There were no late Christmas gifts for St Mirren on Boxing Day as they limped to a disappointing defeat in their final match of the year.
The Buddies, still recovering from their severe coronavirus outbreak, were outmuscled and outplayed at Ibrox as Rangers strolled to a comfortable 2-0 victory.
Scott Wright put the hosts ahead early after brushing Scott Tanser aside at the back post before nodding home low to break the deadlock.
And Alfredo Morelos doubled their lead after slamming in at the second attempt after his initial header was saved by Jak Alnwick.
The Buddies managed to stop the rot and avoid a thrashing but were nevertheless under the cosh for most of the afternoon, ending 2021 on a dismal run.
The Paisley club are now winless in their last 11 games heading into the early winter break, which may well be a welcome one as the club look to recover both on and off the pitch.
Saints boss Jim Goodwin was relieved to welcome back five established first team regulars for the trip to Ibrox, with Ryan Flynn, Alan Power, Ethan Erhahon, Jak Alnwick and Jamie McGrath back into a much more familiar looking starting XI since their draw with Celtic the previous Wednesday.
Youngster Jay Henderson was the only teenager from that impressive performance against the Hoops to keep his place from the start, with Dean Lyness unfortunate to find himself back on the bench after a superb performance in Alnwick's absence.
Within three minutes skipper Joe Shaughnessy was called into action to make a crucial block after Ryan Kent set up Joe Aribo on the edge of the box. He cleverly pulled back to Alfredo Morelos whose powerful shot was blocked by the big centre back.
Ianis Hagi was next to see an effort cleared to safety by Marcus Fraser as the hosts looked to impose themselves on the Paisley visitors.
St Mirren were struggling to get out of their own half, with Borna Barisic tearing down the left wing before producing a pinpoint cross to pick out Morelos who powered a header over the bar.
The Buddies didn't heed the early warnings and within the first quarter of an hour Gio van Bronckhorst's side were in front.
An inswinging James Tavernier corner was flicked on by Aribo in the middle of the penalty box, with Scott Wright rising above Scott Tanser before beating Alnwick at the near post with a low header.
On the 20-minute mark Rangers were inches from doubling their lead. The ball was fed to Tavernier outside the box and the defender's long range effort took a wicked deflection off Erhahon before fizzing narrowly past the top corner with Alnwick scrambling.
St Mirren's first opportunity to test Allan McGregor came from a set piece after Connor Goldson chopped down Curtis Main as he raced to receive a Power through ball just outside the box.
McGrath stepped up to take the free-kick from a promising position but smashed wastefully straight into the Rangers wall.
Rangers were looking in fine fettle and doubled their lead shortly before the half hour mark.
Barisic flighted a superb cross to the back post which Morelos powered goalwards. Alnwick beat his initial effort away, but was powerless to stop the Columbian slamming home at the second attempt.
Morelos almost grabbed a first half brace when he raced onto an Aribo pass and slammed a fierce strike towards the bottom left corner. Alnwick did well to stand up and beat away the shot.
He did the same at the near post just a minute later to stop Aribo's low strike after he danced past two St Mirren players on the edge of the box.
The Buddies were hanging on for dear life as the first half drew to a close, with Alnwick rooted to the spot as Morelos powered a header just wide from a delightful Ryan Kent cross that would have all but killed the game before the half-time whistle was blown.
The Paisley side returned for the second half with Goodwin's men switching to a back four as they looked to push higher up the Ibrox pitch after a disappointing opening 45 minutes.
Henderson had more freedom to go forward and the young winger did well to earn his side a corner after bursting down the right flank. Shaughnessy's header from the resulting set piece was blocked in the box.
Shaughnessy quickly found himself in the book after tripping Wright as the hosts raced away on the counter-attack, with Barisic fizzing the resulting free-kick inches past the post.
Despite the tactical switch Rangers were still in cruise control, with striker Curtis Main unable to hold the ball up and bring his teammates into the game. He was replaced by Kristian Dennis early in the second half as Goodwin looked for more cutting edge up front.
Rangers were the width of the post away from making it three on the hour mark when Aribo set up Wright superbly with a clever cutback.
The winger's powerful low strike smacked the post, with Barisic smashing narrowly over the bar after the ball rebounded to the edge of the box.
Aribo then smashed wide as the hosts continued to knock on the door.
With 20 minutes to go Tavernier's sweetly struck volley drew yet another impressive save from Alnwick, who was certainly the busiest man at Ibrox yesterday afternoon.
Substitute Scott Arfield curled wide as the hosts continued to look for a third goal to secure all three points, with Alnwick at his best once again to get down low and smother another Morelos chance.
In the end Rangers cruised to the full-time whistle, leaving Goodwin's side heading into 2022 on a concerning 11-match winless run.
