Christmas Memories Gifts, Activities, Fads, and Fancies, 1920s 1960s by Waggoner, Susan [Stewart, Tabori & Chang,2009] (Hardcover) Paperback – January 1, 1994

I try to read several Christmas themed books each December. I don’t like romance and not really a fan of cozy mysteries either, so it’s a challenge to find something interesting and creative.So, I’m so glad I found this. I enjoyed the pictures and the research. How interesting that wrapping gifts in the 20s (pre scotch tape), one needed sealing glue for tissue paper! I love learning little things like that.The last thing I’ll say is it was a pleasant feeling to connect with the past and to think about Christmases that people I desperately miss ( grandparents, extended family) might have looked like.

Great book filled with great photos and information about the past, nice gift for someone born during these years.

Received in good order

So much fun to readabout Christmas past. Found a lot of the toys I had! Such wonderful memories here

I love Christmas. Decorating with vintage ornaments has always been important to me. But now I know which decades are represented with each ornament. Knowing how Christmas decorations have evolved and what sociological events impacted there availability is interesting. It was fun to learn how Santa became the icon for marketing holiday goods. It was interesting to see how a wife's responsibilities moved from the traditional basics to become a color-coordinated interior decorator in the 50s and 60s. Discovering how war impacted Christmas decorating was another gem. Finding out that, even though the depression was occurring in the 1930s, marking developments in glass and the forerunners of plastic, changed Christmas ornaments. There is just a lot of good information in this book. The author did refer to plastics when I don't think plastic had yet been invented; but there was bakelite and early forms of similar materials.

Beautiful book.Reading this text made me nostalgic for the Christmas' of the fifties and sixties. The artwork was so beautiful and reading about the Christmas toys of the sixties, including Captain Action, View Masters, and assorted space stuff was great. Ms. Waggoner did her research well. Illustrations from those decades are flush with bright reds, brilliant blues, and warm greens. Some excellent essays on the season as well. I am sure every Christmas has its problems, but I miss those seasons of yore, where it "seemed" things were slower paced. Or maybe it's the scifi toys I couldn't get enough of.Great Book, Ms. Waggoner.JThreeWilliston [email protected]

great gift for anyone, especially older people or those with an interest in recent history. If I could only buy one of this type of book, I would, however, choose "Under the Tree", as it is more all-encompassing. But this is a great addition to a historical holiday book collection. Looks great on the coffee Table by the Christmas tree all holiday season, and fun to just pick up and read a page or two here or there, as well as reading it straight through!

Just love vintage Christmas! This is a great book with tons of fun facts and photos. Seller was excellent and shipping was fast.

great read for a christmas fanatic

This was a nice read with pretty pictures. I gave it three stars because the book was smaller then expected and some of the pictures were very small to really get a sense for. The print is also on the smaller side. It was still nice to look through.

I haven't looked at the whole book but it appears its going to be another let down.