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Here are thirteen Christmas presents I’ve loved over the years.
1. San Francisco Music Box Co. music box. (1994?)Tim chose “Lara’s Theme,” which is what my grandmother’s music box played. Her music box was always in her living room and it was very special to me, so I was pleased that Tim remembered this. (I also have my grandmother’s music box now, too.)
2. Commodore 64 computer. (1984) Mom and Dad bought this for us when I was 14. At the time, it was still cutting-edge to have a computer in your house. Since there were four kids in the family – and we all loved to play computer games – Mom limited us to 30 minutes per turn. Yeah, that worked well. (MOM, her turn is OVER! Make her get off the computer! was commonly heard around our house.) But it was an awesome gift.
3. Raggedy Ann paper dolls. (1973?) I’m not even sure why I remember this gift – it wasn’t a big gift, and I was probably only three at the time. (Mom, it was the same year that the girls got their Winnie the Pooh Weebles house, of which I was extremely jealous.) I still remember what some of the clothes looked like.
4. Creative Zen MP3 player (2004). This was another of Tim’s famous budget-buster gifts (which I have never complained about, of course!). I spent at least a week “ripping” every CD that I owned so that I could store it on this little player. Sadly, it had two major flaws (headphones had to be plugged in *just right* or you didn’t get good sound, and lots of the tracks skipped even though the ripped versions didn’t skip on the computer) and I have recently replaced it with an iPod classic. But I loved my Zen!
5. Fisher Price Mary Doll (1976). Oh, how could I forget Mary? She was my best Christmas present EVER! The year I was in first grade, for some reason I recall that money was tight until right after Christmas, and there were few presents under the tree. Instead, a short time after Christmas, Mom and Dad took us to the big toy store and we were allowed to pick something out. (More than one thing maybe, I don’t remember – I only had eyes for Mary!) Mary was my top doll forever after. She looks much worse for the wear, even worse than the one in this picture (and her original clothes are long gone), but I still have her and will never get rid of her.
6. VCR (1985). Mom and Dad surprised us with a VCR when I was in 9th grade. Again, we were a little ahead of our time, and we loved it.
7. Blue Blankie (2000). Tim gave me this when I was pregnant with Big Brother. OK, it was actually meant for BB, but I got to open it. After switching through several favorite blankets in his first couple of years, BB finally settled on Blue as his one and only. Blue is pretty ratty these days but we all love “him.” (Little Sister has Pink Blankie, which is pretty similar, but she’s not quite as attached to it. She tends to go for quantity, not quality, when selecting her bedtime blankets.)
8. Bookstore gift certificate (1981). This gift certificate from my aunt and uncle was the first time I can really remember having my own money to spend in a bookstore (we were always big library users). Wonder if they had any idea what they were starting! I believe I bought Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and another book whose title escapes my memory.
9. Duran Duran 13-CD “singles” set (2004). I’ve been a fan since 1985 (except for a few years when they lost their way) and was thrilled to find this set that included all kinds of never-before-on-CD tracks. I had some of them on vinyl (as B-sides to extended dance mixes and things like that). Wish I could find the darn set so that I could “rip” it onto my iPod. I know it’s around here somewhere …
10. New house (2001). OK, we officially closed on our house on November 30, but Tim and I got possession of our house on December 19, 2001. Perhaps the best Christmas present ever!
11. My laptop (2007). This actually counts as my Mother’s Day, birthday, anniversary, and Christmas present this year. Well worth it, though!
12. My serger sewing machine (2001). Tim knew I wanted a serger but did not want to risk actually picking one out. So he made me a certificate with a dollar amount on it and something like “to be used for the purchase of a serger of your choice.” I believe we ordered it online within the week.
13. Sunshine Family dolls (1975?) These kind of hippie dolls – mom, dad, sister, and baby brother – were kind of the anti-Barbie. I even had their bright yellow car! I remember playing with them in the basement for ages with my sisters. (I think with my sisters … surely I shared the dolls?)
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I read every present on your list. Oh the memories it brings back.
GREAT list.
