"Ham for the Holidays" and Other Notable Magazine Holiday Covers

In this week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I wanted to do a brief survey of just some of the many, many holiday-themed magazine covers at this time of the year. I was quite surprised with some of the magazines that I expected to have holiday covers but didn't (there were some city entertainment guides that had covers that could just as well have come out in July) and with some of the magazines that were ... let's say unlikely candidates for holiday covers but which nonetheless got decked out for the holidays.

So, from The Economist's annual thumb-sucking issue (this year's topic: "Progress and Its Perils") to a "Ham for the Holidays" Saveur cover, from Santas that look like Alec Baldwin (Men's Journal) to some playmate who looks to be having more than just seasonal fun (Playboy Italy), from the Holy Family to an astronomical preview -- enjoy this look at the holidays through the eyes of some of the world's magazine editors.