This photo was taken in December 1957, Elvis’ first Christmas at Graceland. It appears that his first outside decorations included a life-size model of Santa’s sleigh containing lots of presents, including two guitars. Behind that was a huge Santa Claus, which appears to be about 12 feet tall.
The woman and child are not identified, but it is said that Gladys can be seen to the left of the sleigh heading toward the Graceland front door.
Here, Santa and the sleigh are incorporated into the Christmas scene and message that endures at Graceland to this day.
The tag on this photo says that this is Elvis in front of Graceland in March 1957 while renovations were going on. He and his parents moved in on May 16.
I’m not promoting a Photoshop make-over here, but how nice would it have been if somebody had snapped Vernon, Elvis, and Gladys in front of Graceland with Santa and his sleigh ?
A Merry Christmas to all,
Phil Arnold,
Original ElvisBlogmeister
Many thanks to reader Karen Middleton for sending me the first photo above.