Swindon Town made it another miserable Boxing Day for Barry Fry who has now seen his Peterborough sides fail to achieve festive success for eight seasons in a row. But at least Robins' boss Andy King had something to smile about after second half goals by Sammy Igoe and Andy Parkin wrapped up the points and halted a dismal recent run.
Igoe fired over the home bar as Swindon started positively before Posh's Calum Willock headed a Darren Caskey free-kick wide of the target. Willock then turned provider yet skipper Curtis Woodhouse was no more accurate, sending a shot sailing over the bar.
Lee Holmes, making his Swindon debut on loan from Derby County, should have broken the deadlock when he was gifted an opening by a poor clearance by Sagi Burton, but the 17-year-old volleyed wide.
After Caskey and Willock failed to make the most of further home openings, Swindon's confidence grew with Igoe involved in much of the midfield activity. They certainly looked the better side after the interval with Christian Roberts narrowly wide with a fierce shot.
Igoe finally brought the game to life with a well-taken goal eight minutes into the second half, sending a low drive to the right of Posh goalkeeper Mark Tyler from just outside the penalty area.
Posh boss Barry Fry responded immediately, replacing Willock and strike partner Clive Platt with Richard Logan and Wayne Purser, Logan quickly forcing Rhys Evans into a fine save.
Burton saw a header from Caskey's corner smack against the bar and Evans had to be alert again as the defender moved up to deliver a fiercely struck free kick. Then referee Paul Danson waved aside strong penalty appeals when Purser went down under a challenge from goalkeeper Evans.
Swindon were content to fall back and protect their lead before breaking out with five minutes left for Parkin to storm through a non-existent defence to fire in his 11th goal of the season.