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Christmas presents in the late 50’s

(205 Posts)
OxfordGran Thu 24-Nov-22 12:39:12

Carrying on from the Thank You letters thread, Can anyone recall presents they received in say the late 50’s made to write thank you for, same stuff every year, can anyone remember

Rupert Annual
Girl Annual,
Eagle for my brother,
tiara, necklace, wand for my little sister,
immediately fell apart, Made in Taiwan
tins Sharps toffees
manicure sets
ballpoint pens and retractable pencils in a long box
woolly hats, scarves, mittens, usually itchy
diaries, sometimes with teeny tiny locks
Bath cubes
flat boxes of hankies with embroidered flowers
Weekend assorted sweets and chocolates
pencil boxes/cases/colouring pencils/
games compendiums
bicycle accessories
boxes Morny soaps, Lily of the Valley
useful things of immense educational value,
globes, encyclopaedia, stamp album, presents
children despair of

there must be many more presents of a similar nature
in people’s memory, happy reminiscing.

TillyTrotter Thu 24-Nov-22 19:38:07

A Bingo! set, with cards, and little counters,
a fat pen that had 8 or 10 different coloured biro’s inside and when you flicked a plastic knob the biro stalks moved position inside and your writing changed colour,
a plastic Snowman or Santa snow globe,
what we called “a dressing table set” of matching hairbrush, comb and hand mirror.

Callistemon21 Thu 24-Nov-22 19:41:22

tins Sharps toffees
I keep buttons in mine!!
flat boxes of hankies with embroidered flowers
Would you believe I still have some?!
John Bull Printing outfit Yes

Mid 50s (I'm old):
A walking, talking doll. I called her Caroline.
A chemistry set
A tinplate oven you could light with meths! I burnt it out.
Magic painting books
A water pistol (I was a tomboy)
Sweet cigarettes
The latest Enid Blyton book

Oh, and those ghastly French Knitting sets, with a wooden cotton reel that produced a long knitted worm.
I made mats for everyone 😀

And plaster of Paris sets with rubber moulds to make models, which I painted and varnished and gave to everyone as presents.

Callistemon21 Thu 24-Nov-22 19:43:13

Oh yes, the Post Office set!
Everyone must have had one at some time 😀

Stamp albums

Gingerrice Thu 24-Nov-22 19:56:49

Lakeland pencils
And ooh yes the post office set- found one on Amazon recently and GC had every bit as much fun with it ! Some things never change!
Betta builder ( think that's what it was called - a sort of pre Lego ?
Faces with iron filings and a magnetic pen to move them around
P.s. Did anyone else read the Chalet School books in the 60s

Callistemon21 Thu 24-Nov-22 20:01:37

Lakeland pencils Yes

P.s. Did anyone else read the Chalet School books in the 60s
Yes, I still have a couple.
Oh, how I longed to go to boarding school!

Callistemon21 Thu 24-Nov-22 20:02:02

Actually, I read them in the 1950s!

Jaxjacky Thu 24-Nov-22 20:11:34

Lurching from the 50’s into the 60’s I had an etch a sketch, I loved it, so novel. A Barbie my Dad bought back from America, he used to travel there a lot, my sister had a Tressy later, I was jealous and cut the hair off.
I also remember a fat biro pen that had 3, or maybe 4 different colours, you moved a little slot to change colour.

Grandmabatty Thu 24-Nov-22 20:21:25

I have most of the Chalet School books. I read them in the late 60s and they were so exotic to a girl who lived in a village in central Scotland. As an adult, I have bought most of the series.

Floradora9 Thu 24-Nov-22 21:11:16

Annapops

Your washing machine Urms reminded me of an oven I received when I was about 5years old. It really worked using methylated spirit as the fuel. I remember my dad lighting it for me and putting the small toy whistling kettle on the burner. I screamed with fear when I heard it. Where were the health and safety police back then? How did we survive?

I had just remember I had the same oven made by a friend of my father's . I do not think it got lit very often . I got the book " Children of the New Forest " one year and loved it . My parents owned a small shop , we lived above and alondside it , and in my early years they opened on Christmas day . I remember opening my presents all by myself in my bedroom and trying on a seersucker pink blouse I had been given . In later years we closed the shop and my mother's family would come to us for Christmas lunch .

