Top 20 Christmas Magazine Covers of All Time

Ms., 1975: Ms. was a flat-out great magazine in the mid-70s. It was funny, provocative, powerful, and brilliantly art directed. Bella Abzug was a flamboyant, hard-driving progressive congresswoman from New York City, who was a perfect cover gal for all things liberal and feminist (and good!).

New York, 1970: Speaking of brilliant 70s magazines, this December 1970 cover of New York is one of the scariest covers we’ve seen. The illustration is by Milton Glaser, who was also the magazine’s art director.

Vogue, 1940: This is the British edition cover of Vogue, from December 1940, but we think it ran as the cover in the US as well. Nothing captures the Xmas spirit like expensive jewelry.

Playboy, 1972: Playboy is another magazine with a long, rich history of holiday covers. Half of our writing team was interested in studying their many holiday issues in depth, for the articles, of course. We liked this one, from 1972, because it layered in the homage to those classic Coca Cola Santa advertisements.

Interview, 1972: Andy Warhol’s Interview, December 1972. We’ll go for Andy in a Santa hat holding a Polaroid camera any day.The woman being photographed by Andy Warhol on the cover of Interview is model Naomi Sims, often referred to as the first African American supermodel.

U.S. News & World Report, 1951: Remember when the newsweeklies used to pause at the end of every year and print a graceful holiday cover? That tradition stopped in the 50s, but this one from U.S. News & World Report creates a moving image in the midst of the Korean War.

The New Yorker, 2008: Another brilliant New Yorker holiday cover, from December 2008, maybe the most original one on our list. The artwork is by Bob Staake.

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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.