Farewell, Rudolph: a new car for Father Christmas

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Is nothing sacred these days? In a world which, at least according to our politicians and media, is permanently gripped by some or other crisis, one would have thought that, if anyone's job was safe, it would be that of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and his friends, who give Christmas its magic and do so much to unify the world in a spirit of collective goodwill. For just a few days of the year, where would we be without them?

Unfortunately, not everyone views them in quite the same light. Father Christmas recently had a meeting with his accountant, who told him that he could manage perfectly well without his furry colleagues. "In fact," his accountant said, "You'd be much better off buying a car. You'll find that after the initial purchase, the cost of petrol for just one night of the year proves far more economical than keeping reindeer in straw and carrots all year round."

So it was that poor Rudolph ended up being packed off to a retirement home, and Santa went off to Mrs. Claus to discuss what car they ought to buy (a red one, she advised). We now come to this photograph, which shows Merril Hermanson, owner and founder of Mr. Christmas, a company established in 1933 to supply accessories for the Yuletide season, posing by the side of a handsome and well-kept sedan.

Hermanson started by designing window displays for local businesses at Christmas and selling tinsel from the back of his truck, hence the signwriting on the car: 'West Virginia Advertising Co. / Traditional Window Displays'. That signwriting is about to come off, though, because Hermanson has just agreed a part-exchange of the car to Lapland Ltd. for $300 plus the number-one spot at the top of the 'Nice' list.

As for what the car is, we'll leave that for you to tell us, but we hear through the grapevine that Santa's enjoying it very much and is thinking of heading to Hershey next year to hunt for spares and maybe even buy a sporty two-seater for weekends.

As for us, we hope you continue to enjoy your cars just as much over Christmas and into the new year, and that Father Christmas does his best to give you everything you've asked for. He might not be able to source some of the harder-to-find vintage spares, but that's what we're here for...

Photograph: Mr. Christmas
 

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