ROAD TRIP UPDATE 

Tomorrow we embark on our last road trip of 2023. It will be our second trip to FL this year. We're flying to Ft. Walton Beach for a week with Lois' little sister Anita, Jerry, our brother-in-law, & I think we'll get to see our niece & godchild Lia, too. Our last visit there was over 10 years ago. We managed to escape, which was blocked by a 7-ft drift. On our drive back to Norfolk, we wondered how we were going to get back into the house. We got home, & the driveway had been cleared by Rachel's future husband Derek. I don't remember if they were already engaged, but we told her, "He's the one!" [He no longer has access to a high-loader, but he still ranks in our Top 2 Sons-in-Law.

Looks like it will be chilly & rainy there, but we'll cope. Besides a visit with beloved family members, we're looking forward to Christmas worship at Jerry & Anita's church, a dip in their hot tub, & an expedition to find a HI license plate--the only one missing from our list this year. Hopefully, we'll get to do some post-Christmas sale shopping--I'll probably stay home with Jerry.

BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES OF ALL TIME *

* Ranked by Fox News Online, 12/21

1, Miracle on 34th St.

2. A Christmas Carol

3, Elf

4. It's a Wonderful Life

5. White Christmas

6. Scrooged

7. A Christmas Story. My favorite! I never get tired of watching it.

CHRISTMAS BY THE NUMBERS *

* Courtesy of today's Omaha World Herald

Where consumers shop:  1. Online [58%], 2. Department stores, 3. Discount stores, 3. Grocery stores, 4. Clothing stores, 5. Local/small businesses, 6. Electronic stores, 7. Craft stores, 8. Outlet stores, 9. Thrift stores.

Top 10 gift card types:  1. Restaurants [30%], 2. Bank-issued, 3. Department stores, 4. Coffee shops, 5. Entertainment, 6. Online merchants, 7. Grocery stores/gas, 8. Electronics stores, 9. Food delivery, 10. Book stores. [If you're ever wondering what to get me for Christmas, this would be my #1 choice.]

Top toys on Santa's list:  For girls, Barbie. For boys, Lego.

Festive sounding places in the U.S.:  Mt. Holly, NC; Holly Hill, FL; Garland, TX; Snowflake, AZ. [These are all states where our families live. Ever visited there?]

Popular plants of the season:  Poinsettia, Christmas Rose, Mistletoe, Holly. [You may be interested to know that when we lived in Hawaii, we would order a poinsettia from church for Christmas, then plant it outside. Can't do that in Nebraska.]

According to the 2023 Christmas Price Index accounting for the "12 Days of Christmas," the total cost would be $46,729.86 [up 2.7%]. The most expensive? 10 Lord's a Leaping, $14,539.20.

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE FLORIDA

"FL man claims to be Captain America with top secret info to get onto Air Force Base, DOJ says." FNO, 12/21

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

"Secret to happy life? SLEEP!" Drudge Report, 12/21

TRENDING NEWS FROM THE BABYLON BEE

> New Seventh-Day Adventist Chick-fil-A closed Saturday, open Sunday.

> Accordion player denied spot on worship band again.

> Investigators beginning to suspect Claudine Gay's novel "Larry Potter & the Sorcerer's Rock" may have been plagiarized.

LAST-MINUTE GIFTS YOU CAN BUY AT A 24-HOUR WALGREENS TO SWEEP YOUR WIFE OFF HER FEET *

* Source:  The Babylon Bee, your trusted source of fake news

> Bunion cream

> Lottery ticket [There's a 0.00000001% chance this will be the greatest gift she's ever received.]

> Combination flashlight/radio/waffle iron

> Rapid COVID-19 test [Democrats only]

> Xanax [This will help calm her down after she finds out you only got her Xanax.]

> Pregnancy test [Wives love taking these.]

> 18-oz bag of Flamin' Hot Funyuns [the gift that keeps on giving long after they're eaten]

> 28-pack of hearing aid batteries [This will show her you're thinking about a long future with her.]

> Bottle of 1000 multiple vitamins [a great way to show you love her & that you've noticed she needs some more energy during the day]

> Walgreens ballpoint pen [The lady at the counter will probably give it to you for free if you ask nicely.]

> Old lady reading glasses with a long neck chain

> A bottle of perfume that might convince her you went somewhere other than Walgreens.

ARE MARRIAGES WITHOUT CHILDREN HAPPIER?

"Several TikTok videos about DINKs have gone viral recently. They feature self-described DINK (double-income, no kids) couples, proudly talking about their child-free and carefree life, which includes spontaneous vacations and “snobby hobbies like skiing and golfing.”

"While we respect their personal choices, the underlining message these types of videos are sending is troubling. Essentially, the message is that marriages are better without children and children are a big time drain and financial burden. This is misleading. Among Americans ages 18 to 55 (the group who are most likely to have young children at home), married adults with children are the happiest. Nearly four in ten married parents (37 percent) say they are very happy with their lives, compared with 27 percent of married, childless adults . . . 

"It is true that children require a considerable amount of care, and married parents have less free time compared with their childless peers and single adults, but research shows that more free time doesn’t always translate to more happiness. Even though they have less free time, married parents tend to spend more of the free time they do have socializing with others and less time in front of screens, and these factors contribute to their higher levels of happiness . . . 

"It is about time for the U.S. to adopt family-friendly policies to boost fertility rates. A society with a declining population is not sustainable, and the cost of raising children should not solely fall on families and parents. By implementing supportive measures such as paid parental leave, a generous child tax credit, and flexible work arrangements, the government and businesses can contribute to a more family-friendly environment for working families." Wendy Wang, National Review Online, 12/21