A well-written, imaginitive, and charming collection of letters for children, with a strong sense of continuity and a little bit of somber feels for later years when the world was in the grip of a great war. Still Tolkien's weakest work, probably - but he never meant it as anything more than shallow entertainment for his own kids in the first place, and I think it's quite telling that even then it ends up as highly enjoyable and well worth a read for everyone of all ages.

I can only imagine what it might have been if he'd actually had the time and dedication to want to flesh it out into something great and wonderful for everybody to read and like. But then we might not have gotten The Silmarillion. Alas.

Another wonderful annual re-read!!

A masterful piece of writing by J.R.R. Tolkien, which is a collection of the letters he penned as ‘Father Christmas’ over the years of his children’s upbringing. The letters are in response to those sent by the Tolkien children over the years, in which Father Christmas explores some of the drama he had up at the North Pole. With a handful of splendid characters who add even more excitement in a way only Tolkien can do, this is the perfect collection to read each and every year. I highly recommend the audio version, as it increases the excitement even more!

Kudos, Mr. Tolkien, for another great piece. I may not be a fantasy nut, but this book was right up my alley!

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This is a wonderful collection of letters and beautiful drawings!
Because this is a non-fiction book (in some way or another), I don't feel like I'm in the position to judge every aspect of the letters, but I definitely enjoyed reading every single one of them.
The little stories that are told are simply lovely and also a lot of fun. I laughed quite a bit throughout the book.

Cliff House, Top of the World, Near the North Pole [insert date]:

I think the author needs no introduction. But this little gem of a book proves that the man didn't "just" invent Middle-Earth, the place of epic fantasy. No, he was a man with a great imagination in general.

Apparently, like so many children around the world, his kids would write to Father Christmas. Only in their case, he wrote back! Throughout his childrens' childhoods, there would be a letter every December. The letters, the envelopes, even the stamps were handmade by Tolkien (see pictures below), complete with scraggly handwriting (so as not to be recognized). The letters were written by Father Christmas himself or the North Polar Bear living with him or some of the elves, detailing life at the North Pole, the accidents and preparations for the highest of holidays.
The first letter is from 1920, the last one from 1943 (that ones written during the war were especially touching). All of them are charming and full of warmth and kindness.





A wonderful collection that spreads the Christmas cheer and is a real eye-catcher if you have the print edition. The perfect read for anyone enjoying the holidays and delighting in tales of mischief and the right kind of spirit for this time of year.

P.S.: *Here* is my review of the slipcased deluxe edition.

This is a really precious book. The love he had for his four children was very evident. Some of this correspondence must have been so time-consuming. And his artwork! I spent so much time admiring his deceptively simply drawings.

He "sent" these letters and illustrations starting when his oldest was young, and wrote one every year after. What an imagination he had! He would change up his handwriting, alternate ink colors, and have comments in the margins written by his helpers, all with their own distinctive writing. He also described comical stories and anecdotes from the North Pole, decorated the margins and script, composed a clever funny poem for his daughter, and included gorgeous drawings detailing the stories he had told within the letter. The sweet detail in these letters, even down to the "postage stamps", was so thoughtful and beautiful to see. He even came up with an original alphabet made of runes.

Two things leant a melancholic feel. First was the absence of adressees as time went by. Eventually the boys grew up and didn't believe in Father Christmas any more, so the letters were just addressed to his youngest, Priscilla. The second was WWII was happening.

These letters must have been precious to his children as they kept them safe. Can you imagine being a little child and believing in Santa Clause, and then having these wonderful, magical letters sent to you? I would have been beside myself!

This little book is a clear testament of a father's love for his children. Very highly recommended.

This is a beautiful book which contains all the letters JRRRRRRRRR Tolkien wrote to his children in the guise of Father Christmas from the first to his eldest son in 1920 right through to the last one he wrote to his only daughter in 1943. Each letter purports to be an account of various scrapes and adventures that happen to the man in red and his various helpers and hinderers and the lovely thing is that so totally enamoured with this correspondence were his children during their younger years that they clearly entered into it with a passion with regular missives from them to him not just in December but seemingly from the arrival of Autumn. This volume only contains his letters of course but you get a flavour of what the children must have asked or mentioned from his responses.

