Catalogs delivered Christmas joy

A long time ago, well before Black Friday was a thing, there was great anticipation for the arrival of the Sears and JC Penny’s catalogs.

When the phonebook sized full-color catalogs arrived in the mail, my two brothers and I would either huddle together around them or fight over them (usually the latter). Either way, the arrival of the books was a harbinger of Christmas. We would spend hours poring over the toy section, drooling over the toys we wanted to find wrapped under our Christmas tree. We would circle the ones we wanted and made sure Mom knew exactly which ones they were.

Most of my choices were action figures. I circled the ones I didn’t have or the ones that needed to be replaced. The Mego superheroes and Star Trek figures and playsets usually topped the list, along with The Lone Ranger, Johnny West, and G.I. Joe. As I got older, bikes and skateboards moved to the top of the wish list. That was followed by BB guns, shotguns, hunting accessories, etc.

Aside from the toys, the best part about the catalogs was the secret fun we had with them. When we thought no one was looking, we would flip to the lingerie section and ogle the ladies modeling their unmentionables. It was an adolescent thrill that I’m sure most boys our age enjoyed back then. It was the next best thing to Playboy for a 10-year-old kid.

Sometimes we would take an eraser and try to lightly brush away the bras in hopes of seeing more. We knew we wouldn’t, but it was worth a try. Inevitably we would doodle on the pictures, blocking out teeth, making devil horns, and scribbling beards on the model’s faces. By early December our catalogs were dogeared and well worn.

One of our holiday traditions was to take a family trip to Kmart or the mall to shop. Our parents usually gave us $20 each to spend on gifts. I have a lot of memories of pushing a cart through Kmart with my jacket in the basket to hide the gifts. It was a cat-and-mouse game of getting gifts without being seen by the recipient and then buying them and getting them hidden in the shopping bag for the trip home. At home we would take the loot to our rooms and wrap them and then place them under the Christmas tree.

Every year we watched “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and other annual holiday favorites. We never missed them and often spent days in anticipation for them to air on TV. Decorating the Christmas tree was also a big deal. We all had favorite ornaments that we placed in prominent spots each year.

Back then the radio stations mixed Christmas music with their regular fare. But on Christmas Day, it was all Jingle Bells. Nothing but Christmas music all day! Now it’s nothing but Christmas music all month. After a week I’m tired of it. Not my wife. Sandy could listen to Christmas music year-round if she could get away with it.

Looking back, one of the things that made Christmas so special was the anticipation. Although it was agonizing at times, the anticipation of Christmas made it that much more exciting. I never slept long or well the night of Christmas Eve. I was always peeking to see if Santa had arrived. We always left milk and cookies for him and come morning they were gone. The pile of packages under the tree would be bigger.

My parents had to set the five o’clock rule on Christmas Day. We could not wake them up before 5 a.m., which we did like clockwork. To add to the anticipation, we had to wait for their coffee to brew before we settled down to open gifts. By 5:45 a.m. there would be toys, new clothes, and wrapping paper everywhere and three boys out cold asleep.

Later in the day we would call grandparents and other relatives and give thanks for the gifts we received. The hard part was remembering who gave us what because we ripped them open with such reckless abandon, we didn’t pay attention to who sent them. Usually, Mom could sort it out before each phone call. Sometimes we would sheepishly have to ask which gifts Grandma got us.

In my adult years, the religious aspects of Christmas became more prominent in my life, followed by watching my children go through the same anticipation for Christmas that I did at their age. The difference is that they grew up in the digital age and there were no catalogs to mark up and ogle over. I still try to watch the old Christmas specials each year, though my kids think they’re dated and corny. We all look forward to candlelight services at church and dining on the feast that Sandy will spend days preparing.

This is such a special time of year and I hope each one of you enjoy it and the anticipation of things to come. Most of all, I hope everyone will remember the reason for the season and celebrate Jesus, the only gift that comes with eternal rewards.