Well I must say that I'm thoroughly enjoying these discussions. Esty, what a great idea for a little holiday Tolkien treat. I'm amazed it never occurred to any of us before now. Well done, as usual!
I confess that I've only ever seen the Father Christmas stuff online. Maybe I'll pop over to a favorite used bookstore, the
Iliad Bookshop, to see if they have a copy that I can use to follow along.
As a father myself, I can only bow down to Tolkien's effort. How did he find the time -- and privacy! -- to create these wonderful artworks. I guess things were different then, but he sets a high bar for creating Christmas magic.
I don't have too much to add, except to say that I too enjoy the idea of rising/eroding north poles, and I love the weird juxtaposition of a Lovecraft quote in relation to these letters and Christmas in general. Does anyone have any information on what sort of materials Tolkien used to make the letters?