This book has each letter printed in normal type but also alongside there are facsimile of Tolkien's original letters. The shaky, ancient handwriting of Claus himself, the odd hieroglyphic like printing of his great help/hindrance the Polar Bear and the beautiful scribing of his elf secretary Elbereth. There are also lovely pictures and alphabets that Tolkein also included in these letters. Tolkien quite clearly did not restrict his creativity to Middle Earth but was quite able to populate the North pole as well.

As a boy my imgination used to drink in fairy story and fantasy and I found it quite easy to imagine how i would have felt opening and devouring these lovely pages at that time. My brothers, sister and I would always leave a glass of sherry for Fr Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer. My father, good methodist that he is, nobly quaffed it down no doubt and the carrot always had a couple of nibbles from it come Christmas Day. My parents always explained its not having been wholly eaten by the simple story that if the reindeer ate everything that was left out for them they would be too heavy to fly.

It is interesting that my parents kept the fantastic magic alive for me until i was nigh on ten years old simply by their entering into the fantasy on this simple level. Tolkien's was certainly far more detailed and far flung and these letters are lovely but I could not help but wonder, as I read them, whether the detailed descriptions of the North pole, the charming drawings and the painstakingly created alphabets of languages would, in the end, evaporate the magic rather than enhance it. My parents sooty fingerprint on the glass and half scoffed carrot left my imagination free to wander where it will and was not led down a particular path. It was a gradual dawning of the reality of the situation that did me no harm but just was a gradual pulling back of the curtain to show me that though he might not exist exactly how I imagined yet he personnified something which I have sought to live out ever after.

2017 review: ADORABLE! <333 I think reading this may become an annual Christmas tradition.

2018 update: Just listened to it on audio for the second year in a row and still love it. <3 Definitely a keeper for the list of annual traditions. :D

Sono in pieno periodo tolkien-iano e chi se ne libera più!? :-D
Dopo l'affascinante viaggio in "Lo Hobbit", mi ritrovo al Polo Nord con Babbo Natale e i suoi amici. Tolkien dal 1920 al 1943, per 23 anni confeziona decine e decine di letterine da Babbo Natale per i suoi figli, ovviamente i figli sapevano che queste bellissime letterine venissero da Babbo Natale, chissà che emozione nei loro occhi e soprattutto nei loro cuori. Perchè siamo all'inizio del 1900 e non ora all'inizio del 2000, dove internet, social network e televisione a profusione, incombono sulle povere menti in crescita dei bambini, sfatando i loro sogni, le loro fantasie...
Così mi trovo davanti dei veri e propri capolavori, sia in come Tolkien ha confezionato e strutturato le lettere, ma anche per il tocco delizioso dato dalle numerose illustrazioni, magnifiche!
Non sono letterine banali, ma così dense di folklore, attenzione alle situazioni quotidiane, sociali ed anche divertenti, piene di felicità e gioia.
Sublime!

I listened to the audiobook of this wonderful story and it was absolutely magical.
The audiobook comprises of a collection of letters from Father Christmas with cheery festive music before each letter.
The narration and the music was absolutely superb and my Grandchildren where entranced with this book.
You couldn't hear a pin drop while the story was being told and I now feel in the mood for putting the Christmas tree up and decorating the house in November.
Absolutely magical and captures the spirit of Christmas.
Recommended for everyone who is still a child at heart and children everywhere.

Father Christmas Letters - I had no idea this book existed, let alone written for Tolkien's children until this past spring. I had a hard time not reading it at that time. So last night after the Grandsons went to bed, I decided to dust the book off and sit and enjoy, and enjoy I did.
To think a parent went to the trouble to write letters from Santa through the years to explain why some years the stocking were not stuffed full, makes my heart warm and fuzzy.
Handwritten in shaky writing in red with drawings of the stamps from the North Pole and the antics of 'PB' and the drawings of those tells are amazingly detailed. The man from the moon fell out of the sky, Polar Bear his loveable but always causing unintended troubles for Father Christmas, and the Gobblins that try to ruin Christmas.
The stories are fun and lighthearted and detailed by the drawings. A very enjoyable read.

(2018) Even the second time around!

❄️ Recoge todas las cartas que Papá Noel...o papá Tolkien

Just wonderful ☺️