This Nostalgic Life #28
Tales of Christmases Past
This Nostalgic Life is a free weekly publication rich with nostalgia brought to you by co-creators Eric Vardeman and Mick Lee. If this is your first time reading, you can subscribe using the button below so you don’t miss receiving any future issues delivered straight to your inbox.
Christmas is a magical time, and while we always look forward to the coming holiday, we also fondly remember the magic of past Christmases. In this issue, we’re going back in time and remembering four special years when the season was a little more magical than others.
Grab yourself a mug of hot cocoa or coffee, settle into a big comfy chair and relive these special times as Eric and Mick, along with Old School Tim tell you about their magical seasons. We also have a very special presentation as we are featuring a tale of a past Christmas written by our dear friend Jason Gross who passed away a little over a year ago. His love of the past still inspires us all, and with special permission, we’re reprinting his story of his wonderful Christmas of 1985. We think you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.
The Christmas I Made The Kessel Run
by Eric Vardeman
It’s 1979 and I’m nine years old. Star Wars had taken the world by storm two and a half years ago and it was the center of my nine year old universe. For two straight Christmases, all I asked for, gift-wise, were Star Wars related toys (a fact that carried over to birthdays, as well). By Christmas of 1977, Star Wars had been out for a little over six months and the related toy line was the hottest thing in the kid universe. By Christmastime, I had already collected the first twelve action figures and when it came time to make a gift list I asked for every Star Wars related vehicle shown in the catalogs because, lets face it, my action figures needed modes of transportation. And in my world, no vehicle was more coveted than the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo’s ship that had helped save the day at the end of the movie. That Christmas, I received Luke’s X-wing fighter and the Imperial TIE Fighter. Great gifts but, sadly, not the Falcon.
Christmas, 1978. Once again, I filled my Christmas list with Star Wars items, The Millennium Falcon being at the top of the list. Skunked again. Under the tree, I found Luke’s landspeeder, the Death Star playset (the multi-tiered version not that cardboard joke), and a handful of new action figures…but no Falcon.
In August of 1979, Star Wars was re-released to the theaters for three short weeks to build up interest in the sequel that was coming out in the summer of 1980, The Empire Strikes Back. Attached to the movie was a preview of Empire that was full of shots featuring the Falcon herself. My Millennium Falcon-mania was at an all time high after seeing that. I told my parents if I only got one gift that year it had to be the Falcon!
Christmas day, 1979. My dream finally became reality as the last gift I opened was, in fact, my Millennium Falcon. I can tell you, for a fact, that I did not care about any of my other gifts. I can’t even remember what they were. All I cared about what that ship. I wish my parents had pictures of Christmases when I was a kid. Sadly, all I have is this:
This is the day AFTER Christmas. For some reason, my parents thought to take a picture then and not Christmas morning. I’m allowing my sister and my cousin to WATCH me play with my prized possession. I had spent a good amount of time assembling and carefully applying stickers and I didn’t want anything or anyone to mess anything up. It came with two action figures included (Han Solo and Chewbacca) which I already had so I allowed them to play with those and my other action figures but nobody touched the Falcon but me!
I still have that ship, in it’s original box, stored away in my attic to this day.
My Christmas Memories of 1982
Before we go any further, please check out the pajamas! Yes, I am not ashamed to say those are E.T. pajamas I am wearing. The film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was released in theaters in June of 1982 and became a pop culture phenomenon. The movie became the biggest blockbuster to date remaining the top box office-grossing movie for six straight weeks and holding either the #1 or #2 spot until January. It holds the honor of being the highest-grossing film of the entire ’80s decade. They put E.T. on everything from books to bikes, to cereal boxes, to dolls, to lunch boxes (I had one of those, too), to an Atari video game, to pajamas and so much more. So seeing those PJs takes me right back to 1982.
Also in this picture, you can see the present that I had just unwrapped… the Panasonic RX-1230 AM FM Stereo Cassette Player/Recorder! Oh yes, my very first and very own radio with cassette player/recorder. Up to this point, I only had a transistor radio and my parent’s stereo. We also had a separate cassette player/recorder, but my only way to record songs on the radio was to hold the cassette recorder up to the speaker which, needless to say, did not provide the highest quality of recordings. Now I could record my favorite songs right off of the radio.
Anybody who had these old cassette recorders will remember the process of simultaneously pressing the RECORD with the PLAY button together at the precise moment you wanted the recording to start. This would often include waiting for a commercial to end or a long-winded radio DJ to stop talking over the beginning of a song. It brought joy and rapture any time you could get a clean radio recording of a favorite single with as little talking as possible at the beginning or end of the song. That brings me to Casey Kasem and his “American Top 40” radio show.
