One of my favorite holiday traditions has always been the Sears Wish book. I mentioned this before, but even now, I still look through the toy section. Even though, I don't think that I have actually gotten a toy out of that book in, well, a very long time.
Anyways, do you remember when I made a mention of having a collection of 30 year old TV Guides? I hope you do, Because it was only my last post. I took a bit ribbing for that (thanks Kianwi). BUT, something else that I have is a Sears Christmas Wish book from 1974.
I like to look at it when the season rolls around, When I'm all hustled and at whits end, trying to get everything done, It has the magical ability to transport me back to when I was a kid in polyester pants, flipping through the pages, making a list of things that any 6 year old kid would be envious of. Back when it was me who was tucked under the covers at night, dreaming of Santa Claus and his flying reindeer.
And what was at the top of the list for 6 year old Ken-inatractor, long before there were any thoughts of cows and combines? When Ken- the astronaut, still filled my imagination. Or, Ken- the spy, had me writing notes in invisible ink of lemon juice that held the plans for saving the world from some evil genius.
The item that topped the list was this:
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| The one in the middle, item #10. Paratrooper set- $7.99 |
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| Maybe a boys, crested hockey jersey, also $7.99 (yes, that's my thumb.) |
Or, maybe you were into GI Joe? But not just any GI Joe, a talking GI Joe, with the KUNG FU GRIP! There was a whole page dedicated to him. And oddly enough, he costed $7.99 as well. You could however, pick up any of his Kung Fu lackeys for $4.99. Quite the bargain for all of that Kung Fu awesomness.
When I took these pictures, it hadn't really occurred to me that everything was going to price in at $7.99. What was expensive in 1974?
How about this "Yellow Gold color" solid state, quartz wrist watch! Yours for only $195! What do you get with this watch for the incredible value of $195? Um....well, it doesn't have a calculator. It doesn't have a stopwatch. The add doesn't even mention if it has the date and month. It does however, say that this, Yellow Gold color watch, is the "biggest step forward in time keeping since the invention of the sundial". So, all of that, and it's accurate to within 5 seconds a month.
Apparently, in 1974, 5 lost seconds or so a month wasn't all that important. Maybe that's not such a bad thing?
Anyways, if you were around in 1974, or even have an interest in something historical from around then, ask me about it in a comment. Did you get something, or want something as a kid from the Sears Wish Book, way back when, and want to slip back into a simpler time? I'll try put them together in a post with pictures, around Christmas and help you to remember what it was like to be a kid again,
..................... in your polyester pants.
This week, I'll be joining up with the other Dudes at Dude Write, with this post. I encourage you to pop over and read what the guys bring to the table. You can get there by clicking on THIS LINK
I remember going through the Sears Wish Book back when I was little. Granted it was in the 80s so the big thing on my list was a Cabbage Patch Kid. Even now though, flipping through catalogs is so...nostalgic...in a day of internet and TV ads it's nice to look at advertizing that isn't flashing or screaming at you!
ReplyDeleteI agree Heather. Our youngest son still looks forward to flipping through the Wish Book. The bad part, is that we have to hide the thing for 2 months because it's coming out in September now.
DeleteI remember too going through the book and I still do. I always looked for new Barbie accessories and got a Barbie car one year.. Had to share with my sister but we had that car for many years. My girls actually played with it and it wasn't till recently that my Mom threw it out. Things back then made so much better than today. I still enjoy catalogues as aposed to watching the Tv to find out what's new.
ReplyDeleteHi Shirley,
DeleteI think that the things we got in those days were made with a lot more quality. I actually did get that paratrooper set for Christmas, and while most of it is long gone, I do still have the mess kit. Of course, I lost the utensils somewhere along the way, but the kit is still good.
I remember as a kid getting the Sears Wish Book, it was awesome. We would go through it and circle everything we wanted, which was everything because we were poor and greedy kids. We lived out in the country, so we had a Sears catalog store that we could go into and order from the catalog and have it shipped to us. Now I cannot even remember the last time I walked into a Sears.
ReplyDeleteHi Jules,
DeleteSounds like we may have had similar childhoods. We still have that catalog store in our town. Except, we now order the things we want on-line. All of the items still come to town where they have to be picked up.
I remember all those things. Had G.I. Joe and the grip was revolutionary. Right up until his fingers fell off.
ReplyDeleteNever got one of the combat sets, but I looked at them a lot.
And I had a calculator watch when no one else I knew did.
Good times.
I was looking at the GI Joe page this evening. The next page, was the Big Jim page. I think a lot of kids may have gotten Big Jims though, because it seems they were a couple bucks cheaper. GI Joe looked a lot more rugged, the Big Jim crew actually looks quite a bit like the cast of Magic Mike. Lots of bare chested dudes wearing vests.
