Holiday Kids Gift Book and Roblox

Amazon XCM
CCO and VP: Jo Shoesmith
GCD: Alexa McNae
CD: Melissa Bradley
AD: Julianna Schulte
Designers: Eva Grate, Michael Woody
CW: Matthew Schnirman and Torin Daniels

Illustrators
Laura C. Moyer (2024)
Matthew Forsythe (2023)
Lisk Feng (2022)
Erin Wallace (2020-2021)

Agency
Hybrid Studio (2024)

Now in its seventh year, we evolved the Amazon Holiday Kids Gift Book from a seasonal catalogue into a strategic brand initiative aimed at driving both commercial and emotional value across multiple media touchpoints. Starting in 2020, I developed the Fox and Woodland characters in collaboration with illustrator Erin Wallace and created narratives of joy and adventure through bespoke activities that have made the Gift Book iconic and beloved by the customer. From custom Roblox gaming experiences built from the world we imagined, to virtual shopping experiences, to private label products, and Alexa integrations, the characters have inspired a world that lives far beyond the pages of the book and invites to the customer to engage in delightful experiences throughout the season. By combining curated product selection with diverse artistic perspectives, we've created a distinctive Holiday asset that delivers both customer engagement and competitive advantage.

Share the Joy

Working with Hybrid Studio and illustrator Laura C. Moyer, we reimagined the 2024 Holiday Kids Gift Book to create a magical experience for customers. Moyer's graphic approach to the woodland characters, paired with Amazon's updated brand design system, brought a new level of delight to this annual tradition. The result: a festive gift guide that captures the wonder of the holiday season while making it easier for customers to discover an astonishing collection of gifts for the kids in their lives.

In addition to creating exclusive stuffed animals based on the characters in our book, we also developed holiday windows for the former Lord & Taylor building on 5th Ave in New York City.

Building upon the launch of the Holiday Kids Gift Book through Roblox, we reimagined a world reflective of Laura C. Moyer’s characters and launched a new game.

The Holiday Dash

In 2023, we partnered with illustrator Matthew Forsythe to bring a painterly style to the woodland characters with a focus on their discreet personalities and esoteric charm. Designed around the concept of a wintery holiday race through the forest, we crafted scenes of adventure that culminated in Mouse ultimately winning the race. To pair with Matthew’s illustrations, we wrote a story that highlighted the excitement of a race about to begin, including destinations such as Flatspin Forest and Ice Ice Cavey.

In 2023, Roblox created a new game based off the holiday wintry race including world’s inspired by the destinations and adventures we created in the story.

Share the Adventure

In 2022, we partnered with acclaimed illustrator Lisk Feng who realized the characters through a charming... . Lisk’s illustrations brought a dimension of light and whimsy unique to her style. In collaboration with Roblox, we developed the first bespoke Roblox game based off the characters and the activities.

Ready, Set, Play

In 2021, we teamed up for a second year with local illustrator Erin Wallace to explore the wintry world in more detail by winding our way through the woods.