“American Top 40” was heard in the fifty states and around the world every week on great radio stations like the one I was listening to on my Panasonic RX-1230. I would sit poised with a finger on the record button and play button listening to Casey introduce each of that week’s Top 40 pop singles (as determined by Billboard magazine) deciding if I needed to record it or not. I would also often handwrite each week’s list in a spiral notebook (which I really wish I still had) for reference. Casey would mix in some trivia, anecdotes and, of course, the long-distance dedication which all added to the overall experience. Casey Kasem (who, as an awesome side-note in case you didn’t already know, additionally provided the voices of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo and Robin on Super Friends) became synonymous with the radio countdown. Though he retired from the countdowns back in 2009 before passing away in June of 2014 and I hadn’t listened to one in many years, I still find myself fondly remembering Casey Kasem and his Top 40 countdowns. Especially in the early ’80s, much of my musical tastes were influenced by listening to Casey count down the hits. I would get multiple upgrades to my stereo equipment over the years, but what awesome memories I still have of listening to Casey Kasem on my first Panasonic. “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
Taping my favorite songs off of the radio would lead to making my first mix tapes. I consider myself a master of the now lost art of the mix tape (and later mix CD), but that is a topic for a different day. You could never have enough blank cassette tapes ready to record on. I can still remember the smell when you crack open the wrapper on a brand new blank cassette tape. Memorex. Maxell. Sony. TDK. Hitachi. Scotch. JVC. Tightening them up with a pencil. Trying to determine if you had enough room on the tape for one more song. Writing the song list in such tiny print on the inside of the cover. Choosing each song and its order with care and purpose. Almost nothing beats an awesome mix tape. It all really started for me after I received that Panasonic RX-1230 for Christmas in 1982.
The extent of my music collection prior to that included mostly 45 rpm records, but now, in addition to recording songs off of the radio, I was able to buy some real music of my own. The very first cassette I chose to start my collection was 1999 by Prince. I am proud to say that I still have this original cassette though I seem to have lost the case over the years. Prince’s 1999 became his breakthrough album after being released in October 1982. If my memory is correct, my Mom bought 1999 for me shortly after Christmas that year, probably in January of 1983. I was still a little too young and a little naïve to catch the sexuality in many of the songs, but I just knew I liked to listen to Prince’s music. I listened to the first three tracks on side 1 of this cassette countless times partly because it was my only cassette for a while and mostly because I loved those songs. The album’s title track “1999” was first, followed by one of my all-time favorites “Little Red Corvette”, then followed by the quirky “Delirious” all of which would reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. I just tried it out to see if it still played and I am surprised it still works and wasn’t worn out from over-use. As I hold this 30+-year-old cassette in my hand right now, I can’t help but be flooded with memories of my Panasonic RX-1230, my very first AM FM Cassette Player/Recorder, and Christmas of 1982.
I can’t thank them enough because my parents gave my brother and me a wonderful Christmas each and every year. This included much of what we put in our letters to Santa and so many warm memories and traditions. I decided to share the picture above and just this one of many special recollections. The E.T. pajamas. My first radio/cassette recorder. Casey Kasem. Prince’s 1999. Christmas joy. All of that from this one snapshot from 1982. For along time, I thought nothing could be better than being a kid opening presents on Christmas morning, but I have since learned that it is only exceeded by watching your own children open their presents on Christmas morning. All the best to you this Christmas season and hope you are all creating awesome holiday memories like I am so grateful to have from the ’80s and every other decade of my life.
Visit Tim on X for daily doses of ‘80s nostalgia!
Christmas 1985 Through My GoBots Camera Lense
by Jason Gross (reprinted with permission)
On Christmas 1985, I received my first camera. It was a present from my Grandmother who most likely was made aware of the pile of toys my parents had already purchased and chose it out of practicality. But the camera she chose wasn't just any ordinary kid camera in that it cleverly disguised its primary function. It was a Gobots camera that was "a real camera just like Mom's and Dad's!"
I was 9 years old and enamored with all the transforming robots of the time. However, Gobots were my favorites of the lot mainly because of their smaller size. I loved playing with Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars and Gobots could interact with them and hide in their midst. By 1985 I would have had a vast collection of Gobots including the Command Center so my new camera seemed tailor-made for me. Did it transform? No. Was it a Polaroid that instantly spit out pictures? No. None of that mattered to me. All I cared about were the stickers of Leader-1 and Cy-Kill on top and the logo on the front that stared down my subjects.
Christmas 1985 was the first time I could document the holiday from my own perspective and my new camera truly made it easy. I could load the 110 color film cartridges myself from the back and use the red slider at the bottom to scroll to the ready position. There was a small counter that kept track of how many pictures had been taken and even a slot for a tower flash cartridge when I needed it. That Christmas season I would use the camera to document most of the gifts I received as well as the Christmas trees of several friends and family members during visits.
