One Sketch 243) Thomas Nast inspired card (5)

Santa's mistiming his call
For a kid has climbed right up the wall
He sits on the stack
His sack on his back
And waits for the bugger to fall

What can I say - I just love Thomas Nast's work. He was the guv'nor.

One Sketch 242) Hipster Geting Pelted by Ugly Kids Christmas Card

See the hipster run.
Run hipster, run.
See the hipster mutter
Mutter Hipster, mutter!
See the hipster getting really pissed off.
Get really pissed off, Hipster, Get really pissed off!
See the hipster take a riding crop to those sodding kids.

Another Victorian engraving provided the base for this card.

One Sketch 241) (Weds 21st November) Christmas Card based on Thomas Nast Engraving

Santa has said with a groan
"Oh blimey, I'm not on my own"
I've come to a house
Where the cats crave a mouse
And the dog is expecting a bone."

Yep, the great Thomas Nast again. I set myself the target of making 25 cards before the end of November, and this is number 19. Getting there.

One Sketch 240) Reindeer Christmas Card

Prancer, Dancer
Dasher, Vixen
Comet, Cupid
Donner, Blitzen
Call them what you like
They're knackered by Boxing Day.

You gotta have a reindeer card amongst them.

One Sketch 239) (Monday 19th November) - Old fashioned Victorian Father Christmas

While Rudolph is having a snooze
Pa Christmas will quite often choose
To throw off the shackles
And prepare to tackle
A steaming great bowlful of booze

This is based on another Victorian Christmas engraving, but a very English one, probably from the Illustrated London News or some such. Go back a hundred and fifty years and more, and we Brits didn't really have a concept of Santa Claus. While American cartoonists like the great Thomas Nast were creating what became the classic conception of Santa, his English contemporaries invariably gave us Father Christmas. Not always without the presents for the kiddies but almost always with the steaming wassail bowl full of very alcoholic punch to spread cheer and alcoholism to the adults. You can usually recognise the traditional English Father Christmas through the bowl and also a wreath or crown of holly on the top of his head.

One Sketch 238) Another Thomas Nast based Christmas Card

A letter to Santa

You think he's not real

And yet

You still hope

Sorry - it's another Christmas card. My aim is to finish making all of my Christmas cards by the end of November, and I've still got quite a few to do. This is another based on a Thomas Nast engraving. Thomas Nast often depicted his own children in his Christmas sketches - this is probably one of his daughters, and it may even be his dog as well.

One Sketch 237) Norman Rockwell Christmas Card

It's hard to tell you the truth
When you're getting quite long in the tooth,
You try to be kind
But it's quite hard to find
Just where in the world's the right roof.

Yes, this is Christmas card production season, and this is another based on a Norman Rockwell original. Kitsch? Probably, but then that's the whole point. I don't care, anyway, I love the work of Norman Rockwell.