(Strip Number 6124, Original Publication Date, 18 December 1983)
Panel 1: We start things off with Elly getting the kids ready to go out and telling Mike to hurry up or he'll be late for Santa.
Panel 2: We next find Elly sitting in the car fuming as she tells the kids to stop playing with Farley so they can go.
Panel 3: The strip most of Lynn's fans will see starts with Elly, Mike and Lizzie in a crowd at the mall waiting to see Santa; Elly holds Lizzie up, tells her that there's Santa and to wave to him.
Panel 4: Next, a very happy Elly tells her very reluctant children to walk with her to see where the Christmas music is coming from.
Panel 5: A few minutes later, store employees dressed as elves toss candy into the crowd; since Elly is far more jazzed up about the trip than the kids are, she doesn't notice that her telling Lizzie to catch one is falling on unenthusiastic ears.
Panel 6: As they walk down a street, Elly wants them to look at the windows and lights.
Panel 7: She is thus mildly confused when Lizzie doesn't want to walk any longer and that Mike wants to go home.
Panel 8: As they prepare to board the elevator for the parking garage, a middle-aged lady tells Elly that she has some tired little ones on her hands.
Panel 9: Elly tells the lady that yes, children always do get so very excited this time of the year.
Summary: The joke about how parents sometimes get more keyed up about a holiday than the kids is one Lynn likes; that's because she uses it again in 2006. This means that we should prepare ourselves for a Lynnsight about how we're all kids at heart.