Ahh, winter. The cold, the snow, the ice, the frigid winds.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we’re in the middle of it now.  Here are some stories about the shorter days and shorter tempers, and frozen lands and frozen brains.

For our readers in the southern hemisphere, send some of those warm thoughts up this way, please?

Extra Coating of Generosity — A warming act is heartwarming.

Your Argument Has No Hairy Leg To Stand On — A timeless winter discussion: to shave or not to shave

Four Legged Friends And Their Two Legged Twits — Thought processes iced over.

No Fortitude For Longitude, Part 6 — When is summer not summer? When it’s winter!

Let There Be Unhappy Feet — Even penguins get how the whole hemisphere thing works…

Customers Ensure There Is No Calm Before The Storm — Impending bad weather brings out the extra entitled.

Weathering Demanding Customers — Sometimes winter just doesn’t look like winter. Most of us can handle that.

Her Logic Doesn’t Fly — This conversation migrated south for the winter.

You’re In Hot Water Now — You can’t change the laws of frozen physics.

Yukon Freeze It, Part 3 — For some people, winter is a state of mind… despite reality.

Putting The Undying Love Into Undying — It’s never the wrong season to worry about the zombie apocalypse.

You Working It Makes Others’ Work Worth It — A final tale to warm up your winter-weary soul.

Dear readers,

It’s time to reveal the twenty highest-rated stories from 2018!

20 – Playing Unfair With The Fairer Sex
19 – That Is “Pretty” Awesome, Part 2
18 – Bagged Far More Than He Bargained For
17 – The Cake Price Is A Lie
16 – The Bosses Need To Clean Up Their Act
15 – Brunch Time Crunch Time
14 – There’s No Business Like None Of Your Business
13 – Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 11
12 – Dusting Off The Scum
11 – Fart Jokes Exist In A Vacuum
10 – Goodbye Fighting, Hello Kitty
9 – Mouse Versus Evil
8 – Must Be Friends With Aaron Schlossberg
7 – Man, What A Wait!
6 – This Prank Has A Drinking Problem
5 – The Best Comeback Since Sliced Bread
4 – Treat It Like A Boss
3 – Has The Authority To Tell You How It Is
2 – A Reversal Of Fortune
1 – The Adventures Of Captain Camp And Mother Russia

Do you have a favorite story from 2018 that didn’t make the top twenty? Don’t worry; you can still push to give it an honorable mention by telling us your best story here.

It’s time for the December roundup! Our editors have decided among themselves which stories in December deserve the extra attention, regardless of the number of thumbs-ups they received. Out of the 821 stories we posted in the month, we’ve singled out nineteen.

If there are any stories from the last month you feel we should have included, please let us know in the comments!

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite stories in the poll below! Note: You can choose up to three*.

He’s From Iowa, But He Works In Outer Space – A presentation of the history of the future.

Innocent Until They Prove Themselves Guilty – Stupidity isn’t a crime, but it can help!

A Child’s Priorities Are The Ultimate Christmas Gift – Don’t try to use your children to guilt employees for your poor Christmas planning!

Good Customer Service Doesn’t Grow On Trees – This year’s Christmas is a bit buggy.

You Can’t Dismiss The Karma On This One – Taking the boss to court makes for VERY satisfying reading.

Saved By Their Spidey-Sense – Spiders + Cars = Outcome you might not expect.

Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine – We grow old… we don’t always grow up!

That’s One Prescription Of Holiday Cheer – Next time you say you’re sick of the holidays, think about the people who are sick ON the holidays.

A Needling Suspicion Of What Happened – Dentistry so bad it makes you numb.

Hamming It Up Over Other People’s Religions – Guess what? Other religions exist, regardless of how delicious ham is.

They’re Not The Only One With A Child – Even MORE poor parental planning!

He’s About To Get A Chile Reception – Fighting scammers level 1000!

Unable To Mathematically Compensate For Discrimination – You’re not disabled until someone else disables you.

No Need To Pardon This French – The city of light racism.

In Great Loss There Can Be Great Kindness – The onion-chopping department is open.

“Nice Guys” Usually Aren’t – Be nice to the girl, then get sex. That’s how it works.

Way Better Than What Neelix Can Cook Up – To boldly cook what never has been cooked before!

This Joke Is On The Spectrum – Jokes about autism don’t have to be offensive.

Appearances Can’t Be Deceiving – Pure blind justice!

[poll id=”20″]

*Not Always Hopeless stories are not included in the poll. This is because often they are so lovely they win by default.

Dear Readers!

Welcome to 2019!  We’ll be making a whole bunch of posts highlighting the NotAlwaysRight year in review.

We’d like the help of you, our dedicated readers, to pick out the Reader Favorites of 2018.

Please leave suggestions and recommendations in the comments to this post. If you can’t remember the title or can’t find the link, a brief description of the story will do. Don’t worry, we will find it and consider it for the review of our readers’ favorites of 2018.

We look forward to seeing what you choose!

Happy New Year!

The Editors

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year(*)

Long before we started NotAlwaysHopeless we had lots of stories that put smiles on our faces and cheer in our hearts.  We offer you a present of a sampling of those older stories!

Faith In Humanity In Small Doses — You never know who will turn your day around.

We Love (To Pay) To See You Smile — A smile on your face today can mean a new job tomorrow!

Good People Are Not A Dime A Dozen — A small good deed becomes a special experience.

Please Let The Coffee “Be Good” — A joking and friendly clerk give a big boost!

How To Make An Employee’s Day — Something that seems small can make someone feel very important.

Not All Knights Are In Shining Armor — When the best people turn up at just the right time.

Tipping The Scale — One big smile earns another.

Random Acts of Cuddleness — Helping others inspires.

Good News For A Change, Part 2 — What starts out as a typical NAR story turns into a feel-good tale.

There’s Something In Those Poppy Seeds — BAGEL BAGEL BAGEL BAGEL

Want more stories to warm your heart and lift your spirits?  We have plenty over at NotAlwaysHopeless.

(*) “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” Pola & Wyle, 1963