Celtic recovered from successive Scottish Premiership losses to see off stubborn Livingston with a quick one-two at the start of the second half.
Kyogo Furuhashi ended a seven-game sequence without scoring by netting a close-range finish and Liam Scales added a splendid header. Luis Palma provided smart crosses for both.
It was a one-sided contest from the first whistle to last, with goalkeeper Jack Hamilton keeping the score down and Celtic opening up a five-point lead over Rangers.
Scottish Premiership: As it happened & reactionKeep up to date with CelticThe latest Livingston newsThe Ibrox side, who have two games in hand, visit Motherwell on Sunday and the year will end with an Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.
Livingston, five points adrift at the foot of the table, are now without a win in 10 top-flight outings and have scored just twice in that run.
Seeking a response after suffering back-to-back league defeats for the first time in a decade, Celtic were out of the blocks quickly.
The hosts were swarming forward but Livingston deployed a deep, collective block, making it extremely congested in their penalty area.
There were first-half openings for Matt O'Riley, Kyogo and Daizen Maeda but the visitors were in determined mood with a series of last-ditch blocks and tackles.
All of that brave resistance was undone in the opening minute of the second period when Kyogo took advantage of a lapse in concentration to touch home a clever, curling cross from Palma.
Celtic's advantage was doubled soon after when Scales leapt impressively to steer home a corner from Palma. The defender was going away from goal but managed to twist and power the pacey delivery beyond goalkeeper Hamilton, who was deputising for Shamal George.
Hamilton remained under siege, making a smart save to thwart Cameron Carter-Vickers after Maeda had spurned a good opportunity with his head.
Making just his fourth appearance of the season, Hamilton excelled again, pushing away a late header from Celtic substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu.
Player of the match - Luis Palma
Luis Palma (right) laid on both goals and could have had a few more assists, with Daizen Maeda and Matt O'Riley guilty of misses in front of the targetCeltic dominate dogged opposition - analysis
With the Green Brigade returning to their corner of the stadium, the atmosphere at Celtic Park was much improved but there were a few grumbles from the home crowd at half-time.
The champions were finding it tough to find space against well-organised and spirited opponents and when they did, Kyogo had a rushed effort cleared by James Penrice and Maeda poked a tentative shot straight at Hamilton.
Livingston were putting bodies on the line with laudable commitment but found themselves behind 28 seconds into the second half and when Scales made it 2-0 five minutes later the result was beyond doubt.
The visitors made no attempt to chase the game, continuing to sit deep and limit the damage, with massive matches against St Johnstone and Motherwell to come.
With the shots tally 22-0 in their favour, Celtic really should have added to their lead. But the returning Maeda did not provide the same threat as fellow winger Palma and the auditions for a Reo Hatate replacement continue without much success, with Paulo Bernardo rather anonymous.
Kyogo was involved much more than he has been of late and his goal, along with Palma's continuing improvement, will probably please boss Brendan Rodgers most.
What they said
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "We probably didn't get the goals we deserved, but, from the off, you could see tempo and intensity was much better.
"December can be a grind with a lot of games. It could have been slow but our speed is so important.
"Against a team that was camped in we had to be bright and creative in our play to break them down."
Livingston manager David Martindale: "We rode our luck a bit in the first 15 minutes, then we were managing the game pretty well.
"Second half, the first goal, from a group point of view, is a shocker. We let Palma inside and Luiyi (de Lucas) has to do a lot better, he's got the contact on Kyogo. For the second, Knotts (Michael Nottingham) has got to go and get contact. It's his man. At that point, it's game over.
"It's not rocket science to understand we need a wee bit of help. We need two or three bodies in, but they have got to be boys that can and play for us now, not boys we're trying to develop."
What next?
Celtic visit Dundee on Boxing Day (15:00 GMT), while Livingston are at home to St Johnstone the following evening (19:45).
Line-ups
Celtic
Formation 4-3-3
1Hart2Johnston20Carter-Vickers5Scales3Taylor33O'Riley42McGregor28Gonçalves BernardoSubstituted forTurnbullat 80'minutes38MaedaSubstituted forForrestat 63'minutes8FuruhashiSubstituted forOhat 71'minutes7PalmaSubstituted forYangat 71'minutesSubstitutes
13Yang14Turnbull19Oh22Kwon29Bain49Forrest56Ralston57Welsh90JohnstonLivingston
Formation 3-4-2-1
32Hamilton23de Lucas6Obileye4ParkesSubstituted forNottinghamat 42'minutes12Brandon18HoltBooked at 67mins22ShinnieSubstituted forKellyat 65'minutes29PenriceSubstituted forMontañoat 86'minutes19NoubleSubstituted forLawalat 86'minutes8Pittman9AndersonSubstituted forGuthrieat 65'minutesSubstitutes
1George3Montaño10Kelly14Welch-Hayes16Bradley21Nottingham28Guthrie35Ledingham40LawalReferee:Matthew MacDermid
Attendance:58,703
Live Text
Match ends, Celtic 2, Livingston 0.
Second Half ends, Celtic 2, Livingston 0.
Foul by Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic).
Kurtis Guthrie (Livingston) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Alistair Johnston (Celtic).
Kurtis Guthrie (Livingston) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alistair Johnston.
Attempt saved. Oh Hyeon-Gyu (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Foul by Liam Scales (Celtic).
Michael Nottingham (Livingston) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jack Hamilton.
Attempt saved. Oh Hyeon-Gyu (Celtic) header from very close range is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by David Turnbull with a cross.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Ayo Obileye.
Substitution, Livingston. Cristian Montaño replaces James Penrice.
Substitution, Livingston. Samson Lawal replaces Joel Nouble.
Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Joel Nouble.
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by James Penrice.
Attempt missed. Matt O'Riley (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Yang Hyun-Jun with a cross.
Substitution, Celtic. David Turnbull replaces Paulo Bernardo.
Player of the match
KellyStephen Kelly
with an average of 8.23
Celtic
Squad number7Player namePalma
Squad number5Player nameScales
Squad number33Player nameO'Riley
Squad number8Player nameFuruhashi
Squad number42Player nameMcGregor
Squad number20Player nameCarter-Vickers
Squad number2Player nameJohnston
Squad number38Player nameMaeda
Squad number28Player namePaulo Bernardo
Squad number49Player nameForrest
Squad number14Player nameTurnbull
Squad number3Player nameTaylor
Squad number1Player nameHart
Squad number13Player nameYang Hyun-Jun
Squad number19Player nameOh Hyeon-Gyu
Livingston
Squad number10Player nameKelly
Squad number32Player nameHamilton
Squad number28Player nameGuthrie
Squad number21Player nameNottingham
Squad number12Player nameBrandon
Squad number8Player namePittman
Squad number6Player nameObileye
Squad number4Player nameParkes
Squad number19Player nameNouble
Squad number29Player namePenrice
Squad number9Player nameAnderson
Squad number23Player namede Lucas
Squad number18Player nameHolt
Squad number22Player nameShinnie
Squad number40Player nameLawal
Squad number3Player nameCristian Montaño