Every year my sister Erva and I looked forward to the arrival of a very special tome. The Sears Wish Book. Most all of our presents came from that Christmas catalog. There were no Wal-Marts or K-Marts, no malls or stores where my parents could go shopping for things we might want. Sears was the ideal solution. They sold just about anything and shipped just about anywhere.
Erva and I would pour over the pages of the Wish Book. We'd ooh and aah and sigh and giggle and dream and wish. Santa was almost always listening because somehow those things we'd paused over the longest, or had out right said we wanted, miraculously appeared on Christmas Day.
We got our Barbie dolls around 1957 or 58. Mom sewed each of our dolls separate wardrobes. All the dresses were made on a treadle sewing machine, either during the day while we were at school or at night after we were asleep.
One time I got a wonderful two-story aluminum doll house that looked for similar to this one that I found on eBay. Mine was light blue and came with all the funiture (plastic) and a family of little dolls. Mom, Dad, sister and brother. But I know it wasn't $110!
When I was nine I saw a beautiful doll in the Wish Book. She was a bride doll with a gorgeous white dress and vail. I wanted her so badly.... This was during the era of our aluminum tree.
And here I am on Christmas day, in my favorite dress, with the red net petty coat, a little Bolero jacket, my white patent leather shoes, and my doll.
You know, I hardly ever played with her. I was just too much of a tomboy. Did any of you girls have a favorite doll you never played with?
I love this picture. What fun memories. Yes, I had strawberry shortcakes. Loved them. Still do actually! But I've no idea where they are.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet picture. I had all of one doll when I grew up, and after brushing her hair for a bit, I didn't know how else to play with it!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely memories. My daughter has asked me to put the scarf I'm knitting for her doll in the doll's stocking! So much for Santa.
ReplyDeleteI had a little baby doll that I played with all the time. It had 76 pieces of clothing, all hand-stitched :) We had only a few things and I played with everything.
You have the neatest way of remembering the detail of childhood. Love this.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! One doll I had that I did play with for longer than a day or two was my Tiny Tears. But when I got a cat, I started dressing the cat in the doll's clothes. They fit perfectly. It was much more fun to play with a live cat in doll clothes than the actually doll. Particularly when I could push the cat around in my doll carriage.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great picture...I remember my sister and I looking over the Sears Wish Book as children, also...those were great times...Hugs...
ReplyDeleteI never really played with dolls but when one of my father's cousin's traveled to spain she brought me back a really cool doll that I really liked. My mil has a huge collection of dolls.
ReplyDeleteWe weren't very girlie girls, but we had Madame Alexander dolls; my mother didn't believe in Barbies. And the Sears catalog was hugely popular in our house: we cut out the models to make paper dolls.
ReplyDeleteLove that picture -- you have great legs! Even as a kid, my knees were too scarred from frequent falls for me to post like that.
I like this picture
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