A whimsical Santa with a long white beard sits on the back of a leaping cream-white reindeer, both in flat side profile and facing left. His extremely long red hat streams behind him and ends in a small cream pom-pom, and a burlap sack with an evergreen sprig and red ribbon rides on his back. The reindeer's wide golden antlers fan out at upper left, with thin black reins and a small dark saddle blanket marked with a gold star.

Above a creamy band of snow and rows of dark stylized firs, a moss-green sky holds a large eight-pointed gold star, a golden crescent moon and smaller scattered stars. The light is soft and even, with no cast shadows, giving a calm nocturnal feel.

Painted in a primitive folk-art manner with a palette knife, the picture has thick impasto in the coat, snow and red suit, visible canvas weave in the green ground and a matte, slightly aged finish.