Christmas 1985 was a great year for gifts. I received a diecast Voltron robot made by Matchbox which I still own to this day. The Gobots theme passed along to a jigsaw puzzle which I immediately put together for a photo op. My love of robots continued to be made evident because I also received a gold Magic Mike robot that talked, smoked, had flashing eyes, and bump-n-go movement (top of his head is shown in the headline image above.) As a huge fan of sticker books, I was excited to receive the Panini Masters of the Universe sticker book. I was also a huge Ghostbusters fan and received a light blue sweatshirt featuring the logo surrounded by the words "Back Off Man, I'm a Ghostbuster!" (I'm wearing it in the headline image.)
There were two things that I wouldn't realize until many years later about my Gobots camera. First, it would take some of the most treasured pictures of my childhood. My parents divorced in 1990 so seeing them smile during silly poses with my gifts is really heartwarming. Looking at these pictures now truly helps this time period to transcend later events in my memory that would cause our family to split.
Second, my camera would still be taking pictures long after any traces of Gobots could be found in department stores. Both stickers on the camera would eventually peel and wear off making it quite generic in the years to come, but the residue left behind was enough to remind me of its heritage. It would travel with me to sites all around central Pennsylvania and one trip to Niagara Falls before being replaced by a newer model with a built-in flash in the early '90s. I have vivid memories of showing pictures taken from those trips to my Gram on visits and she would always be amazed that the kid’s camera she purchased years ago took surprisingly great pictures.
I have pictures of earlier Christmases in the late '70s that my parents took when I was just a toddler, but Christmas 1985 remains my favorite thanks to a handful of pictures taken by my mighty Gobots camera.
You can read more from the late Jason Gross in the massive archives at Rediscover the ‘80s
The Year Santa Became Real
by Mick Lee
By the fall of 1986, my thoughts were starting to turn to the coming Christmas season, and anticipation was starting to build for the holiday. The hope of children isn’t easily pushed to the side, but back in those days, I would be lying if I said that Christmas didn’t feel a little lacking.
Admittedly, I personally never felt slighted on Christmas morning. Whatever was under the tree from Santa Claus always left a lasting impression on me, even if I sometimes felt the little internal tug of wanting more. But when I would return to school, and see and hear about all the cool things my friends and others had gotten for Christmas, I would get a little jealous.
I was a good kid. I never caused trouble at school, and I definitely knew better than to cause trouble at home. I did my chores and I ate my vegetables, so why did I seem to be farther down Santa’s Nice list than some of the other kids?
“Jonathon pushed Samantha down and hurt her arm”, “Why did he get a huge Lego set and I only got a plastic trumpet?”.
“Zach punched me in the arm all year…hard.” “Why did he get a cool G.I. Joe HISS Tank and all the Dreadnoks figures and I ended up with a set of Hot Wheels knockoff cars?”
Such are the worrisome ponderings and questions of a kid who is not aware of all the comings and goings of adulthood.
What I didn’t know or understand back then, and actually I’m still learning and gaining a greater perspective on now, is that times were very tough for my family in the early eighties. My Dad was a self-employed businessman. He bought and sold new and used conveyor belts to coal mines, and as the coal business went, so did my family’s financial well-being.
1983 was a very tough year. My Grandfather’s alcohol addiction was in the last stages of consuming his life, and my Dad spent more time helping my Grandmother, both emotionally and financially, than he did with the business. The first week of December, my Grandfather passed away. Christmas was lean due to dealing with the emotional struggles of losing someone close, and the fact that so much time had been spent away from the business.
1984 came along, and so did the large-scale United Mine Workers of America strike in West Virginia…..primarily against the A.T. Massey Coal Companies and subsidiaries. West Virginia was always the breadbasket of my Dad’s business, so when strikes occurred, it crippled his business and our financial well-being for quite some time, and unfortunately, this strike would not be over quickly.
1985 came, and the strike was still on. It wasn’t resolved until late in the year. Too late for lost income to be made up. Several straight years of lean and underwhelming visits from Santa Claus were wearing on my faith in the man.
But then came 1986. The strike had been resolved, and with the mines back in full-time operation, orders poured in from all sides. It was a VERY good year. Not so coincidentally, Santa seemed to fill his sleigh completely just for my family. I guess he was making up for lost time.
That year, I can vividly remember more cakes and candies and goodies being around than any other. While I was pleased by gifts from previous Christmas days, I was totally blown away on that Christmas morning in 1986! The Cobra Terror Drome! The G.I. Joe Tomahawk Helicopter! Tomax & Zamot 2 pack! Grizzlor figure! The Hot Wheels Snake Mountain Challenge Race Track Set! Tonka Steel Monsters Truck! A huge Construx set! A G.I. Joe VHS Tape! Holy Cow!!!
