The joys of a late 1970's Christmas! I remember waking up that morning to some pretty amazing stuff. I ran down the hallway and into the living room and didn't even know where to begin! Some things were on display on the hearth (where Santa left stuff when he came in through the fireplace) and some things were wrapped by my parents and ready for me to tear them open. It was a good day!
Here's the rundown:
1) A dolly that looked just like me, and as you can see I was bouncing off the walls in happiness because my holiday morning hairstyle is already falling apart! I always wanted a daughter, even then - at the time, this doll was the closest thing I could get to that!
2) A Snoopy house - you could wind up Snoopy and he would walk right in! Woodstock was there on top proudly flying a flag.3) I think the little blue house that is somewhat obscured by my curls is a Weebles house? (Weebles wobble but they don't fall down as the commercials used to say!)
4) An aardvark with a velcro tongue that you would push around on the floor and he would pick up big blue felt ants. He could also pick up socks laying around your room if you didn't feel like picking them up yourself. He was affectionately named 'Alvin the Ardvaark' by Kenner, a toy company known by multiple generations from 1946-2000.
While the gifts were great, it was the energy that was in the air that I loved most, the anticipation, the excitement. As a toddler tries to understand the world around them, there is this realization that that, even though life was full of packing tuna sandwiches in a metal lunchbox and heading to preschool early on a regular weekday, there were these days in the year set aside for pancakes on the griddle, and stuffing on the stovetop; days that were for joy, for love.
And the big brass candle holders sporting garland and ornaments couldn't be more 1970's if they tried. They wanted to match the gold shag carpet. If you are looking for a Gen X Christmas aesthetic, you've got it all right here...and to the far right on the hearth is a box of 1970s matches, perfect for lighting a 1970s fire in your fireplace at the end of a holiday, when a good time was had by all!
(c) 2024, Chloe Koffas
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