Happy Holidays
maggie at http://maggie.coffeeshopmafia.com
I’d rather have a member of the Sunshine Family anyday over a Bratz doll. Those things are wierd looking……
Gosh what an incredible memory you have! I can’t remember as far back as………yesterday!
Cheers
I remember our first VCR. It lasted a while too!
Happy TT.
I’ll take the serger and laptop. lol They’re on my wish list. Great list!
Happy Holidays!
I really think that presents meant more back in my day when we could only choose one big present. I love your Mary doll. And I DO agree with you about the new Barbies. I have a whole collection of Barbies from the last 20 years and I don’t think the Bratz face is an improvement. I wonder if she will continue to be an icon.
What a fabulous post! You’ve given me inspiration for my next posting! Thanks for sharing, and happy TT.
I had a Commodore 64. After I got it home, I wondered why I had bought it! In fact I used it for video games only until it became obsolete, and all my efforts to sell it, even for a pittance, were unsuccessful. I ended up donating it to an orphanage where I hope they got some good use out if it.
What a cool walk down memory lane for you, and for me! I really enjoyed reading this!
How nice!
Great list! I remembered toys I forgot had existed!
My list is up too, come on by if you have a sec!
#5 — Gulp. That is so sweet! I loved my plush Lassie dog like that.
I got my first VCR back in the 1980s from my ultimate Mr. Wrong. It was a BetaMax. Fitting, huh?
Hmmm, I don’t remember Mary looking quite that nice! The last time I saw her, she had had numerous surgeries on her arms, a trip to the beauty shop was in order, and her outfit was not complete. Is this the pic of the one we found for LS?
And, I had forgotten that you had Mimi’s music box.
Woot!! I get credit for 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12!!
Wow, you are good. I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast 2 days ago!
Happy TT!
Lovely! So much love and I really like the reminiscing type TTs.
My family is in Scotland and not far from where they are is a SF Music Box franchise. It’s interesting to see the gain in popularity of that company lately–I hear it mentioned over and over.
#9… a 13 cd box set???? Come on!! Well you’ll be thrilled to know they are in the works for something right now. They were performing at some big thing (cant remember what) and it leads me to believe they have a new cd out. Fantastic!! In 2024 you can buy the 20 cd box set.. The geriatric years!!!
btwinny – yes, a 13 CD set (CD singles). It’s a great set and I wish I could figure out where the heck it is. And they DO have a new CD that came out a couple of weeks ago – Red Carpet Massacre – which I will probably be buying if I don’t get it for Christmas.
I loved the details that you provided in this TT. For Christmas 1984, we got the Commodore Vic 20. The games we had were Gorf and Radar Rat Race.
Since you are a Duran Duran fan, have you had a chance to listen to their new CD yet? If so, what do you think of it.
Oh I loved the Sunshine Family!!!! I can’t believe you remember all those dates
#2 – we were all so good at tetris!
#3 – I had Nancy & Sluggo Paper dolls – but maybe not that year.
#5 – Loved those dolls. I still have ‘my friend Becky’. The redhead. She still has her dress AND hat.
Do any of you remember Pudgie?
#6 – I also remember the night dad brought that home. I think the first movies we rented was a star Wars.
#2) I remember the Atari.(I rocked at Break Out, First was all about Space Invaders) For some reason I dont remember any computer except the one we could play Summer Olympics on.
#3) I remember the Sluggo. I thnk I had Mickey and Minnie. We would walk up to Lanes and buy them. Oh, what hours of fun!!!
#5) My Friend Mandy!! I do still have the original dress. Blue, white polka dots, small red ribbon, red flats. Ok, somehow, theres only one red shoe floating around. But at least she still has all her hair!! And remember Tiny?? I got her when First got Pudgie. First and I still also have our Bebe dolls. Think Teletubbies. Hers was all lightblue, mine was red. First had both of ours for a very long time in EL and when Hubby and I moved to GR, she passed him a box to give to me later. It was my “bebe doll” with a note that said I should have her back. First, I cried when I opened that box!!
