1. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote and illustrated letters from Father Christmas to his kids every year from 1920 to 1943
Xmas 1925
My dear boys,
I am dreadfully busy this year — it makes my hand more shaky than ever when I think of it — and not very rich. In fact, awful things have been happening, and some of the presents have got spoilt and I haven’t got the North Polar Bear to help me and I have had to move house just before Christmas, so you can imagine what a state everything is in, and you will see why I have a new address, and why I can only write one letter between you both. It all happened like this: one very windy day last November my hood blew off and went and stuck on the top of the North Pole. I told him not to, but the N.P.Bear climbed up to the thin top to get it down — and he did. The pole broke in the middle and fell on the roof of my house, and the N.P.Bear fell through the hole it made into the dining room with my hood over his nose, and all the snow fell off the roof into the house and melted and put out all the fires and ran down into the cellars where I was collecting this year’s presents, and the N.P.Bear’s leg got broken. He is well again now, but I was so cross with him that he says he won’t try to help me again. I expect his temper is hurt, and will be mended by next Christmas. I send you a picture of the accident, and of my new house on the cliffs above the N.P. (with beautiful cellars in the cliffs). If John can’t read my old shaky writing (1925 years old) he must get his father to. When is Michael going to learn to read, and write his own letters to me? Lots of love to you both and Christopher, whose name is rather like mine.
That’s all. Goodbye.
Father Christmas
They started off as simple Happy Christmas letters but grew more complex including a polar bear sidekick, the man on the moon, goblins, snow-elves, pictures, and he even developed an Arktik language.
Found on A Pilgrim in Narnia.
2. Christmas dinner on the Apollo VIII (1968) as it headed to the moon
Found on the Natick Soldier Systems Photographic Collection.
3. The National Christmas Museum, Saved
In December of 2017, we reported that a much loved place called the National Christmas Centre, nestled in a place called Paradise, Pennsylvania – a huge walk-through display of all things Christmas through the decades – was going up for sale and officially closing its doors forever after the holidays.
Thankfully in October, 2018, the Stone Gables Estate purchased the entire Christmas collection, one of the largest collections of historical Christmas memorabilia in the United States. The collection’s founder, Jim Morrison, who is referred to as the “Keeper of Christmas,” will continue to play an integral role in it rsesurrection…
Until its permanent home is ready, visitors can now enjoy seeing a large selection of Christmas memorabilia at the interim National Christmas Center which is housed a short distance from Stone Gables Estate. Seventeen-foot-tall, real-life buildings depict the streets of Columbia, Pennsylvania as they were in the 1950’s.
If you’re nearby, book a tour.
4. A Victorian era candle-lit Christmas tree, late 1800s
Found on Reddit.
5. The First Microscope Charles Darwin Ever Used, Up for Auction
6. This pair of handmade, bespoke button boots c 1890s
These boots reflect the infusion of erotically charged references in women’s dress that emerged at the end of the 19th century. These boots were designed to look like a stockinged leg in a shoe. Swedish or German.
Found at The Bata Shoe Museum.
7. A Digital Swedish Mitten Museum
Explore it here.
8. The Art of Egg Nog
There’s just something about it. A collection and project by Madeleine Eiche, found on It’s Nice That.
9. A 1971 Oscar-Winning Animation of Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol
10. This Inspiring Children’s Room
Children’s bedroom by designer Minnie Kemp. Handpainted “Ashdown” floral curtains by Nina Campbell, jungle themed wallpaper by Andrew Martin and bespoke hand stitched cushions by Clio Peppiatt.
11. Be My Eyes, the App That Lets You Lend Your Eyes to a Blind Person
Be My Eyes, is an app that instantly connects a blind person with a sighted volunteer who can tell them what’s in front of them via screen sharing.
12. Jenny, the horse who takes a daily stroll alone through Frankfurt for almost 14 years
She walks alone since her owner has gotten older and is unable to ride anymore. The locals know Jenny well and look after her, giving her treats, and making sure that she gets home safe.
Found on Reddit.
