The 15 Best Calvin and Hobbes Christmas Comics

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Man, I grew up with Calvin and Hobbes! It was this amazing comic strip that ran in newspapers all over the country for ten years, from ’85 to ’95. It followed Calvin, a super energetic six-year-old, and his best buddy, Hobbes. What was so cool was that Calvin saw Hobbes as a real, talking tiger – like, standing up and everything – but to everyone else, Hobbes was just Calvin’s stuffed animal. It was always funny seeing the difference in how they ‘saw’ Hobbes!

Several Calvin and Hobbes Christmas comics deal with ideas of right and wrong, and giving in to temptation. Calvin often tries to behave during the holidays, hoping Santa will bring him presents. While not every great Christmas strip focuses on this struggle, they all have a warm, heartfelt quality and often include clever observations about life and society from creator Bill Watterson.

Dec. 19, 1993

As Christmas nears, Calvin starts to worry if he’s been too misbehaved for Santa to visit. He’s a classic example of someone who only considers the consequences of their actions when they’re facing them – for most of the year, he doesn’t think about what might happen as a result of his behavior.

As Christmas approaches, Calvin starts worrying about whether he’s been good or bad. He has a funny dream where Christmas is turned upside down – instead of being punished for misbehavior, naughty kids get rewarded! Calvin is thrilled, thinking he’s in for a great Christmas. But then he wakes up and realizes he’s still in trouble, just as worried as before.

Dec. 25, 1992

Throughout “Calvin and Hobbes,” Watterson often highlighted the effort parents put into creating magical Christmases for their kids. This included indulging in traditions—like leaving treats for Santa—that might seem a little silly, or even the currently popular (and sometimes stressful for parents!) Elf on the Shelf.

Christmas morning often means a very early wake-up call for parents! Kids are eager to tear into their presents, and who could blame them? But this usually means exhausted parents – especially after staying up late wrapping everything – get very little sleep. And if the ‘gift’ is something mischievous, like a prank from a playful child, it can be a chaotic start to the day!

Dec. 20, 1987

Throughout the run of Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson subtly suggested that Calvin didn’t just randomly develop his unique personality. While his mother is often witty and dry, it’s really Calvin’s dad who shares the most traits with his son – he simply expresses them as an adult.

Sometimes, Calvin’s dad really gets inside his head with pranks, because he understands exactly how Calvin thinks. This often leads to chaotic situations, like at Christmas, when Calvin’s mom feels like she’s dealing with double the trouble!

Dec. 16, 1992

Most of the Calvin and Hobbes Christmas comics focus on gifts, which makes sense – presents are usually the first thing kids think about during the holidays. They wonder what they’ll receive and if they’ve been good enough to get anything at all. For children, it’s the biggest part of Christmas.

I love Christmastime, and it’s not just about gifts! There are all the decorations and, best of all, the Christmas songs! Honestly, the music is so festive and makes the season special. But if you’re a parent, be warned: you’ll be hearing a lot of silly, kid-friendly versions of those songs, and trust me, it can get on your nerves – just like Calvin’s mom always feels!

Dec. 24, 1989

Bill Watterson is well-known for playfully criticizing common ideas. He often does this around holidays – many of his Christmas strips, for example, gently poke fun at aspects of capitalism. However, it’s important to note that he doesn’t offer a harsh critique; Calvin and Hobbes isn’t a preachy or overly serious comic strip on such topics.

Despite the season’s difficulties, he also recognized its joys. This classic 1989 Christmas Eve comic beautifully captures that with a heartwarming poem and a charming scene of Calvin and Hobbes snuggling by the fire. It’s moments like these that make you almost forget Calvin’s mischievous side and see him as a sweet child.

Dec. 18, 1987

While other Calvin and Hobbes Christmas strips delve more deeply into themes of the holidays, morality, and Santa Claus, this particular strip is important because of its connection to a running gag within the comic: ‘The Noodle Incident.’ Throughout the strip’s run, this incident is frequently mentioned, but never fully explained. All readers know is that Calvin faced serious consequences and insists the real story is more complex than anyone realizes.

Before Calvin and Hobbes became famous for “the Noodle Incident,” a Christmas comic strip briefly mentioned “the Salamander Incident.” Perhaps whatever Calvin did involving the salamander wasn’t as bad as what happened with the noodles, which is why only the Noodle Incident is remembered. Or, it’s possible that the creator, Bill Watterson, simply liked the way “Noodle Incident” sounded better than “Salamander Incident.”

Dec. 23, 1992

Calvin’s definition of a good deed is pretty minimal! In this Calvin and Hobbes Christmas comic, he considers simply eating his dinner a good deed. This was part of a week-long story where Calvin tried to do ten kind things each day to impress Santa Claus. He also did things like let Hobbes read his comics, which is closer to what most people would think of as a genuinely nice gesture.

A central theme in Calvin and Hobbes is Calvin’s incredibly active imagination. We see this constantly, whether through his different personas – like the space adventurer Spaceman Spiff or detective Tracer Bullet – or in his playful adventures with Hobbes. He’s always inventing things, like the Transmogrifier and Duplicator, or pretending Hobbes is actually alive. It’s likely Calvin genuinely believed the things he imagined, even something as outlandish as thinking his mother served him cooked maggots.

Dec. 8, 1988

Calvin struggles during the holidays because he wants to be naughty, but also wants lots of presents. While other Calvin and Hobbes Christmas comics show him misbehaving, this particular strip really highlights how greedy he is. Calvin isn’t motivated by any genuine desire to be good for Santa; he has an enormous, meticulously organized Christmas list. He’s only on his best behavior because he wants more toys, and he even plans to use some of those gifts to cause trouble later!

In The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, creator Bill Watterson explained that he frequently uses the Christmas season to explore Calvin’s struggles with morality. Calvin wants to be good, but often for selfish reasons. Watterson noted this extends to Calvin’s desire for presents, which he sees as driven by less-than-noble motivations.

Dec. 14, 1992

Similar to Calvin, his dad also gets stressed during the holidays, but for different reasons. He believes the holiday season has become a fake combination of shopping and religion, which bothers him. He notices all the excessive spending in December and wonders how it became connected to a religious holiday.

Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, was strongly opposed to commercializing his work. He fiercely resisted attempts by Universal Press Syndicate to create merchandise or adapt the comic into a movie or TV show. As he explained in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, he didn’t want to see his characters’ voices changed by actors or used on greeting cards, and he didn’t want a toy company deciding whether Hobbes was real or not. Watterson called these rights “exploitation rights” and believed selling them would compromise the artistic quality of his comic. This belief sometimes shows up in the dialogue of Calvin’s father within the comic strips themselves.

Dec. 25, 1993

Calvin spends the holidays worrying if his bad behavior will prevent Santa from bringing him presents. He’s very anxious and fears he’ll be punished. This comic strip, released on Christmas Day, shows his relief – he feels completely cleared of any wrongdoing, like he’s been found innocent by a judge and jury, just like Santa.

A running gag in Calvin and Hobbes is that Calvin doesn’t seem to learn from his errors, and this situation perfectly illustrates that. You’d expect him to behave well all year, not just during the holidays, but he’ll likely repeat the same mistakes again next year.

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2025-12-17 18:42