Santa Claus Vase

Christmas decorating tends to arrive in boxes of the same tired baubles, which is the gap a figurative vase fills. The body here is Father Christmas himself, the rounded belly forming the widest part of the vessel, a broad belt cinching the middle, the flowing beard and fur-trimmed coat carried down the front, and a hat brim finishing the neck. Because it is a vase and not a figurine, it has a job to do through December. Dried stems and eucalyptus on a hall table, holly and pine cuttings by the door, or crackers and cutlery on the table on the day itself. The spiralled form gives a continuous ribbed wall, which suits a fur-and-fabric subject far better than flat panels would, and keeps the silhouette readable from across a room.