From Teddy Ruxpin and Rubik's Cubes to mail order catalogs and holiday films that are now considered classics, relive the magic of Christmas in the '80s.
From hairstyles to music, nearly everything about the ’80s was louder and bolder than today — and that included holidays. Christmas in the 1980s, in particular, had a sort of analog warmth that can’t be replicated in the modern digital age.
Tree lights were bigger and burned brighter, the wrapping paper was metallic, and children’s wish lists were dominated by Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, and, of course, the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Some of the most iconic festive movies of all time were released that decade, from A Christmas Story to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Mattel released the first limited-edition holiday Barbie. There was no social media to scroll through while gathered around the tree. It was a different era — one that many wish they could return to.
Go back in time to Christmas in the 1980s through our curated gallery of vintage photos below:
The Golden Age Of The Holiday Catalog
In the modern age, it's difficult to tell when the "Christmas season" actually begins. Many retailers begin selling festive decorations well before Halloween even comes around, and the increasingly commercialized holiday shopping season is a constant flood of advertisements and push notifications. An Amazon alert about a deal is admittedly far less exciting than what kids had during Christmas in the '80s.
For a child in the 1980s, the start of the holiday season was a bit easier to define. It wasn't with the first snowfall or the appearance of mall decorations. No, the Christmas season began with a distinctive, heavy thud in the mailbox: the holiday catalog.
It hardly mattered which catalog it was — though the Sears Wish Book was particularly popular. Nearly every retailer, from major department stores to toy-specific retailers, sent out hundreds of colorful pages that included the hottest holiday gifts.
Mike Chaput/Flickr Creative CommonsA young boy plays his new Operation game on Christmas morning.
In many ways, it was like an analog version of the internet. But it had a certain charm about it that felt warmer and more wholesome than the detached, digital onslaught of ads we deal with today. It was more than just a collection of deals. Holiday catalogs offered children a unique opportunity to not-so-subtly hint at which gifts they wanted by circling "must-haves" with a felt-tip marker or "accidentally" leaving pages dog-eared for their parents to find.
Going through the catalogs was a childhood ritual, and for parents, the feeling of seeing their kids' handwriting in the books provided a more intimate connection than simply seeing a new item appear on an Amazon wish list.
This wasn't the only ritual that defined Christmas in the 1980s, though. Long before we could access nearly any movie with the click of a button, families had to gather around the television together at a specific time for the yearly cycle of holiday specials.
The Lost Magic Of The 1980s Christmas TV Special
The 1980s were the peak era for children's Christmas specials, turning prime-time television into a mandatory family event. Because there was no streaming or DVR, catching these programs required punctuality — if the TV Guide said Rudolph came on at 8 p.m., you were in your pajamas and seated cross-legged on the floor at 7:59.
It was the decade where the slightly jerky, stop-motion magic of Rankin/Bass productions reigned supreme. Characters like the Heat Miser, Hermey the Misfit Elf, and Bumble were cultural icons that only visited your home once per year.
Of course, there were also the cartoon staples — Garfield, The Smurfs, or Mickey's Christmas Carol — all interspersed with commercials for sugary cereals and fast-food holiday glasses. Though it may have seemed like no big deal at the time, these shows created shared cultural moments for kids around the globe, all watching the same claymation figures wobble across their screens at the same time.
vainglory/Flickr Creative CommonsA family Christmas photo dated to 1988 or 1989.
Maybe it's nostalgia, or perhaps it's pessimism about the current state of technology and the world, but there was something special about the way we celebrated Christmas in the 1980s. Toys were more exciting. Video games were simple but revolutionary.
In today's world, companies know everything about us. They don't need to send a catalog. They target us with ads every moment of the day. We don't gather around the TV together at certain times; we binge tens of hours of content all at once, then watch someone online talk about it instead of sharing our own thoughts with our friends and families.
Like many things, Christmas has lost some of its charm. It has been commodified. But the more we remember how it used to be, the more we can try to bring that feeling back.
After this look back at Christmas in the 1980s, see the rise and fall of Blockbuster through our gallery of vintage photos. Then, check out 40 more vintage Christmas images that will have you ready to set out the milk and cookies.
