Christmas presents in the late 50’s

My brother had a wind up Winston Churchill. When he walked along, the tip of his cigar lit up. I remember manicure sets, also those little round plastic disc shaped things where you had to get the little ball bearings into the holes, skipping ropes, hoola hoops, roller skates.
There was a shop on the corner of our road which sold a variety of items. The shopkeeper had a 'club'. She would give you a card and you could pay in so much a week - usually a penny or two, then we would buy our mum something for Christmas. A vase or something (which we would take back if she told us off)

Oh wow, what a fabulous thread! Thanks OP.
So many of the items listed above for birthdays and Christmas. I particularly loved my pink doll’s carrycot, Spirograph, Petite typewriter and those wonderful dolls with cut out clothes!
Anyone remember those oil paint by numbers sets? Bead sets to make your own jewellery? Cardboard sewing box with numerous drawers filled with sewing threads etc. once it was used up, I used the fancy box to store my paper dolls clothes in.
Look And Learn Annual. Plastic farm animals and fences to make enclosures!
A Build A Home Set which was extremely tricky and fiddly with girders and joists. The plastic roof sections were particularly difficult.

6/8d each, the singles were! We had a great aunt who gave us a pound for the three of us which meant we could each buy a single!

We could be twins!!! Petite typewriter and Spirograph too x

A Rosebud doll with rooted hair and a Wendy Boston Teddy both of which I still own.

Annuals: Rupert Bear, later Girl Guide annual
Books
Dolls with knitted or sewn clothes (only one doll at a time)
Teddies
A peacock blue woollen jumper when I was seven

These were from my parents or grandparents and other relatives who visited at Christmas, so I didn't have to write thank you letters.

The years a relative didn't come at Christmas or New Year, I did have to write a thank you letter before New Year's Eve, which according to my mother was the last date a polite person posted a Christmas thank you letter on, adding good wishes for the New Year.

My paternal grandparents and uncle sent the unimaginative gift of a 10 shilling postal order which they said had to be deposited in my post office savings account.

I honestly don't remember when I was allowed to use any of the money from that account, though I do have a vague memory of going with my mother to the post office to withdraw five or ten shillings and having to write to Grannie and Grandpa telling them with many thanks what I had with my mother's permission bought for the money, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what I did buy - probably my little sister's birthday present.

Magic painting book - you only needed water.
Smoking set - licquorice pipe, sweet cigarettes, coloured coconut chips tobacco………

My presents similar to many. One year I had a blue tricycle which was my pride and joy for years. Some of my friends had a pillow case instead of a stocking which made me envious. Stocking always had bath salts which I ate by mistake one year in the dark! Satsuma wrapped in tissue. Pens, hankies. When I was older I loved that Aqua Manda perfume-anyone remember it?

‘last’

Had all those above over different christmases, but my best present was 1963 …I was 12 and my brother 13 …he got a new bike , but parents couldn’t afford two of them , so I got a second hand one purchased from the girl next-door-but-one…. who was a ‘big girl’ at 15 and was at work! I coveted that bike for a year or two, and I got it! Couldn’t care less that it was second hand…. me and bro could ride of into the sunset together , and go see our elder sister ,who was married with one child at the time! She lived 9 miles away …but that winter…worst on record , our parents let us do the 18 mile round trip to see her and our nephew….she lived in a mobile home up a steep hill, but we were fit! Glorious memories….the year later I got a brand new portable typewriter … requested, but never thought I’d get it. Two wonderful lady christmases before my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's…and my life went downhill…along with my family’s.Never forget those two years!

Loving this thread. Always got a pinny/apron. Box of hankies, teddy, doll with handmade clothes. Bath cubes , annuals , toy piano

Well it was meant to be best foot forward with housework today but got engrossed in this thread! I've been re visiting my Christmas's past with lots of memories of toys and presents on here. Lots of the above as a child of the 50's. Loved a pair of metal roller skates that you adjusted to size with a spanner, never had them off. A pedigree doll that said on the back, pat pending. I thought that was her name! I have 2 brothers and thought their toys far better than dolls and prams. I coveted my older brother's Davy Crocket hat with a tail on it. Mr Manc was also disappointed to find his collection of tin soldiers had been given away unknown to him as he no longer played with them. Bunty and Brownie annuals for me and one year a Bobbsey twins annual about an American family. I wanted to live with them

Xx

Oh, so many happy memories here! Lovely thread, so many familiar things I thought I’d forgotten, Pretty Peach, Oor Willie/Broons annual every year (I’ve still got some I bought for my children), Judy annual, manicure set. I’ve no idea if I ever got anything secondhand, it never occurred to me and, I’m delighted to say, neither did it to my children or grandchildren! Thankyou so much for starting this thread.

