Christmas day was visits from a ladder back woodpecker, slate juncos, bluejays and one squirrel that had apparently brushed a space on my snow covered (2-1/2") walk with its tail, so I could scatter the seed/nut/dried fruit mix without it being buried.

Buy Buy. Bye Bye now.

Before Christmas, it was long lines at the checkout registers and today starts long lines at the customer service desks for returns.

Hmmmmm!!!! This sounds worse than Black Friday!!!!

I used to think it was called boxing day because people were fighting over the after Christmas sales deals. I’m not sure I was so far off.

Supply and demand, demand drops, the price drops…

I don’t think those are the right lyrics to NSYNC’s song.

Oy vey…. when will it all end?

History of the WHAT??

The true meaning of Christmas, illustrated.

As we’re stuck at home this Xmas, instead of clothing my kids gave me games for my Nintendo Switch. Toys! Woo hoo! A light in this dark tunnel of a year.

They already have too much. When i was kid we had a very small fraction of gifts.

Who listens to the radio any more (unless you’re in your car)?

Good God! Stay home & stay safe!

Those ads really turn me off! Sheesh! Can’t you be happy with what you got???

“All you really wanted but didn’t get for Christmas is on sale now at Zayer”

Actual post Christmas commercial giggle by the Zayer department store.

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we got our big gift for grandson and wife, air fryer and he bought one days before xmas.

Wait a couple of weeks, then check out your local thrift shops. There’ll be a real glut of great cast-offs. :D