Christmas Past

I was listening to the radio today and someone started a parents group trying to get advertisers to slow down ads this Christmas to children, due to a slow economy. The talk show host was railing against this man calling him a wimp. Advertisers have been advertising to children in some way or another for decades. All parents have to do is have a backbone and say no. Or maybe turn off the tv.

Anyway I got to thinking about when I was a kid - the ultimate advertising was the Sears Wishbook. It would arrive in the mail and I would turn into a maniac. Being a list maker, I would write down everything I wanted. I tried to get something from every page. Then I would add them up and laugh at the thousands of dollars I had spent in my mind. It was great fun.

This photo is from the 1971 Wishbook. I LOVED Barbies and am sure I wanted this Karosel Kitchen for $3.95 when I was 9. Heck I love this kitchen now. What an idea! My Barbies were my favorite toys. I had numerous females - several Barbies, Midge, Skipper - but only one male. He was quite a player. My barbie fantasy world looked like a soap opera. He switched girlfriends a lot. Somewhere along the line a got a set of babies - quintuplets. So we had lots of barbie babies! Maybe I was a prophet of my own future. Anyway, I have enjoyed thinking about my Barbie house and camper (the one in the other picture) and that wonderful smell of the plastic. I wonder what my kids will think about and remember in 40 years.