Lucca Thu 24-Nov-22 21:27:40

Calendargirl

Oh, and those ghastly French Knitting sets, with a wooden cotton reel that produced a long knitted worm.

Fuzzy Felt ( is that name allowed now?)

Mosaic sets, with little hard coloured balls that slotted into holed card and made patterns.

(Can you tell I was never into craft?)

Why
Would the name fuzzy felt “not be allowed “??

lixy Thu 24-Nov-22 21:34:14

Soap on a rope every year,
an annual of some sort and at least one book
and a sherbet fountain.

I too loved the spirograph I was given one year.

Nell8 Thu 24-Nov-22 22:03:56

A proper wind-up alarm clock with a woodland scene on the face. In the centre were two pixies manically see-sawing in time with the ticking. It all got a bit much for them, having to go at it 24/7. Pixies and see-saw soon fell off their pivot and lay upside down, looking very pathetic!

Callistemon21 Thu 24-Nov-22 22:08:17

I liked all the crafty presents, Calendargirl

I'm not sure if relatives and friends liked the end results of my efforts, though.

Wyllow3 Thu 24-Nov-22 22:54:47

Callistemon21

^Lakeland pencils^ Yes

P.s. Did anyone else read the Chalet School books in the 60s
Yes, I still have a couple.
Oh, how I longed to go to boarding school!

Yes! I longed to be one of the Chalet School girls!

Brother got Meccano. Unfortunately there were boys toys and girls toys in the family, tho my mum was not prissy at all and I was quite a tomboy.

Shelflife Thu 24-Nov-22 23:57:41

I loved a Bunty annual!
I also had a building set called ' mini bricks ' Any one else remember those? Small brown bricks - a bit rubbery that slotted together a bit like Lego. Also came with little doors and windows for house building. I loved it but no one I speak to remembers mini bricks. Happy days!

AussieGran59 Fri 25-Nov-22 00:15:05

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AussieGran59 Fri 25-Nov-22 00:17:41

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Cressy Fri 25-Nov-22 00:40:00

Petite typewriter- still have it.
Talkative Jane
Little roll top desk
A game called Sorry. Can’t remember how it was played
Tube of Smarties

Oopsadaisy1 Fri 25-Nov-22 06:14:57

Shelflife I remember the little brown bricks! Did they have some kind of metal posts as well?

Also remember the iron filings picture to give the mana beard or long hair!

Judy and Bunty Annuals and Rupert of course.

Forsythia Fri 25-Nov-22 06:20:06

Enid Blyton books.
Bunty annual.
A satsuma in silver foil.
A selection box.
Rowney paints in a long palette with brush.
A scrapbook.
A bar of Aero chocolate.
My parents were poor so how they afforded this lot I do not know. It must have meant they deprived themselves.

Oopsadaisy1 Fri 25-Nov-22 06:21:48

I remember a large spinning and humming top I had one year, you pressed the large top and it made pretty patterns as it span.

My brother had a blue Triang scooter one year. Another year he had a tricycle with a proper boot to put his Corgi and Matchbox cars in. He got way better presents than I received.

vegansrock Fri 25-Nov-22 06:24:37

A “red Indian” headband with a feather sticking up made by my dad, not the full headdress I wanted! I think I also had a cowboy hat and a rifle once, no dolls for me! We also had a kitten once and a reel to reel tape recorder.

M0nica Fri 25-Nov-22 06:25:03

Early 50s: Dolls, Books

Late 50s: Transistor radio, books

My Christmas and birthday lists always consisted of one word: books. My mother always complained about that and asked me to think of a few other things I would like, but I rarely did.

Calendargirl Fri 25-Nov-22 07:04:10

As far as I’m concerned, nothing wrong with the name ‘fuzzy felts’ Lucca but just wondered if nowadays the word ‘fuzzy’ is not acceptable to some, if aligned with other words.

If I’m over thinking this, please ignore.

Juliet27 Fri 25-Nov-22 07:20:11

Ah yes, like some of you I also had cowboy ‘equipment’ (sadly not a horse) and my aunt made me a dress with lampshade fringe round the bottom, Calamity Jane style. My scooter had to do for riding round the village.
Anyone remember Pookie books?