Children dressed as Santa Clause play with a soccer ball as they celebrate at their school ahead of Christmas in Chennai on December 23, 2021. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

A man dressed as Santa Claus lights a Christmas tree on City Hall square in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 27, 2022. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A group of volunteers dressed as elves and a man dressed as the grinch take part in a Christmas celebration organised by the NGO “Unos Venezolanos” in the neighbourhood of Petare, in Caracas, Venezuela on December 21, 2022. (Photo by Gaby Oraa/Reuters)

The Borealis in the second decade of December 2023 gets ready to leave Liverpool for the Classic Christmas Markets cruise. It will call at Zeebrugge, Amsterdam and Hamburg to take in some of Europe’s best festive markets. (Photo by Bav Media)

Maine-based Robert Dowling Jr. creates wonderfully whimsical stories with a slightly surreal touch. The self-taught artist, who works primarily in acrylics and oils, often paints characters with their faces covered or turned away. Love art like this that both children and adults can enjoy in their own unique way.

The Empire State Building towers over the Manhattan skyline as tourists gather on the observation deck of Rockefeller Center on February 13, 2012 in New York City. The owner of the Empire State Building, Malkin Holdings, plans to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering on the 102 story Manhattan landmark. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The stories of a unique bond between a child and their pet are as timeless as they come, but rarely does the pet have wings. Such is the case with photographer Cameron Bloom whose son Noah happened upon a baby magpie in 2013 when the family was out walking near their home in Newport, Australia. After consulting with a veterinarian, the family learned to raise the orphaned bird, who they affectionately named Penguin.

A man walks though Times Square in high heels during unseasonably warm weather on Christmas Eve in the Manhattan borough of New York December 24, 2015. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)