Christmas presents in the late 50’s

Books I remember

Lucie Attwell’s Annual.

Jennifer and the Flower Fairies

Father Christmas and Belinda

Rupert Annual

Girl

Chicks Own Annual

Strip books - Mary Mouse series.

Hundreds of Blyton titles - an absolute favourite.

Heidi

Little Women

Black Beauty

I have some books in one of my bookcases I have kept, that I read, published in the 30s and I loved them.

One a very early cartoon book that belonged to an Uncle published in the 20s - I think it was called Felix the Cat.

I adored my books, and as a child had the ability to sit entirely absorbed - more than I have ever been able to do as an adult.

As a teenager I was lucky as my father worked for a book publisher, and would bring home bags full of books that had been rejected for one reason or another - pages not properly cut, etc and so had access to myriad titles and genre - some entirely unsuitable 😄 but the majority a whole world of enjoyment.
I remember being introduced to so many authors that I would never have tried.

Calendargirl Lucky you! That’s the way I feel about my childhood books. During the first lockdown, I started to seriously go through my many thousands of books, with a view to getting rid of a great many of them, ended up reading most of my childhood ones. They’ve all been put aside, will not be going as of yet.

grannydarkhair

Annapops The summer of 1971, I went berry picking with my then best friend, we stayed on the farm in a caravan. Mum never said a word about it, but when I returned home after four weeks, she’d given ALL my Lego away! Talk about being traumatised, I couldn’t look at her for days, nay weeks. Her excuse was that she hadn’t seen me playing with any of it for a couple of years which was true but absolutely irrelevant imo😁
My oldest g’son, now 20, has a huge amount of Lego (a lot of it bought by me), it’s all up in the loft for future generations. He’s doing a Civil Engineering degree and I’m convinced Lego had a lot to do with him choosing that.

Poor you! Dh felt the same when his mother gave away most of his large and carefully nurtured collection of Dinky Toys when he was away at university. I don’t think he ever quite forgave her.

There were still a few left, which we stored in the loft when working abroad for several years and renting the house out.

When we finally returned for good, we found that one of the tenants had nicked them! Dh was 😩 all over again. They were all corporate lets, to French, German, or Japanese tenants - but we never did find out who the guilty party was.

Dressing dolly cut out set. Twizzle, now was that an annual? Boxes of chocolates with a painting of a cottage on the lid. Ready filled net stocking filled with bits and bobs.

A spirograph. I loved mine.

Crystallised fruit every year from Aunt in South Africa

grannydarkhair

I still have all my old Bunty annuals in the loft, very shabby and well read, but oh, just takes me back as soon as I turn the page.

The Four Mary’s, Toots, Moira Kent and Lorna Drake, (ballerinas), …..

Annapops The summer of 1971, I went berry picking with my then best friend, we stayed on the farm in a caravan. Mum never said a word about it, but when I returned home after four weeks, she’d given ALL my Lego away! Talk about being traumatised, I couldn’t look at her for days, nay weeks. Her excuse was that she hadn’t seen me playing with any of it for a couple of years which was true but absolutely irrelevant imo😁
My oldest g’son, now 20, has a huge amount of Lego (a lot of it bought by me), it’s all up in the loft for future generations. He’s doing a Civil Engineering degree and I’m convinced Lego had a lot to do with him choosing that.

Candelle

Pears' Cyclopaedia

I wasn’t given one as a present but I used to spend ages looking through the copy we had at home in the 50s

From the early 60s onwards, my main gift every year for both Christmas and my birthday until I was 14/15 (1968/9) was Lego. Also got a new dolly plus clothes for them every couple of years until I was 10/11. Favourite was one which had her own pink wardrobe. No thank you letters for any of that as were all from immediate family.
Thank you letters written for most of the following most years - various Annuals, depending on my age, including Bunty, Judy, Diane, Hotspur, Oor Willie, The Broons - I wish I still had all them. But never a Rupert.
Jigsaws, colouring books and pencils, other books (still have a great many of them), scraps, chocolate coins in gold foil, selection boxes.
I also got a red and white Dansette record player in 1964.

Beko building kit which later introduced me to my love of Lego. We had a huge wooden box full which was a shared present between me and my sister. We spent hours playing with it. I still have that Lego and the GC play with it now.
Sindy and Paul with Sindy's red sports car. We built houses using books for walls. Blue Peter showed us how to make furniture for the dolls. So many happy memories playing with my younger sister who died many years ago now.
When I was five years old I woke up on Christmas morning to find a beautiful wooden dolls house, complete with wooden furniture. How I loved that.
I always wanted a train set but dad bought us a scalextric set instead. Wonder who that was really for?

Remember the bubble bath balls in a tube?

Oh my goodness, this is pure nostalgia.
My auntie was an Avon lady, and I always had pretty peach
A doll which came naked, but my mum would knit clothes for.
A record player, battery operated I guess, records:
Little Sir Echo
Over the rainbow
And one about dancing shoes
Almost always a manicure set.
Bits from Woolworths, bath cubes, bubble bath in clear plastic animal shaped, Rupert annual ( never liked it)
Always loved cut out paper dolls
So many things you mention are familiar, I can almost smell the Woolworths green bubble bath x

Kaleidoscope. I would like one now.

Pencils with my name on.
Hankies with my initial on.

Georgesgran

My Dansette record player , Christmas 1964 when I was 9, was best EVER present. Along with the 3 singles for a £1.00 which I still have.
It set me off on a life- long love of 🎶

Stamping kits.
Pretend Post Office.
Always a Rupert Annual.

Later a jewellery box on 3 legs shaped like a grand piano - the lid opened and a ballerina popped up to dance to a musical box tune.

Later still, a Dansette record player.

Post Office set
Set of children’s stationery, for writing the dreaded thank-you letters
Wooden pencil box with sliding lid and coloured crayons inside
A paintbox

A very favourite annual in 1959 was the SchoolFriend Pets Annual - I found the exact same one in a 2nd hand bookshop a few years ago!

Yes Oopsadaisy1, the John Bull printing set - I loved mine, I used to play with it for hours.
Magic painting books
Dolls cutout outfit books
Post Office sets
Hand knitted or sewn dolls outfits
Jigsaws
Pretty Peach by Avon - we thought we were the bees knees
Beano annual
Wooden animals with elastic inside that you could make move
Newberry fruits from my nana
Those little plastic men with parachutes

Happy days.

Pears' Cyclopaedia

Printing set, teeny tiny letters that you stuck into a stamp and printed.
Post office set
Nurses uniform
Little piano
Painting book and paints
Selection box
Conjurors outfit/set
Compendium of Games
Not all on the same Christmas though!

A knitting bag with wool and needles
An underskirt
Second hand dansette record player
Second hand bike*
Dolls clothes knitted by mum.
* The fact these 'big' gifts were second hand, completely passed me by. I was so happy to get them. The bike had a little bag and on Boxing Day I went out exploring with two mince pies for sustenance ☺️

I loved those French knitting sets. In fact I found a wooden cotton reel with nails in in an old box the other day and I might have a go again!!

Triangular shaped manicure set

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?)

Forgot to add,
A doll