The Magpies were strong favourites against Crystal Palace yesterday but did not let that pressure, or a boisterous home crowd at Selhurst Park, get in the way of them recording a fifth away league win of the season.
Struggling Palace, who had shown some good recent form under new manager Tony Pulis, had their bubble burst when Yohan Cabaye struck his fourth goal of the season.
And, by half time, it was 2-0 when Mathieu Debuchy, supporting the right wing to good effect from full back, sent in a low cross which was diverted under little pressure by Danny Gabbidon into his own net.
The Eagles were not about to give up - and both Chieck Tiote and Fabricio Coloccini went into the book early in the second half for stopping a couple of dangerous attacks.
Nevertheless, Newcastle were still the better side on the ball and pushed on again to kill off any Palace hopes.
Cabaye, who was excellent throughout, was unlucky not to catch out veteran goalkeeper Julian Speroni with a direct free-kick in the swirling wind before Yoan Gouffran hit the bar with a curler.
With 10 minutes left, Hatem Ben Arfa came on to replace Cabaye, and an impressive cameo included a low cross with which fellow substitute Shola Ameobi should have done better.
At least Ameobi then made amends by winning a penalty after being brought down on the turn, a spot-kick converted into the top corner by Ben Arfa.
3-0, points safe. Merry Christmas from Newcastle United.
But, more than being just the celebration of what is - let's face it - a bog-standard Premier League victory, this write-up points towards the context in which Newcastle's run has occurred.
Manager Pardew began the season under pressure, his side having slipped from fifth to 16th in the space of 12 months.
United then began the campaign in truly wretched fashion, losing 4-0 at Manchester City, a result which looked much worse then than it does now.
Form then recovered a little - but, in late October, came a second successive derby loss, more painful still since it came about simply because the worst side in the division showed that bit more fight.
Suddenly, Pardew was back on the precipice, and a couple of tough-looking fixtures loomed - Chelsea at home and Tottenham Hotspur away.
Unexpectedly, United collected six points, repeating their home win from February against the Blues before November player of the month Tim Krul somehow ensured Loic Remy's early goal at White Hart Lane would be a winner.
Newcastle then enjoyed successive 2-1 home wins against Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion, Moussa Sissoko scoring a glorious goal from 25 yards in the latter.
That run, though, ended with a limp 3-0 defeat at Swansea and next up was Old Trafford where Newcastle had not won against Manchester United in 32 attempts stretching back to 1972.
David Moyes's men had looked vulnerable throughout the season, however - and so it proved as Newcastle shaded possession and carved out the better chances.
The decisive moment came just after the hour mark when Sissoko took advantage of a touch of fortune, and pulled the ball back for Cabaye to poke it in the corner.
Now, normally, Newcastle could have expected Man United to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at them - but, barring a Patrice Evra effort which hit the post and Robin van Persie's correctly disallowed offside goal, Pardew's team held out in relative comfort.
At last, the Londoner had begun to rewrite history for the right reasons again.
Indeed, the recent unusual happenings were noted in amusing fashion by Newcastle's long-running fanzine The Mag whose Issue 285 front-cover amusingly read: "Goals from corners... Wins at Old Trafford... Tough job for Santa!"
A reasonable draw against Southampton at home last week and yesterday afternoon's result at Selhurst made it 30 points from 17 games.
That represents United's best pre-Christmas return since the sharp return from relegation in 2009, better at this stage even than the remarkable fifth place finish in 2011.
Of course, no prizes are handed out in mid-December, and there are a few things for Magpies fans to look out for in the next few weeks.
Firstly, fans on Tyneside will know the Toon seem to have a tradition of hitting terrible form over Christmas and the New Year - and, in this regard, the presence of Arsenal and Manchester City in the next three home league games hardly helps.
Secondly, United must beware of festering false hope on the back of a player who is not (yet) theirs.
West Brom unintentionally inflated expectations for this season with an eighth-place finish last time out, thanks largely to the form of Romelu Lukaku who was on loan from Chelsea.
Lukaku now gone, the Baggies have found this season much more of a struggle and sacked manager Steve Clarke last week.
It still remains the case that Remy - who has scored eight league goals already - could also end up just being a temporary focal point of the Newcastle attack.
Although, at least the other players seem to have recognised this possibility with Gouffran, Cabaye, Sissoko and now Ben Arfa all chipping in recently.
Undeniably, though, Newcastle's long term chances will effectively be dictated by the club keeping players like Remy. Does Mike Ashley speculate to accumulate just for once?
A final point of note is that, as well as Arsenal and Man City being among the next few visitors at St James Park, the return Tyne-Wear derby on 1 February is now only seven games away.
Pardew has pretty poor record in this fixture, with just one win out of five. A reversal of his side's current form and an extension of that winless run against the Mackems will reapply some pressure, such is the fickle nature of football.
For now, though, those worries can be cast aside and Newcastle fans can tuck into their Christmas turkey with a satisfied glow on their faces.
And that is not just because of the amount of Brown Ale which has been consumed in the hostelries of the Haymarket. Ho'way the Lads.
NEWCASTLE UNITED 2013/14: THE SEASON SO FAR
Manager: Alan Pardew (since December 2010)
League record: P17 W9 D3 L5 F24 A22 LDWWLLWDLWWWWLWDW
FA Cup: Third Round v Cardiff City (H) on 4 January at 3pm
League Cup: lost 0-2 aet v Manchester City (H) in fourth round
Top scorer: Loic Remy (eight)
POINTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY SINCE PROMOTION
2010 22 points from 17 games (finished 12th)
2011 27 points from 17 games (finished fifth)
2012 20 points from 18 games (finished 16th)
2013 30 points from 17 games
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