"The List Price" - A Betty and Veronica Christmas Tale

The holidays can be a stressful time of year for everybody.  I don't think anyone will disagree with you here.  You have to make sure your Christmas cards are mailed, you have to put up decorations, you have to get the ingredients for Christmas dinner, you have to brave the crowds to pick up presents for other people at the mall.  And in between all of that, you still have to find the time to go to work or school, and sleep. 

Yeah, there's a reason why December is considered to be simultaneously one of the best and worst months of the year.

There are life hacks though that can make the holiday season a little bit more manageable.  Stressed out over sending Christmas cards?  E-mail them instead.  Worried about Christmas dinner?  Have a potluck event where everyone invited brings a dish.  You can even make gift giving easier by setting a budget, or doing shopping online.  (Though if you live in Canada where a recent mail strike has put packages on a backlog, that might not be a wise idea for 2018!)

In this story, one of our Archie pals thinks that she has come up with a life hack that will make the holidays easier for everyone she loves...but it takes one of her best friends to make her see that her method simply won't work.

And she does it in one of the most epic ways possible!  It's Day #8 in the PEP CULTURE ADVENT CALENDAR, and it's set to begin NOW!

This story has been reprinted several times and is considered to be one of Archie's classic holiday tales, but if you want the original copy, it can be found in the Archie Giant Series title "Betty and Veronica Christmas Spectacular #229".

The story is called "The List Price", and it begins with Betty and Veronica at the mall where Betty is shocked at the list that Veronica is carrying.  It's longer than a roll of receipt tape inside of a Walmart cash register!

(Oh, and the scans come courtesy of "Archie Digest #106".  Although I do have the original copy of the story, I used this book because the colours are brighter.)

Anyway, Betty remarks to Veronica that if she had a gift list that was that long, she would be paying debt until...well, until Archie Digest #106 was released sixteen years after this story first appeared!  But Veronica explains that this is NOT a giving list.  This is a getting list.  Well, they DID always say that Veronica was spoiled.

At first Betty understands what she believes Veronica to say.  She thinks that Veronica made the list to give to her parents so that they can surprise her with one or two of those on Christmas Day.  Fair enough.  Back when there was a Sears and they released their Wish Book catalogues, my sisters and I would go through the pages putting our signatures on items that we really wanted, and on Christmas Day, we'd consider ourselves lucky if we got a couple of the things we wanted. 

But it seems as though Betty has misunderstood Veronica, because as Veronica explains, this is her life hack to getting through the holidays.  Veronica says that she will buy all the gifts herself.  Betty wonders how they could be considered gifts if she does that.  Veronica has an explanation for this as well.

Yep.  Veronica has it all figured out.  She thinks that she will take away the stress of gift giving by playing Santa Claus herself.  In fact, I wouldn't put it past her to bill all of those purchases to Mr. Lodge's accounts with the various merchants of the mall so that Veronica wouldn't be out of pocket and then they really would be considered "gifts".  She thinks that she has Christmas 1974 all planned out this time.

So, Veronica is concerned when Betty has a rather weird look on her face.

And after Betty takes the time to process the information, she turns to Veronica and asks her what the heck she is thinking.  Her plan is NOT what she perceives Christmas to be all about.  In fact, she stops short of calling Veronica a greedy sourpuss!  Veronica is taken aback, but Betty continues to ask her what her holiday hack hopes to accomplish.  She wonders where in her plan the joy of surprise comes into play, and Veronica explains that her parents will be surprised to see what she has picked out for herself.  And when Betty asked where the love comes into play, Veronica tells Betty that because she loves her parents, she wants to spare them the stress of picking out the perfect gift for her.

Now this is where Betty REALLY loses it.  Get the popcorn ready!

In front of everybody at the crowded mall, Betty really tears a strip off of Veronica and in the process dares being stricken from Santa's nice list forever.  But when Betty is caught in the moment, she really lets loose.  Everyone in the mall is mesmerized when Betty calls Veronica out on her selfishness.  Betty tells Veronica that she is depriving her parents of what is one of the greatest Christmas gifts that she could ever give her parents - the love and joy that comes from trying to find the perfect way for them to show how much they love their daughter.  And in Betty's opinion, Veronica's holiday plans are probably one of the worst things that she could do to show her gratitude and appreciation.

What is interesting is that as soon as Betty finishes her soliloquy, Veronica bursts into tears - the blonde angel next to her successfully pointing out all the flaws in her holiday life hack.  Veronica realizes that she was wrong, and she promises Betty that she will go back to the old-fashioned way of shopping.  But what Betty and Veronica don't expect is this...

And later, when Veronica runs into Archie and Archie asks Veronica what she is going to give Betty for Christmas this year, Veronica admits that she might just have a hard time because she couldn't compete with the gift that a bunch of strangers just bestowed upon her.

I really love this story.  For one, it shows Betty as having a backbone.  For years, Betty was often seen as a pushover or a doormat, so when she finally does find her voice, it's quite satisfying to watch.  But I think that what writer Frank Doyle did was what really made the story memorable.  While it's true that Christmas shouldn't be about presents, what Doyle did was pen the story in a way that kind of explains the reasoning behind gift-giving, and explains it in a way that it makes it seem less selfish and more selfless.  I can dig it.

Tomorrow on Day #9...I'm actually not going to give you a summary.  Instead, I will say that I have left a small clue in this blog post somewhere that will tell you what tomorrow's entry will be all about.  I think I'll take a page from Betty's book of holiday fun and let you try and find the secret yourselves.

Happy hunting!