For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 23, 2019

way to think outside the (wrapped) box, Mike

Not gonna happen, Mike.

It was a nice try, Mike!

Mike’s as tall as Elly now, eh?

I like to think if I were Elly,

I’d be able to think quickly….

“Oh yes… that is a great idea, Mike!

We’ll start with just your stocking on on Christmas morning….

and after that, you can open one gift a day, smallest first.

You should get to your biggest one around January 3rd or 4th."

@SusanSunshine Long time no see , Happy CHRISTMAS from Malta

Maybe they’d start complaining about getting the wrong thing.

Convert to Judaism and celebrate Hannukkah instead. 8 pairs of socks or something.

I had forgotten what a smart ass Michael was once he hit adolescence!

You’d get it one sock at a time.

Let him open one, and return one, so by the time Christmas comes, he will have nothing to open and everyone else will still have a stack to open.

Each day, carefully open one more present than the previous day, then wrap them up again. On Jan 6, open them all one last time.

On the twelfth day of Christmas …

When my kids were young, we were on a small budget. We would get a more expensive gift for each of them, then wrap several inexpensive gifts so they felt like they were getting more stuff.

When we were teens, we were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve before going to mass, which usually turned out to be something we’d wear to church.

After Midnight Mass, the family usually went to a great-uncle’s house for a meal, so it was usually about 2-3 am when we got home and opened the rest of the presents under our tree. By that time we were too tired to complain if it wasn’t exactly what we’d hoped for.

It sounds like Michael has talking to a friend with a different holiday tradition. He doesn’t state it outright but there is another group that does do a present a day.

I took a look at the 1990 strips, and this one was originally published the day AFTER Christmas. So was Michael saying “let’s do this next year” or “we should have done it this year”?

Yeah Mike and maybe you’d even consider getting something nice for your Mother – probably not.

But in order to get more, you’d have to agree to give more as well, Mike.

How about ONE present a day for 3 days?

We do that.

Open two a day, but starting on Christmas day!