Christmas Links #3

It's A Wonderful Life: Rare Photos from the set of this Holiday Classic:
"Far more than a mere plot device heralding George Bailey’s dark night of the soul (and his joyful return to the land of the living), softly falling snow is something of a central character in Frank Capra’s 1946 holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. But the cheap “fake snow” so often used on movie sets back in the day — often just cornflakes painted white — simply would not do; Capra wanted real snow, or something as close to the real thing as he and his prop department could get."

The first Christmas card:
"Collector Jackie Brown shows historian Ruth Goodman the first ever Christmas card, which was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, in this 2009 clip from Victorian Farm Christmas."

Tony Blair and the art of a good Christmas card photo:
"It's set up to look like a domestic scene of an elder statesman and his devoted wife. But there's no getting around it - the former prime minister looks perturbed, even angry, according to dozens of tweeters. His teeth are bared and his eyes appear to be downright fierce, they suggest. "Perhaps the oddest thing about Tony Blair's threatening Christmas card is that this must have been the BEST photo..." tweets one observer. "The strange thing about Tony Blair's Christmas card is how the teeth seem to follow you round the room." "Be afraid. Be very afraid," write others."

23 Disturbing Santa Claus Photos That Will Wreck Your Christmas:
"You’d better watch out, ‘cause these Santas will make you cry."

Arena Christmas Bauble Auction 2014:
"Loosely based on the Fabergé Egg and born as a fund raising event, these collections celebrate the artistic talent housed in Arena studios on an annual basis. This year sees 10 boxes available for purchase. Each hand made box contains 6 solid wood baubles by 6 different artists along with a booklet containing the artists signatures."