DeleteI always wanted the calculator watch!
Is it wrong I kinda want the GI Joe? I hated barbie as a kid, and loved boy toys. I think I had about oh, a hundred dinosaurs along side the My Little Ponies.
ReplyDeleteHi Holly,
DeleteNothing wrong with that at all. Growing up, we had a neighbor girl that was the same age as my brother and I. She wanted a race track set for Christmas and got 2 of them one year. She ended up selling the one set to my brother and I.
I was three years shy of 1974. I did get the Sears catalog in the 80s and I remember going thought it cover to cover, skipping over the boring clothes and jumping right to the toys. Every night in December I would sit on the couch and dog ear the pages.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Ken!
Thanks Kevin,
DeleteSo you got to dig into the catalog after all of the cool Star Wars stuff came out. Even today, I keep eyeballing that giant Lego Millenium Falcon. I wouldn't mind having that.
It was a magical expensive watch simply because it was DIGITAL, Ken. Remember it was new technology.
ReplyDeleteHey Kait,
DeleteI realize that Kait. I was looking at the simple calculators as well, that were just short of $100. It's funny how now, you can get a digital watch out of a $2 gumball machine, and you'd be lucky to get that crested jersey for less that $200! How times change! :)
I remember the Sears Wishbook too. Those were the good ole days for sure. Fighting for my turn to look at it. Sitting for hours circling what I wanted, and turning down the corners of the pages. Sweet! I hate that my kids didn't get to experience that. I hope getting your tree up helps you. It helps me, but I am still looking for that enthusiasm I miss this time of year. Thanks for the rum and eggnog idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Robin! the tree did help. Thanks.
DeleteI don't really know why I ended up with this catalog. Or why it was still in such decent shape. I know all of the Wish Books that my kids went through, looked rather worse for wear by the time the holidays had passed.
If you're going to do rum and eggnog, make sure that you use the spiced rum! It's wonderful. :)
I DO REMEMBER THE SEARS WISH BOOK AND THAT IS SOME PRETTY COOL MEMORIES YOU HAVE THERE....I WILL TRUMP YOU ON THE CATALOG THOUGH (not on purpose I just got lucky) My uncle has a home from the catalog they were cindar block kit homes from the early 1900's it is so cool. They have redone some of it and have the original catalog it came out of, they have owned it 25 yrs. so much history just because of it being what was the normal back then and wishing from a book to having it come true. here's WISHING YOU, Ken, and your family a wonderful Christmas Holiday. Now I need to get to wanting to get into this Holiday season myself :]
ReplyDeletehey, HeY J! :)
DeleteWell that IS a cool story. I find it hard to imagine sitting around, flipping through the pages of a catalog, picking out your new home! Waiting for that to arrive had to be the most painfully, exciting thing ever?
Thanks for the well wishes of the season. I wish all the best to your family as well. I hope that you can pick up some Christmas spirit. We're running out of days rather quickly! :)
At Christmas, 1974 I was in Grade 12. I must have thumbed through that Wish Book too, but not for toys. If memory serves, I got a little portable manual Brother typewriter for Christmas that year -- important because I was planning on going to university the next fall. No laptops then, kids!
ReplyDeleteHi Debra,
DeleteQuite some time before laptops! I looked back, and while there is manual typewriters listed, none of them are Brothers. I also have an Eatons Christmas catalog as well. I didn't mention that because I didn't think a lot of people would know who they were. They didn't have any Brothers either. Your typewriter must have been EXTRA special! :)
My parents must have got it at Woolco or somewhere, then! Eatons, Sears and Woolco were the only games in town in those far-off days in Manitoba.
DeleteWow! I really am an old fart. I got married in 1974 and wouldn't have been interested in anything pictured in that catalog. Now that I'm old a few of those toys look like fun!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Stephen,
DeleteYou're not such an old fart! Married in 74 eh? That catalog holds other treasures than toys. I imagine that a couple of newlyweds, might have spent a bit of time looking at the lingerie page? I found a smokin' little number in there for $12!
Oh, this was really nice. I guess I concede that it was good that you kept hat catalogue all these years :)
ReplyDeleteI always had the JC Penny catalogue, and of course poured over the toy section. When I was little, I wanted a doll for every gift-giving occasion, so for Christmas there was always a doll (or two or three :) on my list. Do they have any Baby Krissy dolls in there? She was one of my all-time favorites. She had this pony tail that would pull out of her head, and then you pulled a string to pull it back in and she would have short hair again. Until I cut off the pony tail, of course. So a pic or her, or any other doll, really, will make me happy :)
Hi Kianwi.
