If you live in the U.S. and watched TV lately, you've undoubtedly seen the TV ad campaign for Lexus. You know, the one where the bratty girl talks about the pony she got for Christmas and the little boy remembers his Big Wheel and how they were the "bestest presents ever." There's not going to be a new Lexus parked in my driveway this Christmas morning, but the ads do make me think back about favorite presents of Christmases long gone...
Charmin Chatty. I think I was 8 when I got her for Christmas. You inserted these little mini records in her and then pulled a string so she could say 120 different things, like "Would you like pickle ice cream?" This was a real status doll to own back then. Hmm, I wonder if her little middy blouse influenced my penchant for apparel with nautical touches? Blast yourself into the mid-60s by watching this TV commercial for Charmin Chatty (and yes, that is a young Angela Cartwright in the spot).
Larry the Lion. This was Dear Sis the Middle Child's pick for bestest present ever. Another toy where you pulled a string and it talked (these were big in the '60s). Dear Sis was nuts about Larry, who suffered an unfortunate incapacitation at the hands of Dear Sis the Youngest. When eBay was born Dear Sis the Youngest bought Middle Sister a Larry the Lion that worked just so Middle Sister would have to stop reminding her of how she killed Larry the Lion.
Crissy. Dear Sis the Youngest says this was her favorite toy of all time. I remember coveting this doll, whose hair grew when you turned a knob on her back, even though I was then past the stage of playing with dolls. Crissy was just so cool with her long perfect hair! Blast yourself to 1969 with this TV commercial for Crissy.
Our Christmas tree in 1963, when we were all really little. This photo makes me miss my mother, who would have taken care to see that her three girls awoke to find everything they wished for, and my grandmother, who made several of the items under the tree, including the piggy banks made out of Clorox bottles, the mosaics of elves, and the ballerina dresses.Now your turn: What was your favorite toy present?
Toy photo credits: Charmin Chatty, Larry the Lion, Crissy doll
31 comments:
Oh My God! This bought back memories. My best Christmas as a child was 1970. bikes, jumpsy dolls, light bright. Everything on the list, we got. The good ole days!
C
My favorite, sometime in the mid 1950's, was a Madame Alexander doll dressed in a replica of Queen Elizabeth's white brocade coronation gown, complete with a ceremonial blue sash across her chest and a tiara. I must have been an awfully good little girl that year. Lindsay, I just discovered your blog and have already been inspired to learn more and sew better. Thanks!
Without a doubt, best present ever:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk299/storyofE/stuff/xmas.jpg
I rode that horse straight through the next 5 years until I got a Huffy Sweet Thunder bike. My parents actually had to replace it twice because I busted through the springs :)
Hi there!
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog! I have just recently entered back into sewing after many years away and get so inspired every time you post.
And the "Bestest Holiday Toys Ever" is so fun!
Thanks for your fun posts! Bobbie K
*LOL* Ohmygosh I had two of those toys! I thought she was called Chatty Cathy - but I had a doll with the records and Chrissy...*sigh* I.loved.Chrissy. She was even the beneficiary of some of my early sewing projects! But then again I was probably the only 13 year old still putting Barbie dolls on her Christmas List! *ROTFLOL*
I had a blond Charmin Chatty, but I don't remember her by that name?! I had a Chatty Cathy too, my Mom made her a whole wardrobe that I would make the cat wear. Poor guy!
My sister got Chrissy (and Velvet), they were also fun although I was supposedly over dolls by then.
Many Barbies, again with custom ensembles by Mom. Of course I also wanted the store outfits!
I think one of the biggest gifts I got for Christmas was a bike! It was lemon/lime metallic with a banana seat and sissy bar. It must have been the late 60s or early 70s when I got that. Woo, did I ever feel cool with that bike!!
Okay after going back and watching the YouTube commercials - I had a Chatty Cathy doll and the Charmin Cathy doll - because I remember my brother breaking Charmin Cathy's records...I was destitute because she couldn't talk anymore! :)
The memories...the memories!
Great post!
Handsdown, my fave of all time was my Barbie. I only ever had one, but she was THE one, the first one. She had the black and white chevron suit, the heavy eye liner eyelids, the bobbing blonde pony tail. That doll gave me more creative pleasureable moments than any other toy I ever had.
A close second was my "Pitiful Pearl". Really. She was an orphan type doll that I just fell needed love so badly. I remember everyone making fun of her pitiful "look".
Sigh, no dolls for me, not even one Barbie....I must have been a very naughty girl. But to the amusement of my daughters, I did get a tape recorder one year and one of the first things I taped was me going to the toilet! I tell them I didn't have much to amuse myself way back then.
What fun memories. My favorite would have to be my Easy Bake Oven.
This is really hard because I was more of a techno geek kid. I loved my tape recorder I got one year, than another year it was a microscope. I spent an entire day looking at hair strands, sugar and salt particles, saliva--you name it, I checked it out under my microscope. I absolutely loved my telescope too. Somewhere along the line I did get my Bionic Woman Barbie doll and thought that was pretty cool, but I was soon back to my microscope LOL.
It's far easier to remember my worst Christmas present. I was 12 years old and my mother wrapped up a box of sanitary supplies--a young woman's "starter" kit she ordered many months before from an order form I received in health class. I was totally MORTIFIED when I opened it up in front of my entire family. Growing up is hard enough, but a present of tampons and pads (included those awful belts!) on Christmas day displayed to my siblings was NOT my idea of an ideal present! And I was the youngest so yeah, it was bad. My mother always had everyone open up their presents one at a time, hold them up, and thank the giver. No thanks on that one, Mother! What was she thinking???
