Merry Christmas, baby: Margaret recalls Justin Trudeau's 1st Noel

Christmas cards mailed by politicians have become a seasonal tradition, but one card from 1972 stands out for what it meant then and what it means now.

• Photos show closeness between Justin Trudeau and dad
• An electoral tale of two Trudeaus
• Will Justin Trudeau channel his father?

A diapered baby missing one shoe was on the official Christmas card sent out by the prime minister of the day, Pierre Trudeau. The baby's mother was 23 at the time.

Today, Margaret Trudeau recalls issuing a card that didn't quite fit the usual protocol, but how she loved that photo of her smiling son Justin. (His brother, Alexandre, a filmmaker who is two years younger than Justin, was also born Dec. 25).

"He was a sunny, sunny little happy boy," Margaret Trudeau told CBC News reporter Julie Van Dusen about the son who would become prime minister.

Van Dusen had the card because her father worked on Parliament Hill for years and her mother tucked it away for safe keeping.

Trudeau said her baby was "celebrated" and that first Noel was a magical time. Christmas Day was also Justin's first birthday. 

So why was he missing one shoe? Trudeau says her son must have pulled it off as many babies do.

Inside the card was the simple message "The First Noel..." and the signature: Pierre, Margaret and Justin Trudeau.

This year, for his holiday card Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen a montage of shots with his wife Sophie and their three children.

Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose and her family are featured in her card in a series of shots cuddling on the couch, alpine skiing and horseback riding.

And NDP Leader Tom Mulcair poses in his 2015 holiday card in front a roaring fire with his wife Catherine.

And, since it is 2015, there's also always Twitter.