DeleteYou just never know when that sort of stuff is going to come in handy! :)
If you had asked me to guess, I probably would have picked you as a stuffed animal girl.
So, I actually did find a whole bunch of different Crissy dolls. (spelled with a "C" I wonder if that's the same?) It seems that they all have something different that you can do with their hair.
I never spent too much time in the doll section. I'll add you into a post, with your dolls sometime before Christmas. :)
Oh, yes, stuffed animals, too :). Dolls were just a tiny bit higher in the hierarchy. And great! They do have Crissy dolls! Now if only we could find a way to order from that catalogue :)
DeleteWouldn't that be fun! A service that lets you order up memories of the past from old catalogs!
DeleteIf I can figure that out, do you want to be my business partner? :) Maybe we could also send long forgotten TV programs, picked out of old TV Guide collections? ;)
I loved this post! I used to almost wear the Sears Wish Book, but it was back in the 1960s for me. Memories like that definitely fill in childhood memories, linking things together for us. Thanks for this. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteHi there, McGuffy Anne.
DeleteI think that that's where the magic lives. In the ability to help us to remember the wonder of the season we had as children.
When I can go back to that, It's easier to stop being frustrated with the hustle and bustle and just try to make good memories for our children to share in their own way, 30 years from now.
My friend!!!
ReplyDeleteI saw this post and scrolled down as the Sears Wish Book came slowly into view and I inhaled sharply. To see one of those again! A vintage one! That is so awesome.
I studied the cover intently to see if I could remember if that was one that I could recall as a child. I won't reveal my age...or maybe you've figured it out - anyhoo...I know that when I can remember stretching out over the gold shag carpet to pour over every page, I wanted a pair of skates. I wanted them badly. I wonder - where they in there?
I am with you 100% when it comes to the days zooming by. Just today, it hit me like a train that NEXT weekend is the weekend EVE of Christmas! We have our first family hoopla the 21st and I'm not ready! I looked up from November and it's nearly mid-December already? Yikes! I need to slow down - I need life to slow down!
Let's make a pact to be INTENTIONAL about finding moments where we put on the brakes and just enjoy it. For me, it means saying 'no' to some things, like tonight. Was supposed to be at my work Christmas dinner...but no. I didn't RSVP. Honestly, I'm there more than I'm home. I had just worked until 2:30 a.m. LAST night to get grades done by deadline. Honestly, why do I want to have to make a dish and sit around with people that I normally wouldn't probably hang out with on a regular basis just to say I've attended the Christmas function? So I declined, and am so glad I did. The house is quiet except for an instrumental Christmas cd. The house smells like gingerbread coffee (haven't tried it yet..we'll see - with a good splash of Bailey's ;), and the Christmas lights are all that are on right now. THIS is where I NEED to be. Right here.
So thanks for this wonderful perusal down memory lane and have a rum and eggnog for me - cheers!
Hello, my friend!
DeleteI really don't think that you will remember this catalog, being 29, it was much before your time. ;)
So, I look through, and there are indeed some skates in there. I'll add that to my list of of items to put into my follow-up post.
It's crazy how quickly that this holiday is coming up. It seems, even more so than I remember it happening in the past. I'm not really ready.I have stress about my yard lights, and am about to throw in the towel and say what's there now, will have to do. We still want to get some house things up to make it fell right, but I was playing Christmas music yesterday, and I did feel the spirit of the season creeping in. I may or may not have danced about the house a bit.
It looks like my wife is going to be getting some extra days off over the holidays. We're looking forward to making good use of them.
1974. Man, this was well before my time (well = exactly 7 years). Also, I was born and raised in the Soviet Union...if we ever had a catalogue like this it'd be filled with green metallic Russian soldiers and dolls with lifeless eyes.
ReplyDeleteAnd tractors? Or, did you get one tractor to share between a whole group of children. Sorry, couldn't resist.
DeleteBut I'm curious, what sort of toy, did a young and innocent Daniel wish for, growing up in the Soviet Union?
I'm probably gonna sound nerdy, but it was always stuff like books, microscopes, etc. Useful books, of course, like "Tractors 101: A Guide To Gears"!
DeleteIf you want to pull out the nerd card, I also got a chemistry set that Christmas.
DeleteWow. I wonder what percentage of people actually even wear a watch now?
ReplyDeleteI haven't worn one for about 5 years now.
DeleteAs a time piece, I'd say very few. I think that most of the watches sold these days, are for fashion accessories.
Oh man, Ken. You just made me think back to my childhood. I so badly wanted a Power Wheels. It's funny, even now as an adult who drives a real car... I still want one.
ReplyDeleteI just bought my very own Christmas tree today and am about to put it up. Hopefully you got yours up as well.
