Father Christmas is a fascinating children's picture book by Briggs and published in 1973. In the book, Briggs presents Father Christmas as a dramatic, unique contemporary character with a physique resembling a jolly man with a large white beard and red suit. Initially, Father Christmas is depicted as a happy man living luxuriously with his wife and children in a lavish home. However, Father Christmas is the most disgruntled person who lives alone in an ordinary residence, and his primary role during the festive season is to make deliveries to different homes.
Father Christmas lives with his two reindeer, a dog, and a cat, which give him company, and he appreciates them by giving them gifts. The reader does not see Mrs. Claus, implying that Father Christmas lives as a single man who minds his business and is contented with what he does. Father Christmas has a tight schedule because he has to make deliveries to different homes in different parts of the world, and the task must be completed on the evening of Christmas. While visiting different homes, Father Christmas is rewarded with food and different types of gifts set aside for him.
After finishing his deliveries in the evening, Father Christmas retires to his home, and he gets the time to check the various gifts he was given during the day. However, he is not pleased with the presents except the brandy bottle given to him by his friends. Father Christmas takes his supper, invites his animals to join him, and gifts them for being his best companions.
