The Twelve Days of Christmas

A book of 12 illustrations depicting the popular carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. Each spread of the book has a beautiful image made from a collage of Nepalese Lokta Paper, each showing the gifts that the singer received from her ‘true love’ over the 12 days.

The first day of Christmas is traditionally Christmas day (the 25th December), and the twelve days ends on Epiphany (6th January).

The carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ first appeared in a 1780 children’s book called Mirth With-out Mischief and was probably designed as a “memory and forfeits” game, in which singers tested their recall of the lyrics and had to award their opponents a “forfeit” – a kiss or a favour of some kind – if they made a mistake.

Giving someone all the gifts in the carol today would be pretty expensive!

The PNC financial services group’s annual Christmas Price Index calculates the cost of all the gifts in the song based on current market rates; 2018’s total came to a hefty $39,094.93, or $170,609.46 if you count each mention of an item separately (which would amount to 364 gifts in all).

I first developed the style you see in these pages while studying a Masters in Graphic Design. For one of my projects, I made a series of flashcards highlighting various social issues in Nepal. I wanted the art to be thought-provoking and straightforward, but also to show Nepal’s creativity. After some experimentation, I concluded to use flat 2D images cut out of Nepali Lokta paper. The overall effect has been achieved with the use of Illustrator and Photoshop.

My style of art has been inspired by the illustrations of Joyce Hesselberth and Joanne Cole, the artwork of Audrey Niffenegger and the design of David Plunkert.

Nepalese handmade lokta paper is made from the fibrous inner bark of high elevation Lokta bushes which proliferate in open clusters or colonies on the southern slopes of Nepal’s Himalayan forests between 1,600 and 4,000 metres.

Lokta is a non-wood forest product (NWFP) harvested from protected areas (national parks, reserves and conservation areas) and is an important reservoir of biological resources maintained under in situ condition in the unique and diverse Himalayan ecosystems. When harvested, the lokta bush naturally regenerates to a fully grown 4-5 metre plant within 5-7 years, ensuring the paper is truly environmentally friendly.

 5/5

The word which comes to mind with this little book is “exquisite”. The illustrations avoid all the mock-Victorian sentimentality usually associated with this subject. Instead, they have a charm which is together unique. Would make a lovely gift.

 5/5

This time of year, as we come into the winter season, it's uplifting to order visually appealing things like beautiful books. The colour is beautiful in Phil Rawlings' 'Twelve Days of Christmas'. His illustrations bring together the modern and traditional: by turns, elegant, cheerful, whimsical, and deceptively simple. Added to this is the effect of the Nepalese lokta paper, which is reproduced on the printed page.

 5/5

I first learned about this book from a post on Facebook. I decided to give it a go and was not disappointed. As a crafter myself, I can appreciate the detailed work that has gone into creating each of the illustrations. Rather than being fussy and complicated, there is a clarity about them that makes them a pure delight. This book might just help me to remember how many of what "my true love sent" in the carol! Would make a great gift and/or a perfect visual aid for teaching the song to little ones. Highly recommend.

Phil Rawlings

Buy it now for your special loved one!Available at:

Buy it now for your special loved one!
Available at: