“It’s 'Snow and Then' versus the Christmas Starman”: The Beatles and David Bowie go head-to-head in the festive merch wars

You always know it’s slow news day – or should we say ‘snow’ news day – when we find ourselves writing Christmas stories. But it is nearly December and this one allows us to publish a cool picture of David Bowie in a scarf and a link to this iconic Xmas song, so what’s not to like?

Yes, The Beatles are going head-to-head with David Bowie this Christmas – or maybe ‘chest to neck’ – as the music legends compete with official Christmas merch.

First of all, The Beatles have come out of their Fab corner with a Christmas jumper called 'Snow And Then' - of course it is. The jumper was produced by notjust clothing and Earth Merch together with Apple Corp, and features the iconic Abbey Road image ‘with a seasonal twist’. That twist being hats and snow.

The jumper features John, Paul, Ringo and George wearing red Christmas hats as they stride across the famous Abbey Road crossing, and is available in all the usual sizes for £44.95.

Bowie’s camp, meanwhile, have teamed up with Penguin and notjust clothing to reproduce the iconic Snowman scarf that Bowie wore in his attic on TV during the introduction to The Snowman, when the cartoon was first shown in the US. 

notjust clothing says: “For years fans of The Snowman have searched for this garment and last Christmas, David Bowie's son rediscovered the original scarf. Now fans can own and wear this legendary item, the perfect accessory for winter festivities.”

The scarf is just £19.99 and leads a range of clothing and accessories produced by notjust clothing based on Raymond Briggs’ 5.5 million-selling book The Snowman.

And the most Christmassy element of this story? No, it’s not Bowie in a scarf – which is one of the most Christmassy things we've ever seen – but the fact that notjust is giving half of its proceeds to Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice, a charity of which Raymond Briggs was a patron.

Indeed, notjust clothing are ‘not just’ in the jumper game for the cash, but to raise money for various charities including Save the Children, Kicking Off, Mind and The Trussell Trust. Earth Merch, meanwhile, "creates sustainable merchandise for the music industry and beyond."

Everybody say ‘ah’. Lovely, isn’t it? Here's a Snowman sofa. 

More information from notjust clothing's website.