AT ONE TIME a prized Christmas gift was a bowl of nuts. Nuts and fruit wasn’t easily obtained and a wonderful Christmas would involve such delightful treats.
By DAVID MILLER News Sports Editor
When most of you are reading this page, to see Christmas Day, 2017, one would have to look in the rear-view mirror. But as the old song says, there are 12 Days of Christmas and this is only Day 3.
For me there is something about the season that encourages me to reminisce. Although, I must admit, I reminisce a lot at any time of year. But in remembering Christmases of long ago, one thing that stands out is that in those days there seemed to be a long, long time of anticipation.
That sounds foreign to the reality of the holiday season at this stage of my life. Now there seems to be very little time as the year moves through August, the fall months, Halloween, Thanksgiving and then the Advent- Christmas season. It goes by so rapidly, everything seems almost like a blur. Before you know it, it is time to gear up for Christmas again.
But back then, it did seem like Christmas would never arrive. The long period of anticipation started when the mail brought the Christmas catalogs from Montgomery Ward and Sears and Roebuck. Many an hour was spent thumbing through those wonderful books. So much so that there were certain sections, (toy section perhaps?) that were dirty, torn and dog eared long before the arrival of Dec. 25.
Each time the catalogs were opened, a list would be made, and then revised and revised some more. What was at the top of the list on one day might not be there the next. A bicycle perhaps, or a football, or maybe a basketball and a goal to go with it. There were always certain things that were left off the list, on purpose. Such as clothing or school supplies or, in my case, board games. I wouldn’t put board games on my list, even though I loved to play such games. But the thinking was that I almost always was given a board game by someone in my game-loving family anyway, so why use up valuable space on the list with such an
THE YO-YO was a popular gift at one time. Some were very skilled at operating the device. Others had trouble making it go up and down.
The days of waiting also included going shopping for others. That was a joyful experience. Most years I had $1 or less to spend on each of the gifts I bought. It wasn’t good enough to just quickly run out and buy just anything. One had to take time to make sure that the best possible gift was matched up with the right person.
My mother almost always knew what I would give her. The perfume Evening in Paris was something I could afford, and Mom swore up and down that she loved it. It came in a very distinctive blue bottle and I felt so proud of my gift to her. Looking back, the fact that it was available at a $1 or less makes me wonder how good it really was.
Dad was harder to buy for, but he claimed that he loved to receive ties and that was usually what he got.
All this talking of giving and receiving gifts brings to mind a list that I have shared in this space for several years that included the favorite Christmas gifts children received by decades. I will share that list again.
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The earliest was in the decade after 1900. I would have never guessed that the most requested item in that time period was a bag of nuts. My Dad was a child in this era and I remember him saying that he remembered years when what he received at Christmas was an orange or apple and a toothbrush. He never mentioned nuts, but I do remember that a Christmas tradition at our house was to put nuts (in their shells) in a large bowl which sat on the dining room table. We would crack and eat the nuts while playing board games. Remember those sacks of Christmas candy that were passed at church or school program? There was hard candy, including my favorite ribbon candy, a few nuts, an orange, an apple and a horrible chocolate covered something or other.
Moving to the 1910s, the favorite items reportedly were a rocking horse and fireworks.
Believe it or not, I had a rocking
REPORTEDLY THERE was a time when the thing children wanted more than anything else was a sock monkey. But, also reportedly, there were a few children who never had any desire for such a gift.
In the 1920s, the kids were wanting a Radio Flyer wagon and/or a yo-yo. Thirty years later, when I was at the right age, the Radio Flyer was still pretty popular with me and my folks. I spent many an hour using my wagon like some used a scooter, scooting all over the neighborhood. My folks liked the wagon because it was handy for hauling things in. The yo-yo was also pretty popular when I was growing up. My best friend could make his do all kinds of neat tricks. I just enjoyed making mine go up and down.
