hedda-hopper:

Vintage Christmas Countdown||Day 4
Holiday Pin-Up Girls Part I: Alberto Vargas, 1940’s

1951. There is no list for bad children.

Why do people get nostalgic at Christmas? Is it because the event happens only once a year, is traumatic enough to allow people to remember the day for years? I think it’s the only time of the year from Thanksgiving to Christmas night where local radio stations can play non-stop Christmas hits without a care.

Some of the best Christmases reflect my memory of them, rather than what actually happened… I can remember toys the most. For example:

A knock off of the Etch-A-Sketch, that fully absorbed my attention that I didn’t want to unwrap the other presents.

A doll in the form of a knight. I had Sir Cedric (black armor) and my brother got Sir Roland (silver armor). The following year we got matching horses with black and silver armor.

A bet-a-build set, which allowed me to build houses out of white plastic bricks.

Friends of ours got cool stuff like Thunderbirds toys and other models from the TV21 series such as Captain Scarlet. My brother and I used to go over there and play with their stuff. Their dad was a local bank branch manager.

My dad pretended to be Santa Claus year, he would go downstairs and “talk to Santa” before we went down to see what he’d brought.

Or presents that were placed at the foot of the bed, and selection boxes that made me sick before I had even eaten breakfast.

When I moved to America, Christmas completely changed. I don’t miss the sprouts and cauliflower cheese, as both are hard to cook well.

A list for Christmas 1997 
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a) Compaq Armada 4160 laptop
b) Clipper
c) Microsoft Encarta
d) Terminal Velocity for PC CD Rom
e) One pack of cigarettes

A list for Christmas 1987 
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a) Parker Classic Steel Flighter set
b) Ronson Premiere (used)
c) “Shout!” by Phillip Norman
d) Beatles at the Star Club (EMI Germany) (used)
e) One pack of cigarettes

A list for Christmas 1977
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a) A Paper:Mate ballpoint pen - gold colored
b) A Ronson Varaflame Comet with windshield, black
c) ”The Shepherd” by Frederick Forsyth
b) Beatles Love Songs - double album
e) Two packs cigarettes

A list for Christmas 1967
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a) A Parker 61 ballpoint pen - rolled gold
b) A Zippo lighter
c) “Time Out Of Joint” by Philip K Dick
d) Three packs cigarettes
e) A large fruit cake

A list for Christmas 1957
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a) A Parker 51 fountain pen
b) A Zippo lighter
c) A large fruit cake
d) A carton of cigarettes
e) Bottle Johnny Walker black label whisky