A nostalgic, half-length Santa Claus turns gently toward the viewer with a warm smile, rosy cheeks and a curly white beard. He wears a muted cranberry coat and a cream fur-trimmed hat, and cradles a small fir tree dotted with gold bells and red berries, wrapped at the base in burlap.

Behind him, hand-painted sage green stripes run edge to edge across warm parchment cream, each one slightly wobbly with soft watercolor edges. Light is even and gentle, the paper grain shows through, and the palette stays dusty and understated, like an heirloom Christmas card.