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If you had a magical snow globe that you shook and suddenly was filled with your Christmas memories from the 1980s, what scenes would be found there? Perhaps yours would be similar to mine, filled with loving family, giggling children, and lots and lots of iconic 1980s décor and gifts.
I am sure visuals are appearing in your head as you read this, but just in case you need a few reminders, let's take the next few moments to stroll down a red velvety memory lane. You know the kind of velvet I am referring to, don't you? Not the plush soft type, but the cardboard, stiff kind that every little girl's holiday dress was made from with the satin belt and the red plaid trim. If you were really unfortunate, yours had an itchy netting underneath to give you that much-desired poof. Little boys were not immune to the questionable fashion of the day as they were often dressed in terribly patterned sweaters, suspenders, wool shorts, knee socks, and black and white saddle shoes.
Christmas decorations were heavily leaning on the tacky side. As I sit here typing I am looking at a pair of three feet tall, lighted blow mold candles. You remember the ones. They were designed to be used outdoors but were on their sides more than upright since any small gust of wind knocked them over. No trip to grandmas would be complete without burning your fingers on her tabletop ceramic Christmas tree with the drop in lights that reached skin-scorching temperatures. Oh, and do you remember those satin Christmas balls with a variety of holiday scenes? We also had a collection of melted popcorn plastic wall figures such as Rudolph, Santa, and snowmen.
What do you see under the Christmas tree? What items were on every wish list? If you were a young girl, you had to have a Cabbage Patch Doll and if you were the parent, good luck finding one! Believe it or not, there were Cabbage Patch Doll Riots. Yes, you read that correctly, at one department store in Wilkes-Barre, a riot broke out with a store manager grabbing a baseball bat to protect himself, fearing for his life. If you were an older girl you were wishing for a super deluxe, two-story, spacious Barbie Dream House or perhaps a collectible Holiday Barbie.
There was also a vast array of must-have stuffed toys such as: Pound Puppies, Puffalumps, Popples, and Care Bears. These bears came in multiple colors with a unique image on each of their furry little tummies, each representing the personality of the bear. The collection included such characters as: Bedtime Bear, Wish Bear, Cheer Bear, and Good Luck Bear, just to name a few. Who can forget Teddy Ruxpin. I don't think I could even if I wanted to. Those moving eyes and mouth were unsettling to say the least. This animatronic toy used cassette tapes to tell children stories. I can proudly say I never purchased one of them for my children.
What family did not receive a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Car? You know the red car with the yellow roof and very large eyes that children use their feet to propel themselves forward, Fred Flintstone style? Of course, no child ever uses the car as designed and most beg their parents to push them, which is anything but safe! I remember saying repeatedly, "keep your feet up!" It begs one to wonder just how many injured ankles have occurred because of these cute, innocent looking cars!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the explosion of available tech gifts. The 1980s was the decade of Atari, Nintendo, Nintendo Game Boy, the Sony Walkman and the birth of the Video Home System, or VHS. Oh, and you had better load up on batteries if you were giving or receiving a boombox since these behemoths took Eight D-batteries!
Shake your globe again, now see what holiday foods are being served! I see Aunt Pat's port wine cheese ball, grandma's creamy pineapple fluff salad with multi-colored mini marshmallows, I see butterscotch haystacks, Jell-O poke cake where you took a vanilla cake and poked holes and poured red and green Jello inside. What holiday gathering would be complete without those tiny little cocktail wieners? Oh, and I loved those Danish butter cookies. The ones that came in a tin. I am certain they could last for decades and have probably been found in the underground bunkers that were built in anticipation of Y2K. The house was also filled with the sweet and spicy scent of mulled cider. This tradition came from our many pilgrimages to Colonial Williamsburg during the 1980s.
Let's give our snow globe one final shake as we conclude our trip down the millennial memory lane. This time envision the most treasured Christmas memories. They are not the clothes we wore, the gifts we received, or the food we ate, but the time spent with those we love. In the wise words of the Grinch, "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."
May you and yours have a blessed holiday season.
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Rhonda S. Kelley is the executive director of the Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce.