Ahnaf Hamim had a big smile and a big surprise for his mum and dad—his snowman drawing has been chosen for the Mayor of Tower Hamlets’ official Christmas card this year.

The seven-year-old’s colourful picture is now being sent to hundreds of addresses on the Mayor’s list.

Children from five primary schools in London’s East End took part in a competition, with 13 pictures shortlisted, out of which the judges at the Town Hall selected Hamim’s snowman.

Hamim, a pupil at Whitechapel’s Harry Gosling Primary, said: “My friends are going to say ‘I wanted to be the winner’!”

But he never said a word about it at home. His dad Mohammed Hussain revealed: “He didn’t tell us he had done a design and just wanted to give us a surprise.”

The shortlisted children were invited to a presentation at the Town Hall with their parents and teachers where they received Christmas book-tokens and certificates.

They included Hamim’s classmate at Harry Gosling’s, Yusuf Hussain.

Biggest selection of runners-up was eight pupils from Marner Primary—Haris Brailsford, Zain Henry, Tahira Aktar, Muhaymin Alim, Raquel Quaye, Sara Uddin, Yezda Karaman and Amin Mohamed. Others were Drusilla Dillabough from Mowlem Primary, Lynden Jones from St Saviour’s Primary and Nazifa Ahmed from Osmani Primary.