And here's a swig of egg nog for you :)
So, was that the Power Wheels that was the jeep? There isn't anything like that in my catalog, but that jeep was a pretty awesome rig!
DeleteThe tree is up, the house is decorated, yard is close to being done. I love it when a plan comes together. All that's left is to sit back and smoke cigars. But I have to finish my shopping first!
I hope your tree makes your home a little more Christmasy.
Can I offer you a bit of Spiced Rum for that egg nog of yours?
As an Englishman, I did not have the pleasure of looking through the Sears Wish Book. You did rekindle some happy memories from my childhood though - your gun set was a bit like my "Johnny Seven," a multiple function toy-weapon that fired bullets, hand-grenades and other assorted missiles. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHi Bryan,
DeleteSo, I had to google that. The Johnny Seven, One Man Army! It does indeed look like an awesome weapon. I'm glad that I never had to go up against you with my paratrooper set, with you out there with that beauty!
You can't get any toy guns out of the Wish Book any more. Those days are long gone. You can get video games where you run about, living in a world, killing other people, but the days of using your imagination to entertain yourself are a thing of the past. It's sad really.
As I grow older, the spirit of christmas has kind of become lost for me, I enjoy it but not like I used to. I think it has a lot to do with getting lost inside of what the world is slowly becoming once the innocence of childhood wears off.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you are talking about Stephen. It's something that I struggle with. When my kids were little, the magic came back, but now they are older and the Magic of Christmas is running a little thinner in our house.
DeleteI find this a little hard to say, but this is the first year that I find myself wishing, at times, for some grand-children to bring the magic back. (but I don't think that I'm ready to tell that to anybody just yet!)
I'm right there with you Ken. My lady calls me the house Scrooge. Bless her heart, she does everything she can to put me in the Christmas Spirit. That G.I. Joe ad made me think of my 6 Million Dollar man I used to have. That was easily the best Christmas present I have got as a kid. It's funny that the Sears Catalog didn't even use actual pictures back then, but rather, artistic drawings of the items. Odd. Must have taken them forever to have someone draw all those things. Great post as usual Ken!
ReplyDeleteHi Michael,
DeleteThe 6 Million Dollar Man! Now that was a toy! You could look through the back of his head and get the cross-hairs effect when you were looking at something. And the arm flap that opened up to show his bionics. And who can forget that red addidas track suit?
Unfortunately, this catalog pre-dates him by a couple of years.
It didn't even occur to me about the pictures. I looked again, and there actually is a mix of drawings and actual photographs. I guess I just picked drawings for some reason?
Ah, the rush. The holiday season is a lot like parenting, we rush around trying to complete what we believe will be the tedious so we can get to the "good stuff" and inevitably still not have time for the "good stuff." I think some of my best memories of childhood involve doing the tedious with my family. I vividly remember summers in the backyard working the hand snipers to do the edging while my dad mowed. At the holidays, I remember the record player cranking timeless Christmas songs while we decorated the tree. The years we had a live tree were spent finding, cutting and pruning that tree, then keeping it watered.
ReplyDeleteBoy do I remember the Sears catalog. I was 8 in 1974, do I could probably read and write pretty well and was in charge of my own list. My sister and I would spend hours laying on our bellies looking through it. I remember silly putty and slinkees and GI Joe. That might have been the Christmas that I enjoyed his tent and Jeep.
Thanks for the memories, Ken.
WG
We haven't had a real tree in quite some time. I remember when we did. Mostly I remember the smell. Sometimes I think about getting a real tree again, in hopes of stirring up those old memories again.
DeleteThe GI Joe, tent and jeep is indeed in here. It's the Desert Patrol Set, for $15.99.
I wouldn't let anyone rib you for those TV guides, I think it's cool to see all of those shows, pictures, descriptions, and articles from days gone by. That catalog is very cool.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to wish for something to bring me back to the seventies as a kid, it'd be my Green Monster Power Wheels Trike. I became the drift king at three years old. Seeing that would take me back for sure.
I was looking back at the TV Guides the other day. It's funny how many adds for cigarettes there are in there. It's something we don't see anymore.
DeleteSo, when you say Power Wheels, is that the battery operated thing? It's not in this catalog, but there is the Big Wheel, which was a pedal trike. And I remember there being a Green Machine, which was the souped up version of the Big Wheel. But those were both pedal driven.
Oh, my. It's been so long ago that I did get the name wrong.
DeleteIt was powered by pure pedal adrenaline and was the Big Wheel, possibly the Green Machine because I remember the extra wide tires on back.
Thanks for looking that up and setting me straight on my own memories. Those were the days, even if I can't seem to get the names right.
And yes, cigarette ads have that oh-so vintage extinct look. I'm hoping that current alcohol ads have that same appeal in the future.