3 hallmarks of an ‘80s Christmas

According to a recent Nielsen study, “American kids aged 6-12 [are] generally more interested in the latest iOS offerings than other consumer electronics and gaming devices.”

An iPad under the tree is a growing trend, reports Nielsen. This year 48 percent of children are requesting the devices, up from 40 percent a year ago.

Sifting through Nielsen’s numbers, I thought back to the days when I crafted my wish list for Santa. A few things have changed from those snowy Massachusetts days, especially the importance I had misplaced on plastic action figures:

The Sears Wish Book

When I was a kid … we did not have the Internet to help us find the latest toys and gadgets. Each year my classmates would race home from school as the holidays approached to check their mailboxes (actual aluminum boxes nailed to wooden posts) for the arrival of the Sears Wish Book.

Back then its immensity rivaled the New York Yellow Pages—a publication we knew through the fanciful tales told by our parents, many of whom were transplanted natives from the city.