Cadbury chocolate vending machine.
Meccano for the boys
Loved those fortune telling orange fish in Christmas crackers!
We had an Aunty who posted gifts. My brothers got a packet of cigarettes each (swiftly confiscated). I received lovely pony books with beautiful illustrations.
Jack and ball sets
Spinning tops
Plasticine
Torches with different colour lenses
Pens with different colour inks you selected

Happy days!

Painting by numbers, a doll that looked like Princess Anne ( child),beano / dandy album. A dreadfully boring book from a childless uncle and aunt called " Time on the Thames " . Encyclopedia, snakes and ladders,best of all,a ten shilling note from my uncle Len.

Bunty Annual
T V fun Annual
Personalised Farm made by my Dad, my name on the gate
Blackboard and easel made by Dad
Hankies with embroidered flower
Lemon fragrance and lemon shaped soap - loved this
Bath cubes
Water colour paints
Colouring pencils
A doll’s pram
A carrycot
A globe
Encyclopaedias
Stilts that Dad made
Doll with clothes that Mum knitted.
Cluedo
Monopoly

Thanks to all the folk who have posted their memories of 1950s Christmases. Really lovely to read and recall.

Sootie hand puppet ... also a lovely string puppet which I still have. My brother had Meccano and one year he got a real little steam engine that was fired up with a mini firelighter. I never had a 'proper' doll and envied a friend with hers. Mine was a small hard plastic thing and as a treat she was taken to the Doll's Hospital and had a wig glued on. I still have the clothes that a gran knitted for doll. I remember arrival of Teddy Bear. I was still in a cot and he was there when I woke on Christmas morning along with a penguin. My father travelled to Germany for work often and I suspect that was where they came from.

Going back to the very early 50s I had a Muffin the Mule puppet.

French knitting

I can still remember the contents of the sewing box that my grandmother gave me at Christmas 1960, I was so pleased with it. Basically a 3 layer cardboard box of little drawers filled with loveliness.
A pretend sweetie shop with tiny glass jars of miniscule sweeties, tiny scales and tiny triangular paper bags. Loved it.
Pretend post office with little stamps.
A string marionette that I never got to grips with!
12 Lakeland crayons and a lovely colouring book.
A brown leather school satchel that I disliked.
A pair of brown leather second hand school shoes that I was ashamed of.

Should say coloured sticky PAPER shapes.

My sister and I had Floral Garden. Only trouble was, the pieces were so small they were always getting lost and vacuumed up.
www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwih6rWlqc77AhWYdcAKHX3SDkoQFnoECCQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hungerfordarcade.com%2F2017%2F02%2Fhungerford-arcade-miniature-garden%2F&usg=AOvVaw2aSPy5YRF3u4Jig0Jp-EUT
Not a Christmas present, but does anyone remember the boxes of small brightly coloured sticky shapes, for making pictures?

What lovely thread.
I’m a 60s child so here goes:
Bath cubes
Green socks from my Irish Nana! Every year .
Tressy doll
Marvel comics
Diana album
Red and white triang tricycle which I loved
Microscope - which I used for years
Printing set - I still remember the smell
Roulette set
Chad Valley Projector and Stingray slides which I loved
A homemade Pinocchio puppet lovingly made by my father. My sisters had the Pelham ones but I still have and treasure mine.
Toy pinball machine. Parents could always tell when we were awake on Christmas morning and had opened our pillowcases
Railway set - I used to run it through the garage of my dolls house.
Tangerine and walnut
Ludo set. When we were older we were taught “navy ludo” which involved shots of rum.

Lots of memories there!