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Letters From Father Christmas: Great for Holiday and Christmas Reading or Gifting
Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2012
34 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
798 books78.1k followersJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 28, 2026
Oh how I loved listening to Sir Derek Jacobi narrate as Father Christmas. The Tolkien children were so lucky to have a father who made their holidays so special !!
I borrowed the book after listening to see all of the letters and drawings. They are wonderful 🥰
January has not been a great month. We have experienced too much loss in my family and while there were some good things that happened, too, it is stressful all over.
I truly needed this book in January.
It’s a reminder of what’s good in the world, that you can always make a difference and how important it is to leave a legacy of memories, whether they are tangible or not.
Most of all, it renewed some of the hope I’ve lost since the new year began.
I borrowed the book after listening to see all of the letters and drawings. They are wonderful 🥰
January has not been a great month. We have experienced too much loss in my family and while there were some good things that happened, too, it is stressful all over.
I truly needed this book in January.
It’s a reminder of what’s good in the world, that you can always make a difference and how important it is to leave a legacy of memories, whether they are tangible or not.
Most of all, it renewed some of the hope I’ve lost since the new year began.
December 31, 2025
Everything you’d expect from Tolkien and more - so magical, beautifully written and imaginative.
“My dear Priscilla
A very happy Christmas! I suppose you will be
hanging up your stocking just once more: I hope so for I have still a few little things for you. After this I shall have to say "goodbye", more or less: I mean, I shall not forget you. We always keep the old numbers of our old friends, and their letters; and later on we hope to come back when they are grown up and have houses of their own and children.”
“My dear Priscilla
A very happy Christmas! I suppose you will be
hanging up your stocking just once more: I hope so for I have still a few little things for you. After this I shall have to say "goodbye", more or less: I mean, I shall not forget you. We always keep the old numbers of our old friends, and their letters; and later on we hope to come back when they are grown up and have houses of their own and children.”
December 25, 2025
I would call this one ..charming. It's a sweet tradition...the letters from Father Christmas, the North Polar Bear, and friends each year. But it's also kinda sad...getting to the end and even throughout as you see different kids receiving the letters as the older ones outgrow the tradition. Loved the illustrations. This isn't something I see myself ever reading again but I'm glad a I read it. If I were to recommend it to someone else I would suggest maybe reading a letter a day leading up to Christmas or even just one letter a time and maybe skipping days between. Reading several back to back was a bit of a slog at times for me...but generally the individual letters and pictures were charming.
January 5, 2026
so cute and an amazing holiday read...i love the different fonts of father christmas, the north polar bear, the elf :)
January 14, 2026
This is just so wholesome. I wish it had been available near Xmas for me, but there was a long line for this little guy! It came precisely when it meant to, I guess.
This is a compiled collection of Santa letters Tolkien wrote for his children over a span of many years. How freakin' adorable?
I honestly would love to purchase a physical version of this. Yes, the ebook was fine, but I do not think it did the drawings justice. They looked so cute and fun. Those kids were extremely blessed to have a dad do this for them.
The stories were fun and creative. What else would you expect from the legend?
The ending had me holding back tears. It was a lovely way to end the letters. I'm sure he was so upset that his kiddos were too old for the letters. You could sense it.
I would read this again, but I really want the physical version.
5 stars.
This is a compiled collection of Santa letters Tolkien wrote for his children over a span of many years. How freakin' adorable?
I honestly would love to purchase a physical version of this. Yes, the ebook was fine, but I do not think it did the drawings justice. They looked so cute and fun. Those kids were extremely blessed to have a dad do this for them.
The stories were fun and creative. What else would you expect from the legend?
The ending had me holding back tears. It was a lovely way to end the letters. I'm sure he was so upset that his kiddos were too old for the letters. You could sense it.
I would read this again, but I really want the physical version.
5 stars.
February 14, 2026
A cute and fun listen. It's definitely festive for the holidays. It was nice to get an inside view of Tolkien's creativity for his children. We get to grow along with them over the years and see how he put a magical twist during the war years. Another book of its time, only 1 female is mentioned by name, his daughter. Everyone else is male, the adventures are for the boys, the battles faught were all by men.
January 3, 2026
This is a new favorite book. It is a perfect addition to my Christmas book collection. I have nothing to wish was different about this book. I DO wish I had written to our daughter like this. Tolkien is wonderfully consistent in making sure his children had this celebration of letters over the years. Please take that as inspiration if you can.
December 23, 2025
Listened to the audiobook but there wasn't a pdf attached so haven't seen the drawings which played a part in the letters. The voices were excellent and helped to create a magical Christmas feeling but let down without reference to the drawings.
January 5, 2026
A lovely read. If you're not familiar, it is letters from Father Christmas (and friends) to the Tolkien kids. I admit, it made me feel a teensy bad I do nothing of the kind for my children, but it was sweet nonetheless.
December 22, 2025
Definitely a gift book. Beautiful illustrations of the original letters and envelopes. A poignant family Christmas history.
December 30, 2025
What a sweet collection of letters from “Father Christmas” to the Tolkien children.
January 13, 2026
A cute read that helps reconnect with childhood magic.
Written by J. R. R. Tolkien for his own children, Letters from Father Christmas feels intimate and warm. At the same time, the book is interesting as a window into how European children were thought about in the 1930s, both in tone and in the way imagination and everyday life quietly coexist.
It’s a simple but meaningful read.
Written by J. R. R. Tolkien for his own children, Letters from Father Christmas feels intimate and warm. At the same time, the book is interesting as a window into how European children were thought about in the 1930s, both in tone and in the way imagination and everyday life quietly coexist.
It’s a simple but meaningful read.
January 11, 2026
Audible version....delightful!
February 12, 2026
Delightful. Makes me reminiscent of having young children, or my own childhood. Shows shadows of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews