Deck the Halls with Nylon, 1972

"Mom, it's just not Christmas around here until we hang your discarded pantyhose containers on the tree."

--Joal R.

Dear Santa: 1972 Edition

I'm 39, and I still want a G.I. Joe Command Headquarters, but I'd settle for a really nice boxed Big Jim or Action Jackson at this point.

--Brian H.

P.S.: Hate to tell you, Brian, but my younger brother and I got a G.I. Joe Command Headquarters — and it wasn't even Christmas.

--Joal R.

Snapshot No. 3: The Flood

"I think this was in the main court of the mall, and [Santa] was a very, very lucky fellow because that look on my face is pure, unadulterated terror. And, then as now, when I get upset, my stomach gets in knots. I got about two feet off off Santa's lap, and my mom said I absolutely filled my pants.

They had just put me back in the stroller -- Grandma was there with me -- and they had just set me back in the stroller, and [my mother] said it just let loose. She said it was, yeah, all over the floor, it was in the stroller. She rolled me down back to the bathrooms, which were way down by Sears, leaving a trail behind us, and sent my grandma to go find the cheapest set of clothes she could find.

And that I believe is the only other picture I have with Santa. She never took me back to the mall."

Betsy Cech (as told to Joal R.)
Woodland Mall, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Circa 1972-1973

Snapshot No. 1: The Play-Doh Incident

"Christmas morning 1972 wasn’t particularly pleasant for my sister, and it’s all my fault.

After the presents had been opened and my parents went to prepare breakfast (and drink much needed coffee), they asked my sister to make sure nothing happened to me. Even though she was five years my senior, I was very much a 2-year-old and had my own ideas.

When my sister’s back was turned, I spied a tin of Play-Doh, and in my limited experience mistook it for a can of baked beans. I must have been hungry because I immediately gobbled the contents down; not bothering to notice the taste.

When my sister found me, she panicked, having failed my parents and assuming that I would soon get sick and she would be severely punished. My confused parents entered the room to discover a rather full son and a completely panicked daughter. Being the good parents that they were, they chose to capture the moment forever."

Brian H.
Living room on Lilac Terrace, Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Christmas Day, 1972