Mood: Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack
Letters From Santa
Some 25 years ago my brother Doug had the wonderful idea to take a page out of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘book’ and write a letter from Santa to our nieces and nephew. We would try to write it together, but it was usually he who did the writing and also calligraphy in red ink in what became Santa’s standard style. ‘Santa’ would comment on the events of the year and couple imparted wisdom with events in some of the characters at the North Pole; Twizzlefit and Fizzletwit, the elf twins. The Rolly Polar Bear. Nützen, Blitzen and Vixen’s little girl. To name a very few.
At any rate, as I wrote, Doug would write it, generally, and then the letter would be handed over to me to illustrate, as if Santa himself were doing so, as well. Doug moved out of Alaska during this time and thus began a nostalgic pattern of my getting the letter FedEx’d overnight and drawing the illustrations during long, overnight layovers as I flew down to visit family for Christmas, ~or~ still drawing late into the night to finish the letter by the FedEx deadline to get it to the children before Christmas Eve. Doug was a relatively successful stage actor, meaning he was generally employed and around Christmastime there were always shows to take up much of his time and I was working in a dental lab wherein it gets really busy around Thanksgiving through Christmas as people decide to maximize their benefits and decide to have esthetic dental work done to look great for the holidays. Consequently, there always seemed to be a manic rush towards finishing the letter.
This became part of the joy and Tradition of Christmas, believe it or not!
Eventually, of course, all of the kids grew up and out of their belief in Santa, and that year he wrote his good-bye and farewell letter, a bittersweet thing. That next year it was not easy to let it go…
The Next Generation
Fifteen years later, Doug is married and has a young daughter. At about three years of age, Dougs calls me and asks if I’d be willing illustrate Santa letters one more. Of course, I said YES!!
Life always has it’s rough spots, and four and a half years ago, Doug passes from a virulent cancer. His wife and I discuss where to go with the Christmas letter, later in the year. Neither she nor I are very good with calligraphy, but I am certainly willing to write up a draft for her to correct, add to or change. However, my brother Burt, the oldest brother, the father of the nieces and nephew the original letters were crafted for, has always been a calligrapher, and happily steps in to take over those duties. Very quickly, the old pattern of last minute drawing continues, as we all are busy, and I remain content.
Buy, boy, that first letter from Santa after Doug’s passing…so deeply bittersweet in so many ways, as one can imagine, but what to write? With a lot of back and forth, I think we managed to make it a positive letter and a tribute to Doug and to honor him as well.
Last year was the year for Santa to write his goodbye and farewell letter. I had hoped to use Doug’s words in the goodbye and farewell letter he had written for our nieces and nephew and use them for his daughter. It seemed too perfect an idea. Unfortunately, with all of the moving and such in the intervening years, that letter could not be found. It was still my honor to write that letter for her, though, to continue that tradition that Doug started, and ‘be’ Santa for her. This time, with things being even more hectic last year, brother Burt couldn’t handle the calligraphy, and so Doug’s wife did so.
The Letters
As I stated, the original idea came from J.R.R. Tolkien, writing letters to his children in the 1920’s and 30’s. This is what his generally looked like:
I think we did pretty well ourselves, but I never used watercolors for my drawings, just Crayola colored pencils and charcoal, at times.
That is Doug’s style of Santa’s writing, before I did my illustration.
That is an example after I finished illustrating.
Next, when Burt took over after Doug’s passing…
One day, God willing, I will be doing ths again for my niece’s children. Though I suspect her mother would rather that time does not come too quickly…
Be well and I bid you Peace.