In the 1930s, the most popular item was a Red Ryder BB gun. I remember putting a BB gun on my wish list for several years before Santa Claus finally took notice. I had my gun only for a very short period of time. It was confiscated when I, accidentally of course, shot the neighbor girl in the leg. I never saw the gun again and now that I’m a senior citizen understand the reason why.
Also popular in the 1930s was a sock monkey. Never had one, never wanted one.
In the 1940s, Legos were a popular item. I’m surprised that Legos were popular in the 1940s. Actually, I’m told, Legos were by far the most popular item in 1949. They are still a very popular gift and someone has told me that the Legos Group is the most profitable toy company anywhere. The Slinky also was a popular toy in the 1940s and is another one that still has some popularity today. I can’t remember when I got my first Slinky, but I do remember sitting at the top of the flight of stairs in
THERE WAS A time when youngsters received a sack of Christmas candy either at school or at church or at both places. Some of the treats in the sack weren’t so tasty, but some were very good.
In the 1950s, Barbie was very popular. I never had a Barbie, but I do remember that my Mother insisted in buying me a doll when I was about nine years old. Her thought was that little boys needed to broaden their scope of interests beyond cars and trucks and balls and bats. I was embarrassed to tell anyone what I had gotten for Christmas that year, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I didn’t care for her gift. As a matter of fact, I still have that doll somewhere.
Mr. Potato Head was another popular toy in the 1950s and I do remember asking, asking and asking again for a Mr. Potato Head. As with many of my gifts, I had outgrown any interest when I finally was a recipient. Although I thought I was too old for Mr. Potato Head, I do remember playing with it (by myself of course).
In the 1960s, Etch-a-Sketch was popular. I never owned an Etch-a-Sketch myself, but I do remember almost wearing out the one my friend brought to school.
In the 1970s, Rubik’s Cube was at the top of the popularity list. I was an adult in the 1970s, but I do remember being continually frustrated in trying to work the puzzle. I think I got it right once and never tried it again. The Nerf ball was another 1970s favorite. My mother would have appreciated this invention when I was a child. She wouldn’t have had as many broken things in the house to contend with.
In the 1980s, Transformers and Cabbage Patch dolls were very popular items. My kids were growing up then and my son had dozens of Transformers and my daughter had Cabbage Patch Dolls. I remember that the dolls came with birth certificates and I had to sign it and make it look official.
While the list went on to the present day, I chose to stop here. Many of the present day gifts are oriented around modern technology, of which I have only a
EVENING IN Paris perfume was a favorite gift that children often gave their mothers….or at least the favorite of one child. And mothers loved receiving such a gift….or at least they claimied that they did.
I remember my first football. I was only five years old at the time, but I would take that thing out in the yard and kick it all over the place. A few years later, kids from all over our small town would come to our yard to play, partly because I had a ball and our yard was pretty large. Despite all the kicking and roughhouse play that ball lasted for a long time.
I remember my first bicycle. It was pretty ugly, as my brother-in-law put parts from a whole conglomeration of old bikes to make one for me. I can’t remember another gift that thrilled me as much as that one did.
I was pleased when I got my BB gun even though I didn’t have it very long. There was one Christmas when I got an electric football game from my brother. That was something I had always wanted. The old electric games weren’t much by today’s standards, and the batteries were always running down, but I loved that gift.
Finally, one that will always stand out in my mind is that I became an uncle for the first time on Christmas Eve, the year I was eight years old. My mother told me that Santa Claus had brought me some gifts, but that the little nephew was a special one because it came directly from Heaven from God. I always thought of him as being special as I have with my other nieces and nephews that came at other times of the year. And I look upon all my family as having been gifts from God. They are the ones that have been and will continue to be the source of my Christmas joy now and always.
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Regardless of the above having appeared in this space before, my wish is that the remaining nine days of Christmas are filled with God’s peace and joy for each and every one. And for those who aren’t experiencing much joy my prayer for you is peace.