Countdown to Christmas: Mrs. Grossman

Christmas is almost upon us! Which means the Christmas sticker countdown is drawing to a close. 

Objectively speaking, Sandylion probably made the cutest Christmas stickers (see below), but Mrs. Grossman is the clear winner for prolific Christmas sticker output over the years, and designs that are reliably adorable in a way that doesn't have to involve smiling teddy bears and the like.

So, so cute.

If there are any stickers that communicate stillness and wonder, these are those stickers:

In the late 1980s, Mrs. Grossman used their (her?) own sticker designs to come up with these super-cute package labels:

But I have to end with the holiday mice.

Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hannukah, the Solstice, or are enjoying a Festivus with the rest of us, happy winter holidays to all! 

Countdown to Christmas: Lisa Frank

I don't know. I mean, I don't mean to be a grouch. But in my opinion, there's something about Lisa Frank that doesn't work well with the holiday aesthetic. Tripped-out unicorns and teddy bears are fine at any other time of the year--but not at Christmas.

Stoned bear as Santa, maybe. But why the inverted rainbow and heart on the unicorn's ass? What about that says Yuletide cheer?

Countdown to Christmas: Sandylion (part 2 of 2)

Reason number two why Sandylion made the cutest Christmas stickers: their activity sticker sets. I know you remember "dress a bear." They made about a jillion other sticker sets like it, including an array of Christmas designs, each one as cute as the next. A sampling:

Yes, I *will* adorn a Christmas unicorn, thank you very much.

Even I could not leave this one in pristine condition. Look at the dog in the window!

 

A detail from "On Christmas Eve Would you Believe the Forest Gave a Party?"

Dying from the cuteness.

I am not even showing you all of them. There is also Dress Santa for Christmas, Design a Wreath, and Create an Ornament. (Or maybe it was Create a Wreath and Design an Ornament.)

Remember the frolicking sheep?

 

They go, more or less, with these guys.

Wait for it...

Yes, they did. Happy Cyber Monday!

Countdown to Christmas: Sandylion (part 1)

Santa Claus ushered in the Christmukkah season at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and it's a winter wonderland of holiday sticker selections from now until January 1. Which is exciting, because no matter what your religious beliefs, I would maintain that Christmas stickers are super-cute and beat out all the Hannukah and Kwanzaa stickers combined. I don't say this lightly; as a Unitarian, I respect and acknowledge all faith traditions, but as a sticker collector, I am securely biased towards Christmas. 

I pondered recently which sticker company made the cutest Christmas stickers, and I decided it was Sandylion. Their designs are adorable, as demonstrated through their little fuzzy Santa heads and opalescent bears.

 And the fat little Christmas tree, stockings, and holly.

Then there are these full-size Santas and fuzzy bears:

And OMG the reindeer heads and the snowmen...

You get the picture. Sandylion made some other, Very Special Christmas Stickers as well, which you may remember. To be continued...