#6) I dont remember getting the VCR, although I do remember having Showtime!!
#13) Dont remember that we had these. I do of course remember them tho. B Dickens had them and I loved them at her house. Why cant I remember these?? Why cant I remember the Commodore? Why cant I remember the VCR? Damn Im old!!
Malcolm – no, I haven’t heard the new Duran Duran album yet, but I did read a really good review of it (Entertainment Weekly, perhaps?). I thought their last one was great (wish I could locate the damn thing … where are all my good CDs?!) and hope I’ll like this one too.
Bakinbit – it’s not so much that I remember the dates, but more that I remember the grade I was in or something else that was happening around the same time that dates the gift.
Firsttwin & Btwinny – I do remember th were Nancy & Sluggo paper dolls! I forgot that we used to go to Lanes and buy them. They were so much fun to play with! You guys got Becky and Mandy 5 years after I got Mary! And of course I remember Pudgie and Tiny. Poor Pudgie’s hair (HOW did it all fall out, anyway?) And the Bebe dolls – do those things still have any paint on them?? And WE didn’t have the Sunshine Family dolls, *I* had them. Your comment makes me think that perhaps I didn’t actually share them with you. The Commodore is the computer we played the Summer Games on (and what was that jungle one – something Branch maybe – with all the differnt levels? And remember Mission Impossible?)
We got the girls that long after you?? I think maybe we got Tiny and Pudgie when you got Mary. You really want to know the secret to Pudgies hair?? Think of Mimi’s (the original) driveway. Think of the black marks on Pudgies head. Think of the butterfly nets we got for the creek out back at Mimi’s. Nuff said. Our Bebe dolls still have ALL their paint. I think its colored plastic. The only damage to them was that weird little knobby on their head that was gnawed on. I swear sometimes, when JD was a little younger and had more baby fat.. he looked like our Bebes. Im serioues, we’re talking early Teletubbies with those things. I cant watch Teletubbies without thinking of my red one. I have never ever seen one of those thing. Where the heck did we get those??
I guess I was thinking a Commodore was more of a console game. Not “computer”. I remember the jungle game. Something “Pit”. First liked that. Remember Zelda? Dad was a freak on that and would write down which way to go. I hated that game!! A blank screen like you were blind with directions. You were a fan of Alice in wonderland, if I recall. I liked Miner20/49er. Neal had given me a short cut to pass between levels. Of all thing, hold down a button.
It makes sense that I dont remember the Sunshine family. I wouldnt have shared them with us either!!! I think maybe I wasnt even aware you had them!!
Twinny, I can’t beleive you remember swinging those dolls in the butterfly nets (So much for cathching fish in the creek). Pudgie’s head still has those streaks. Ans dhe has hair only on one side of her head. Sort of like one horn. I really don’t know that happened… ‘Jungle Pit? the guy with all the alligato pit? I rocked at that one, too. Youplayed Miner 49er at Shana’s I think.
Oh, my bebe doll….sigh. You may as well bury her with me.
I’m hoping Snowbird will chime in here and tell us where those silly “Bebe” dolls came from! I don’t think they’re actually called “Bebe” dolls … at least, I couldn’t find any info about them online.
I think it was just a variation on the word baby.
Firsttwin and Btwinny, trust me on this one, those silly little Bebe dolls came from…….ta da…….your Grandma Smith! I don’t know if she gave them to you for your birthday or for Christmas. Did you get them before or after you got Pudgie and Tiny? Aha, the truth comes out. I always wondered what happened to Pudgie’s hair. When I was little I had a doll that had eyes that opened and shut. Shortly after I got her, I dropped her and her eyes fell back into her head – never to be seen again. From that time on, the beloved doll was referred to as Rattlie. Hey, do you remember the large Madame Alexander doll that Aunt Betsy gave you girls……and the head fell off? So, you girls just played with the head. What a weird lot of girls you were!!
I do NOT remember playing with just a doll head. In fact, I don’t even remember the Madame Alexander doll.
I do, however, remember many Barbies whose heads had popped off. We put them back on but they just never stayed put very well.