THECHRISTMASSTORIES

Carl Barks wrote and drew a total of 27 Christmas stories - quite an impressive number for such an isolated event. It is even more impressive when you consider that Barks was never a great fan of this Christian holiday, probably because he was never much of a family man. But every year Barks was asked by Western Publishing to draw a Christmas story for their comic books and he usually obliged.

Here is a short presentation of all Barks' Christmas stories in chronological order, with a few comments attached. Barks also drew numerous one-pagers and front covers with Christmas motifs but they are not included.

	1945 FG1945 Donald Duck's Best Christmas Donald and the nephews rent a horse-drawn sleigh to visit Grandma Duck over Christmas. But the trip is not a simple one... Comments: Barks was commissioned by Western to do this Christmas story as a giveaway for the Firestone Tire Company. Grandma Duck appears for the first time.
	FineArt (1981) Silent Night Donald is walking around singing carols before Christmas but his voice is not very well liked. Especially not by neighbour Jones... Comments: Barks drew this 10-page Christmas story intended for WDCS064. In the closing scene Donald is tortured with an electric cattle prod. The editor found the story far too violent and it was not published until 1981.

1946
FG1946 Santa's Stormy Visit
Donald manages a lighthouse that is pestered by an albatross. Furthermore, he has forgotten to buy Christmas presents for his nephews...
Comments: Barks was commissioned by Western to do this Christmas story as a giveaway for the Firestone Tire Company.

1947
FG1947 Three Good Little Ducks
It is Christmas Eve and the nephews fear that Donald has forgotten their presents. They decide to be extremely good...
Comments: Barks was commissioned by Western to do this Christmas story as a giveaway for the Firestone Tire Company.

FC0178 Christmas on Bear Mountain
Donald and the nephews are borrowing Uncle Scrooge's mountain cabin for Christmas. Scrooge's intention is to figure out just how brave Donald really is.
Comments: For this Christmas farce Barks needed a rich family member. Uncle Scrooge was born, but in this, his first story he was not fully modelled as Barks did not intend to use him again. However, after his instant success both his personality, wealth and general appearance would be decided during the stories that followed.

	1948 FG1948 Donald in Toyland Donald and the nephews are invited by Santa himself to come and test his toys. They waste no time... Comments: Barks was commissioned by Western to do this Christmas story as a giveaway for the Firestone Tire Company. Barks rewrote a manuscript sent to him.
	FC0203 The Golden Christmas Tree The nephews wish for a golden Christmas tree and Donald sets out to find one. Meanwhile the kids are abducted by a tree-hating witch... Comments: Barks rewrote a manuscript sent to him. In the story Donald actually meets the witch from 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. She is coincidentally killed as she falls from a cliffside while entrapped in an oil can. Barks' original ending was that Donald pushed the witch to her death, but that solution was not acceptable to the editor.
	WDCS088 'The Frozenbear Lake' Donald bets that he can bathe in the lake at Christmas time and Gladstone bets that he can drink two gallons of lemonade in one hour. Will they ever learn?

	1949 FG1949 New Toys The nephews want lots of toys for Christmas but Donald refuses as they already have enough toys. Then they decide to earn some money themselves... Comments: Barks was commissioned by Western to do this Christmas story as a giveaway for the Firestone Tire Company.
	CP1 Letter to Santa Donald has forgotten to mail the nephews' letter to Santa, and now he must buy the present himself. Buy they have wished for a steam shovel...

1950
CP2 You Can't Guess
Donald's family tries to discover what he wants for Christmas, because that is the only way for the nephews to get what they want.
Comments: One of the rare stories in which the ducks are drawn along with real humans.

1952
FC0367 A Christmas for Shacktown
Scrooge's money falls down an almost bottomless pit and all seems lost. The nephews think of an idea that might recover the money. But not for free...
Comments: This story is usually considered Barks' best Christmas story. Maybe it is because of its use of children, or the fact that poor people experience a happy holiday in spite of bad odds, or that Scrooge finally is brought into the right mood...

1953
WDCS148 'Petrolio de Vaselino'
Donald is paying his Christmas bills and when that has been taken care of he discovers that he has no money left for a turkey. He then tries to lure Scrooge into paying for a meal...

1954
WDCS160 'The Camel Gift'
The nephews are searching for a Christmas present for Donald. Why not a camel?! But it needs a lot of attention...
Comments: For the only time during his comic book period Barks' wife Garé contributed a gag: The nephews have revealed that they bought the camel cheap for only 50 cents and continues: 'If we'd had two dollars, we could have bought an elephant!'

	1955 WDCS172 'Submarine Christmas' Scrooge forces Donald and the nephews on a trip in his submarine to find a sunken treasure. On Christmas Eve! That is almost unbearable for the kids...
	WDCS184 'The Bath Battle' The nephews swear that they will never again tarnish their bodies with soap. Donald does not agree. The clash of strong wills is about to begin...

	1958 WDCS208 'Roscoe the Reindeer' The nephews are having fun with their sled in the snowy hills but it is tiresome to drag the sled upwards. Luckily, Gladstone has a reindeer...
	LCB Donald Duck and the Christmas Carol Donald and the nephews are preparing for Christmas but Scrooge hasn't got any time for that nonsense. So they try to get him in the right mood... Comments: The book was a free adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel 'A Christmas Carol' from 1843. Barks furnished the illustrations including the title page. Originally, the book was supposed to carry the title 'Uncle Scrooge and the Christmas Carol', for which Barks worked on a cover. However, in the end the editors preferred to give Donald the starring role and ordered the cover from another artist.
	CP09 Christmas in Duckburg Two mistakes: Donald promises the nephews a Ferris wheel for Christmas. Scrooge promises the Duckburgians a huge Christmas tree. What to do? Comments: The script was not by Barks but he allowed himself a small injoke as Donald drives past a department store called Gare's at the first page.

	1959 WDCS220 'Weemite' On Christmas Day Donald accidentially invents Weemite, a powerful explosive. Maybe the army would be interested?
	DG The Christmas Cha-Cha Donald brushes up on his dancing in order to be able to take Daisy to a cha-cha contest. He is also trying to earn extra money by selling Christmas cards. Comments: The script was not by Barks but he allowed himself a small gimmick by drawing a caricature of himself on a wanted poster.

1964
WDCS280 Double Masquerade
Donald dresses up as Scrooge to avoid an appointment. Scrooge dresses up as Donald to avoid a Christmas donation. The game is afoot...

U$47 The Thrifty Spendthrift
Donald has bought a special slide projector which forces people to give presents. He immediately looks up Scrooge...
Comments: The only Christmas story in the U$-series. It is build upon a medieval English catechism song named The Twelve Days of Christmas and it was meant as a help for Catholic kids to learn the tenets of their faith. The twelve gifts all have hidden references to the teachings. Barks faithfully followed the lyrics to the letter and even added a receiver of all the gifts - an ungrateful dog.