Christmas in 1965, and the Sears Wish Book


I've never had any kids myself, but I used to be one (that's me on the right with the G.I. Joe in 1965), and I know how clueless parents can be about what toys kids want for Christmas, even the most affectionate ones, so I applaud my parents for their use of the Sears Wish Book when I was a kid. It was absolute genius!

Of course, when we were tiny tots, my parents could choose a gift that Santa would bring us, and I have fond memories of my Quickdraw McGraw when I was three, and my farm set when I was four. But as we got older our tastes became more sophisticated, and since Santa brought us the most wonderful gift on Christmas day and our parents didn't want it to be a disappointment, they had us pick it out, in the Sears Wish Book. I told you that they were geniuses!

The last gift that they gave me, as Santa on Christmas morning, that I didn't pick out myself was a G.I. Joe, in 1964, when I was eight. After that, I was old enough to get involved, and with the help of my older brother, I learned how to use the Wish Book.

By the way, our family opened gifts to and from each other on Christmas Eve, which were wrapped up under the tree and said things like "From Mom and Dad to Brad" or from "Brad to Dave", that sort of thing. But the gift from Santa magically arrived on the night before Christmas, after we kids had gone to bed, and was there in the middle of the living room, unwrapped, when we woke up the morning. I told you that my parents were geniuses - we kids got up early, and they could sleep in.

We would get the Sears Wish Book several weeks before Christmas, and it was always well-thumbed. We were allowed to talk to our parents about what Santa would bring us, and our expectations could be modified to be realistic. I remember one Christmas wanting the G.I. Joe "Rat Patrol" motorcycle set, but apparently it wasn't something Santa could do, so I got something else, it was probably the year I got the G.I. Joe helicopter, which I dearly loved, and played with until there was practically nothing left of it. To this day I dislike seeing toys that haven't been played with, just about to destruction, by kids. A toy isn't truly happy unless it's loved by a child, and kids can be rough on toys! My most-loved toys were completely worn out by me, they didn't survive to be sold on eBay.


Since I'm on the internet, it's easy to find a pic of the 1965 Sears Wish Book. It's interesting to me, as I write this, that it doesn't say "Wish Book" on it, but that's what I remember, and maybe they changed the name in later years. We kids continued to believe in Santa, and use the Wish Book, for a very long time.

Merry Christmas!
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