Haddon Sundblom, Coca-Cola and Santa Claus

December 12, 2016December 12, 2016 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

If you were to pause for a moment, close your eyes, and then conjure up the vision of Santa Claus in your mind — what would he look like?

Chances are he would be rather large, plump and portly in shape, dressed in a red outfit with white fur trim and a wide black belt, wearing boots, have a long white beard and of jolly disposition. Am I close?

If so, thank the artist and illustrator Haddon Sundblom (‘Sund-bloom’). Haddon Sundblom is regarded as the Father of Modern Christmas by many, and was instrumental in defining the mental image of Santa Claus for my generation and for generations to come.

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Haddon “Sunny” Sundblom (1899 – 1976) was a Michigan-born American illustrator and artist of Finnish and Swedish descent, best known for the images of Santa Claus which he created for The Coca-Cola Company. Previously, Santa Claus had been portrayed in sundry ways, from a spooky-looking little elf to a tall thin man, and wearing anything from Bishop’s robes to animal skins. Coca-Cola sought a more realistic and symbolic image for Santa Claus.

Artist and Illustrator Haddon Sundblom (1899 - 1976)

Beginning to place advertisements in popular magazines, in 1931 Coca-Cola commissioned Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.

For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas”, or as more commonly known — “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Moore’s descriptions led Sundblom to create an image of a more warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa Claus, using neighbor friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman, as his model. Children in the paintings were two little girls who were neighbors as well, although he decided to paint one as a boy to appeal to both girls and boys.

The first Coca-Cola advertisement with the new Sundblom Santa appeared in “The Saturday Evening Post” in 1931, along with “Ladies Home Journal”, “The New Yorker”, “National Geographic”, and others.

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From 1931 to 1964, Sundblom’s creations for Coca-Cola had Santa Claus pictured as doing everything from delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read letters, visiting with children who had waited up to meet him on Christmas Eve, raiding the refrigerators of several homes, warming his feet by the fire, and other activities — always with a bottle of Coke in hand or nearby. The Sundblom Santa became so popular that the images spread from print ads on to billboards, posters, calendars, plush dolls and more.

Coca-Cola Santa Claus by Haddon Sundblom

Haddon Sundblom created his final Santa image for Coca-Cola in 1964, incorporating the neighborhood florist’s grey poodle, painted black to stand out more in the image. The company continued to use the popular Santa image for several more decades. Various items bearing the Sundblom Santa image are popular collectibles to this day.

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In 2001, Haddon Sundblom’s Santa Claus was creatively brought to life in a Coca-Cola ad video tribute, animated by the Academy Award-winning animator Alexandre Petrov.

So the next time you envision Santa Claus and maybe even have a simultaneous unexplained craving for a Coca-Cola, please give a wink and nod to the artist Haddon Sundblom. He was instrumental in defining the image of Santa Claus for us all.

Wishing the very best of the holiday season to everyone!

If you have not yet checked out our Christmas Holiday Story featuring Little Red Bear, Cinnamon Charlie and their friends, “Pine Holler Christmas” is available now on Amazon!

Wonder how Haddon Sundblom might have drawn Little Red Bear? Thanks as always for visiting. — Jim (and Red!)

Family Times — Together Times — The Best Times

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Check out the new Little Red Bear Adventure– “Pine Holler Christmas” on Amazon! Tap Here For A Free Preview!

A Christmas Poem — “Fireside Questions for Santa”

December 23, 2015December 22, 2015 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

“Fireside Questions for Santa”

With Christmas Day drawing nigh,

I have some questions and wonder– “Why?”

Like, what is it about Santa that makes little kids cry?

And how in the world does he get reindeer to fly?

How high do leaves go when they “mount to the sky”?

How many toys do elves make versus having to buy?

So going to stay up late, or at least I’ll try,

And will hide behind the sofa, on Santa to spy.

I want to face him– eye to eye,

To directly ask the jolly elf guy—

“With no disrespect or meaning to pry–

How is it a fat old man can be so spry?

And get down the chimney without bruising a thigh?”

So busily hanging stockings by the chimney to dry,

While waiting here for Santa with questions to ply,

But for now I’m hungry and will bid “goodbye”,

Here anxiously awaiting the Old Boy to drop by.

Goodness, gracious, me oh my.

I wish that I had some Pumpkin Pie!

Wishing a Merry Blessed Christmas to all– “and to all a Good Night!”

Santa Claus Drying Socks By The Fireside

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from yours truly, Little Red Bear and the whole backwoods gang of friends and characters! — Jim (and Red!)

A Look Back — Christmas Thru The Window Glass

December 20, 2015December 19, 2015 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

The last few days before Christmas! Santa’s sleigh is in the shed for its scheduled maintenance check and going over. The reindeer are out on the training ground for their final pre-flight practice and run thru. Elves are working overtime finishing, polishing, prepping and wrapping. Mrs. Claus is busy in the kitchen keeping everyone fed and on their toes as the clock ticks down to Christmas Eve. Gallons of hot chocolate!

Vintage Santa Claus in his Workshop Making Toys

How are things going for you? In a rush to get ready? Shopping yet to be done? Gifts to wrap? Cookies and treats to be made? Final decorations and stockings to be hung? Things can get hectic this time of year.

I’m sure other folks my age remember the old-fashioned holiday window displays in the department store windows. New dolls and toys on display. Bicycles, BB Guns and Baseball Gloves. Red wagons. Teddy Bears. Model trains running thru tunnels, across bridges and round and round. Airplanes flying thru the air. Cold little noses pressed to the window glass to get the closest look. Wished-for presents and dreams just out of reach! Call me old-fashioned, but I miss these.

