U.S. #5334

2018 50¢ Sparkling Holidays:  Santa with Book, Reading

Value:  50¢ 1-ounce First-Class Rate (Forever)

Issue Date:  October 11, 2018

First Day City:  Pigeon Forge, TN

Type of Stamp:  Definitive

Printed by:  Ashton Potter...  more

U.S. #5334

2018 50¢ Sparkling Holidays:  Santa with Book, Reading

Value:  50¢ 1-ounce First-Class Rate (Forever)

Issue Date:  October 11, 2018

First Day City:  Pigeon Forge, TN

Type of Stamp:  Definitive

Printed by:  Ashton Potter

Printing Method:  Offset

Format:  Double-sided Booklet of 20

Self-Adhesive

Quantity Printed:  1,000,000,000

Through the years, Coca-Cola became famous for its holiday Santa advertisements.  Every year, the public looked forward to seeing what the Santa Haddon Sundblom created would be doing next.

One of the most common Christmas traditions is leaving a plate of cookies and glass of milk for Santa.  In one of Sundblom's first Coca-Cola ads, Santa gets s surprise.  Instead of cookies and milk, a young boy named Jimmy decides to leave Santa a bottle of Coca-Cola.  The ad was a hit and reused – with slight changes – many times over the years.

Coca-Cola's new ads were constantly revealing new things about this vision of Santa.  One ad showed Santa's mischievous side as he sneaked into one family's refrigerator for a chicken leg and bottle of Coca-Cola.  Another time, he sat under a Christmas tree and played with a toy electric train.  Despite these child-like personality traits, Santa was also often pictured with a wedding ring on his left hand, introducing the world to the idea of a Mrs. Claus.

America fell in love with Coca-Cola's new vision of Santa.  Every year, they received fan letters applauding the ad or asking about different details.  Today, many of the most popular ads have been featured on collectibles.  These items are highly sought after and ensure the spirit of the Coca-Cola Santa lives on for years to come.