I tell you, I almost pee'd my pants laughtng when reading Vicki's comment about the tape recorder and toilet. I did a couple of weird things like that too. Like tape recording a toilet flushing. Shhh! Don't tell my DH!! Then he'll tell me why our kids have weird "spells" from time to time.
My Pink Panther stuffed animal (circa 1978) that I snuck down and found under the tree. Everyone else was still asleep, so I grabbed him and headed back to bed, where I played in bliss until the rest of the family woke up. He didn't talk or do anything special, but when I think of childhood Christmases, that's the first thing I remember!
I LOVE Crissy! I thought, mine was named Cinnamon...maybe I named her that...hmm. I,also, had Valerie the blonde. My Mom just pulled Val out and gave it to my daughters! Unfortunately, the hair is permanently outn and a bit tangled!
Funnily enough my best present was something called "Fashion designer". It was basically a selection of plates, you put paper on top and rubbed with a crayon. the plates were interchangeable so you could swap the heads, tops and bottoms. It was fantastic! My dad had the good sense to buy me and my sister one each to reduce the fights. Now I appreciate the joy of giving more than I did back then I can just imagine how excited my dad would have been when he found this toy!
My favorite doll was "Susie Smart". She came with a desk and chalkboard and said smart things like "2 + 2 is 4"! My second favorite was "Thimble City". It was a miniature layout of a few city blocks on a platform and you could control magnetized people and vehicles from the bottom with magnetic wands. I guess I was destined to school-based speech therapist and a control freak from childhood!!
I remember a doll that you would give a little bottle of water to and then it peed. I thought it was the neatest thing......what was I thinking? I think it was called a Betsy Wetsy :O)
Oh! My Chrissy doll was my FAVORITE toy ever! I also loved my Easy Bake Oven, and my Dancerina doll. Thanks for the trip back to my childhood!
What a great post! You may not remember this terrible doll, but it was my favorite. Hedda Getta Bedda.
http://www.antiquedolls.co.nz/hedda_get_bedda.htm
Gawd she was ugly, but I loved her so much. She eventually met her demise by an accidental trip to the local dump. I never did figure out who threw her into the trash.
AllisonC--I had Fashion Plates too! I loooooved them.
But I think my favorite gift toy was a Cabbage Patch Doll. We weren't poor (nor rich) but my parents didn't "get" how important it could be for a kid to have something fashionable.....ever. Explains my obsession with clothes now, eh?
Anyway, it just so happened that one of my aunts had bought me and my sis Cabbage Patch Dolls (we did an extended family name draw and she got us) well in advance, before they became THE hyped toy that year. So it was basically the only time in my childhood where I had the hot thing at the moment it was hot. I loved that they had their own names (mine was Julianne Eva, and unfortunately the factory didn't do a good job with shipping because my sister's, presumably right next to mine on the shelf, was Julianne Dina), little diapers, and Xavier Roberts' signature on their butts. And I loved that I HAD ONE.
I LOVE this post. I'm still talking about my Speak and Spell from the mid 80s. That was a terrific gift.
Thank you so much for the correction re. istockphoto images - I misunderstood the website info. But I've edited my post to correct it. :)
Ahhh you and your sisters were sooooo cute! Such nice memories!
My dancing doll...it was as tall as I was, had straps for my feet! Brings tears to my eyes...my dancing doll!
And look at the lead tinsel! Oh I remember that...my dad would put it on patiently one strand at a time, not throwing wads of it like we kids would do. And after Christmas he'd take it off one strand at a time, wrap it around the cardboard it came on, and save it all for the next year. I love that memory! Thanks Lindsay!
I'm so happy for all of you who have happy Christmas memories. My mother didn't believe in anyone buying toys for me, including her. (And to think I was an only child). I never owned a famous toy. Christmas lists were not allowed. Any Christmas that included something that wasn't "practical" was a good one for me. I could usually talk one of my grandmothers into a doll, but it couldn't be a well-known one.
I loved my Crissy doll - what I loved better was having an aunt who made her a complete new wardrobe each year (think I got the sewing gene in a sidestep from her).
I had Fashion Plates, too, though I don't remember that being the name when I had it.
And of course there were Barbies - they were the first targets for my sewing efforts, as well as some ill-advised hair styling.
My sister had Velvet & Crissy and she didn't play with dolls! I coveted both of them with their loooonnngg hair. It was years before she would let me play with them (she also ran a line of duct tape down the center of our bedroom. I wasn't allowed to "cross over". The CLOSET was on her side!)
My favorite would have to be Baby Alive, although the Shirley Temple doll or my Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry House would come in a close second. But man, mixing up those little packets of food in the the pink dish, then waiting for it to dribble into her diaper...good times. ;)
What a lovely post! I think my favorite Christmas gift was a doll called "Tucha" (similar to Barbie doll but with better body proportions). I remember sewing her clothes!!!
I'm so glad you posted the link for the Chrissy commercial, I've had a bit of it stuck in my head. I can't wait to play it when I get home (I'm at the library right now-shhh!) Joann S down the street had a Crissy but broke the knob to grow her hair. So she chopped it off. The horror!
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