Famous-Barr’s five-level train layout in 1952 St. Louis. — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Newspaper

Christmas Window Dreaming– photo by A. Aubrey Bodine – 1948

Vintage Christmas Store Window Display

As a kid, the display windows seemed to make Christmas even more special. It was a highly anticipated trip all in itself to visit the department stores downtown at Christmas to see the display windows and visit with Santa Claus. Lunch out at the cafeteria nearby when home cooking was the norm and dining out reserved only for very special occasions. And the yearly trip to see the store windows and Santa Claus qualified as a very special occasion indeed!

A Visit with Santa Claus

I know you’re busy so won’t keep you. Just taking this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the Joys, Happiness and Peace of the Holiday Season! Maybe you better go check the kids now. Looks like they are getting their own preparations in order! — Jim (and Red!)

Vintage Photo- Little Child with Christmas Tree

Little Girl with Bare Bottom Pinning Her Stocking

On Chimney Watch

Vintage Christmas Tree Loaded with Tinsel

A Visit with Santa Claus

Joyeux Noël ! ¡Feliz Navidad! Buon Natale! Frohe Weihnachten! Merry Christmas!

Setting New Year’s Resolutions– Be Specific, Bob!

December 29, 2014 / jrmilson / 1 Comment

Thinking about New Year’s Resolutions this week? Taking steps to Better Health, perhaps? Exercise? Healthy Eating? Better Job? Travel? Volunteering? Charity Work? More Family Time? Reading More? Planting a vegetable garden to grow your own produce? Learning a new musical instrument or foreign language? Finding time to paint or a hobby? Finally write that novel in the back of your mind?

Whatever your resolutions may be, when developing your list of annual New Year’s Resolutions this week, please be sure to put a completion date on them to help stay focused and on a timeline. As they say– things with deadlines get done.

Also, please remember to be specific. It makes all the difference. Being specific forces you to clearly identify what it is you want to accomplish with the goals, helps to visualize in helping to bring them about, and makes them more quantifiable and easily measured to monitor your progress towards achieving them. It’s very important. Be specific.

For example, I am in growing need of an assistant in the workroom, so asked Santa to please bring me a Pug for Christmas this year. To help with smaller tasks, help keep me motivated and moving. I was not specific in my request- male, female, young, old, black, fawn- didn’t matter. Any friendly little helper in need of a new home would be fine.

Pug Dressed For Christmas with a Red Bow Tie

Or, if Pugs were in short supply, fully appreciative of the fact that children should come first on the Christmas Gift List, I asked Santa to please bring me a St. Bernard in need of a good home, instead. To help with the bigger tasks around the workroom.

St. Bernard in a Field

Again- I was not specific- male, female, puppy, young, older, short hair, long hair, color- did not matter. Just a helper. A big one. Now here’s the point. Again, I was not specific in my request. Here is what Santa brought.

Toy St. Bernard, “Ho, Ho, Ho!” to you too, Santa.

So, yes. Now I have a St. Bernard. A very cute, fuzzy, little St. Bernard– Toy. Quiet, great disposition and temperament, but not very helpful beyond being cuddly.

Now, I admit to having tweaked Santa Claus a bit this year in a few blog posts, all in good-natured humor and fun. Maybe this was the Old Boy’s way of getting me back. Lighter to carry than the traditional lump of coal, perhaps. On the other hand, maybe it is because I was not specific and clear in making out my Wish List.

I asked for — “a St. Bernard.” I got — “a St. Bernard.”

Santa brought what I had requested and checked me off the list. Job done. But not at all what I had in mind when making the request. So being specific is important. More so with Santa Claus than I had imagined, apparently.

Good luck setting your goals and resolutions for the New Year. And wishing you the very best of luck and success in achieving them all. Please remember to put a date on them and to be specific. It really does make all the difference in achieving your goals.

Thanks as always for reading!– Jim (and Red!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDSNs9wBpU

Big News! “Howie the Hound Dog” Planning a Return?

December 27, 2014 / jrmilson / 1 Comment

Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas, Holidays and Festive Time!

A lot to do here. Working hard with Red to finish the first collection of short stories in his upcoming “Adventures of Little Red Bear” series. Preparing a new Blog Post for Monday morning—about being specific. (Gee, thanks Santa!) And Charles Dickens is back again after the holiday, working with me on that poem started awhile ago. Much to do.

And this morning, to top it off now– there’s more! I awoke an hour early this morning with my writing muse going a hundred miles an hour in my head, got up and going, and made breakfast figuring to get an early start on it all. I opened the front door to get some fresh air and found a “Special Edition” of the local “Owl Hoots & Toots” backwoods newspaper at my doorstep.

Big news! Word is that Howie the Hound Dog over at the old Cooper place on Flint Crick is fixin’ to get a new band together! Howie’s last group broke up when . . . . . . . . .

Well, before we rush into a rumor with our overalls half pulled, let me check it all out first and get the whole story together before I bother you with the background details. But if it’s true (the “Owl Hoots & Toots” is very reliable) then toe-tapping times may be coming back to the holler!

I will do some digging around, see what I can find out and let you know more about it all next week. Rusty the Fairydiddle is busy fact-checking the Owl’s article too, and trying to get a confirmation from Banjo the Bluegrass Bunny. In the meantime, you might want to retrieve your dancing shoes from the back of the closet!

Remember, you can always sign up to follow the blog for Free and have notifications of all new posts delivered directly to your email inbox. There is an easy link in the right column. We surely don’t want you to miss out on Howie the Hound Dog’s return and getting a new band together! That ol’ boy could bark and spark all night!

So I will get busy and be back next week with more. Best wishes for a wonderful, safe and healthy holiday season! – Jim (and Red!)