It was like Santa Claus was issuing a huge “I’m sorry” for the previous couple of years, and making it up all in one day. And it wasn’t just me. My brother got a see-thru V8 engine kit, and some other cool stuff. My Mom got our family’s first microwave, a new bed coat, new shoes, a new Aigner purse, and a new Aigner leather coat.
I had always believed in Santa Claus, but 1986 was the year I fully got behind the larger-than-life man. He had come through in a big way and left memories of what was my favorite Christmas season for years….pretty much up until I had kids of my own. I went to school strutting with excitement in anticipation of telling all of my friends what I had gotten for Christmas. I was simply overjoyed.
The years rolled by, and one Christmas after another was really good, but none reached the heights of triumph that 1986 had. It really wasn’t until my later teen years that I learned and thought I finally understood why 1986 had been so magical. The stories I recounted at the beginning of this article came up in conversation every so often. How the early eighties were a really tight time for my family with the business swings and family issues and all. In 1986, my Dad’s business hit its zenith, and he was finally able to give his family the Christmas he had wanted to through those prior years.
Well, that’s it. I was 19 years old, and I had heard the tales and understood why those early Christmas mornings were less than stellar. End of story, have a Merry Christmas.
This is how the story has been left and told for the last twenty-some-odd years of my life. I learned the truth and thought it was cool that when my Dad finally had the chance, he went overboard on us for Christmas, but for all these years, there are other details that he had left out that I didn’t learn until just 3 months ago. Bear with me while I finish this tale.
Where I currently work, there are several people from throughout the community who also ply their trade here. One of the fellows whom I’ll call James to keep his identity private, served with my Dad in those early 80s years in the local Volunteer Fire Department. James and I would sit around during break periods and talk about those old days. Somehow one evening, the conversation turned to Christmas and other holidays. I recounted an abbreviated version of the events above and explained to James how my Dad had finally had a good year and turned into Santa Claus overnight and threw a big Christmas in ’86. James then proceeded to enlighten me to some details I had never been privy to before.
He said that “Santa” was a hell of a man, and just because I may not have gotten a lot of toys and such those years, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t much to go around, it just meant that there were more gifts being given to some folks who maybe needed it a little more than I did.
He piqued my interest and we continued talking and he opened my eyes to so much about those years. He reminded me of the Christmas parties that the Fire Department would host every year. He reminded me that every kid there got a new toy. He said that in those years when the fundraising for the party came in below what was needed, it was my Dad who donated the rest to make sure that every needy child in town got something there and went home happy.
He told me that when the town’s Christmas decorations that were hung from the light poles in town fell apart and needed to be replaced before the holiday season, it was my Dad who went and got a loan against his business to buy them so the town would still have decorations up for the Christmas season, not just that year, but for years to come.
And without any hesitation or embarrassment whatsoever, he told me that there was a year in there that he (James) had had a very rough year financially, and was in a real bind coming up on the holidays. My Dad could sense it, and went to James and asked him if he had the money to give his family a nice Christmas. James told him that, no, probably not. He said my Dad gave him money to buy his three kids presents. He also bought him a ham and some other food for a Christmas dinner, and my Dad and my uncle cut and delivered him two loads of firewood to see that he got through the season with heat for his family. He told a few other stories in the same vein of my Dad helping people through the holidays.
I need to tell you right now, I shed a tear listening to James tell me all of these things. For those years as a kid, I may have been selfish and wished for more than I had gotten. As I grew older, I thought I learned the truth and thought my Dad was really cool for making that year of ’86 extra special. But now, all these years later, I learned the rest of the story. I learned that even though I doubted the validity of Santa Claus being real, he is most definitely alive and well. I learned that the real Santa is a hard-working man who wants the best for his family, but he is also a caring and kind man to everyone else as well. He is a humble man, as he never felt the need to talk about the things he did for people. And I’m sure that the spirit of Santa Claus lives in many more men than just my own Dad.
It may have taken more than forty years now to learn the lesson to this degree, but I go into this coming Christmas season with a newfound outlook and a new attitude. I hope you get something from this story to take with you, and I hope this is the most wonderful and magical Christmas of your years.
That’s going to do it for this issue of This Nostalgic Life. We hope you’ve enjoyed these old tales of Christmas, and if they have stirred any memories in you of your own magical Christmas from years ago, tell us about it in the comments section below as we’d love to hear about it. Be sure to be back here next week for This Nostalgic Life #29 as we’ll still be deep in Christmas nostalgia.
Fantastic post all the way around! I've always loved that Millennium Falcon, but for whatever reason it's never been a part of my collection. I think once I trim down my grail list, I will add vintage Star Wars to the list... maybe by then the price will be in my favor, lol Merry Christmas!