All I Want For Christmas Is…
Does anyone ever really say, “My two front teeth?” Though the children in your life probably aren’t asking for their “two front teeth,” it is the time of year that many are starting to dream of the perfect items to put on their wish lists. This 2006 holiday season might have children hoping for a scooter called a Razor, a video game called PlayStation 3, or pair of sneakers with removable wheels called Heely’s!
You probably weren’t hoping for a Razor Scooter, a PlayStation, or a pair of Heely’s during your youth, but you likely drafted a few childhood wish lists of your own. No matter what your age is now, you probably remember an item or two that you had at the top of your holiday wish lists.
Ruth Murphy, 86, of Malden remembers that in 1920 when she was 9 years old a Flexible Flyer sled was at the top of her holiday wish list. “I wanted it so badly and I got it!” Murphy remembers. “It was the best made sled around.” Other wish list items at various stages in Murphy’s life included an Iver Johnson bicycle and a set of skis, both of which she got. The only thing Murphy remembers putting on her wish list but not getting come Christmas morning? A pony!
All Dorothy McCarthy, 84, of Malden wanted for Christmas when she was in her early teens was a fancy evening bag or purse. McCarthy explains that because she came from such a large family, she and her siblings often received similar and practical presents year after year. Not the year she got her evening bag, though! Her sisters knew how badly she wanted a bag and they pitched in to buy one for her. McCarthy still remembers her evening bag in great detail. “It was all silver. It had a thin little string that you could put around your wrist.” With a laugh, she says, “When I got that evening bag…oh, I just thought I was it!”
Helen Coffey, 79, of Wakefield thought she “was it” when she opened the Shirley Temple Doll that had been on her Christmas wish list around the time she was in the first grade. “My sister and I both got Shirley Temple dolls that year,” Coffey recalls. ”We both still have them, too.”
You may not have shared a desire for that top-of-the-line Flexible Flyer sled, that sought-after and sophisticated evening bag, or that oh-so-sweet Shirley Temple Doll, but maybe you have your own wish list memory. According to an article on Forbes.com, the following items were the most popular toys over the decades. Do any of these items spark a memory of a childhood wish list in your past?
| 1900 – 1909: | Crayola Crayons |
| 1910 – 1919: | Raggedy Anne |
| 1920 – 1929: | Madame Alexander Collectible Dolls |
| 1930 – 1939: | View-Master 3-D Viewer |
| 1940 – 1949: | Candy Land |
| 1950 – 1959: | Mr. Potato Head |
| 1960 – 1969: | G.I. Joe |
| 1970 – 1979: | Rubik's Cube |
| 1980 – 1989: | Cabbage Patch Kids |
| 1990 – 1999: | Beanie Babies |
| 2000 – Present: | Razor Scooter |
This holiday season, McCarthy didn’t write a wish list. Instead, in the spirit of holiday giving, she selected an ornament off a Christmas tree at her church. By doing so, she was agreeing to purchase a gift for a child of the specified age listed on the ornament. Though McCarthy won’t be buying this decade’s most popular toy (a Razor Scooter) for the child, she has a plan. She said she might be able to find out what could be on this child’s wish list by asking a knowledgeable source. “I’ll have to ask my grandson what kids want today!”
Do you remember any of the items on your wish lists of holidays passed? If so, email us about your favorite holiday gifts. Next year, maybe we’ll use your holiday memories in a similar article!
