Over at The Retro Network, I do a video series on YouTube called Wax Pack Flashback where I open old packs of trading cards and let folks like you watch along. It’s a fun series to do as I love old cards of all kinds and opening them really takes me back a few years.
I’m going to start posting the videos here on Retro Ramblings too when I do them so they’re easy for you to find. Plus, I’m going to be posting some of the videos from the last year for you to watch as well.
The first one I’m going to share with you guys is the one I did on Christmas last year. It was a pack of Santa Around the World cards from 1994. It was a set that featured Santa Claus on every card in his various forms from through the years and around the world. Give it a watch, and hey, subscribe to The Retro Network YouTube channel while you’re at it!
For this post, we’re going back to 1990 to look at an ad featuring a Nintendo game I found under the tree that year. That’s all the reason I need to consider this a Christmas-themed post.
Now as for the ad itself, it’s pretty swank. It does its best to make the game sound exciting by throwing out those blurbs about what you’ll face in the game. Unfortunately, some of those things just don’t sound exciting. The Karate Creeps and Combat Copters sound great, but when you have to start naming off things like Open Manholes and Vicious Dogs, it could be an indicator that your game isn’t exactly Contra.
But it does highlight some screenshots, and the shots they chose to show make the game look really good. The broken highway in particular makes it look like a game you’d want to play.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the game. I really liked it. The fighting aspect was fun in its own way, and the skating aspect added a degree of difficulty not often seen in side-scrolling games. Like, after you landed a jump you had to instantly react because your player would just keep going. While that doesn’t sound all that bad, think about all the spots in games where you have to make numerous consecutive jumps and land on little spots between them.
The problem this game suffered from was false advertising. I mean, if you were watching Rollergames on television, you were expecting a roller derby on a figure-eight track with the massive wall of death and alligators potentially on the track. But what you go was a side-scrolling fighting game. It’s like they had a game designed that they felt they needed to attach a brand to, and Rollergames was it.
They did keep the teams from Rollergames intact, as you had your choice of three playable characters. A girl from the Hot Flash, a guy from The Rockers, or “The IceBox” Robert Smith from the world-famous L.A. T-Birds. The managers of the heel teams were also represented, as they were featured as level bosses throughout the game.
The Rollergames TV show didn’t have a large following. I mean, it only lasted 13 episodes. So Konami was already drawing from a limited pool and the fact that the video game wasn’t like what was seen on TV further limited its appeal. But none of that stopped me from enjoying it. I liked the game for what it was and spent many hours on it. Especially on Christmas day in 1990. There…that last sentence reinforces that this is a post for Christmas.
For this edition of Retro Ramblings, we’re gonna talk about what I refer to as the greatest holiday special of all time. You know, the one with the talking mice, ducks, and crickets. I’m talking about Mickey’s Christmas Carol, and the special place it holds in my memories.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol debuted on December 10, 1984, as a prime-time special on NBC. Maybe I actually watched it that year, but I can’t really say. I do know that if that wasn’t my first viewing, then it would have been the 1985 showing or 1986 at the latest. Checking the Google machine, I see that day was a Monday. I kind of distinctly remember watching it on a Sunday night. But maybe that’s just the eggnog talking.
None of those facts are really important to the story though. Let’s just all agree that I watched this near its infancy, and have watched it most years since then. It may be the oldest Christmas tradition I have. I’d have to think about that actually to confirm.
But let’s get into the meat and potatoes of why I love this special so darn much. The short answer is nostalgia. I have vivid and colorful memories of my whole family sitting down to watch this together. Most likely because I would have been in the 6-8-year-old range when I first saw it, so I’d say I was vocal about wanting to see it.
That nostalgia encompasses more than just the special though. It’s the whole experience. A fire going in the fireplace in the living room…me in my pajamas…my Dad cracking pecans and walnuts for us to snack on, followed by those Andes Toffee Thins that only come out at Christmas…maybe some snow falling outside…and Christmas themed commercials. All of it together is why I love Mickey’s Christmas Carol so much.
Besides all the warm fuzzy feelings I associate with it, the actual special itself is stupendous. And I’m talking about the entire special, not just the actual Mickey’s Christmas Carol feature. You’ve got to see the whole thing and breathe it all in. Donald’s Snow Fight, Pluto’s Christmas Tree, The Art of Skiing, and Mickey’s Christmas Carol. In later years, Disney and/or the networks would bastardize it by removing Goofy’s skiing feature and replacing it with looks at whatever new movie they had in the works. That was a horrible decision in my opinion. Give me Goofy falling off the ski lift any day over behind-the-scenes photos from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
To me, they were all heartwarming tales. Donald and his nephews waging all-out war in their snowball fight, Chip & Dale causing havoc with Pluto by hiding in the Christmas tree, Goofy being his silly self on the ski slopes, and then the main event of Disney’s re-telling of the quintessential Christmas fictional classic.
I’ll give you the fact that the extremely shortened version of A Christmas Carol left out a lot of parts, but damn, the art and the rich colors kinda make you forget those details. And at the end when Scrooge finds the Christmas spirit and is bouncing all around town…it just gets me right in the feels.
And I mentioned earlier the commercials…so much Christmas goodness just oozes from those commercials. They came across as necessary additions to the whole thing. Especially that McDonald’s one with the kid who gets left behind while everyone else is skating on the pond. A night of watching Mickey’s Christmas Carol just isn’t complete if that commercial isn’t in there somewhere.
So I put Mickey’s Christmas Carol right at the top of my list when it comes to Christmas viewing. Hell, I put it in my top ten of all-time things I’ve ever watched on TV. And I saw the twin referee angle in the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match. That shit was crazy at the time. This is above THAT!
Unfortunately, you’ll no longer find a version of the entire thing like it was originally presented. And it’s usually the Art of Skiing skit that continues to get dropped every time a new release drops. I was really hoping that Disney+ would somehow piece the whole original concept together and air it, but no luck so far. Actually, I can’t even find Donald’s Snow Fight on the service yet either.
But if you look around the ‘net enough, you’ll find all the pieces and can watch it kind of how it was originally intended. Hell, you can even find that McDonald’s commercial to throw in there too.
And for you trivia buffs out there, check out this little tidbit: Mickey’s Christmas Carol was adapted as a daily comic strip and ran daily in November and December leading up to the special. If you look below, you can check out the first part of it. Enjoy!
Man, what better way to keep getting pumped up for Christmas than watching some old Christmas commercials! No? You’re not a fan of commercials, are you? Well, once upon a time I didn’t use to be. But that was back in the days before Tivo, Netflix, and other streaming services that allow you to skip all the advertising.
These days, I find myself kind of missing commercials. Not every commercial break, but some old commercials in particular. It was rare, but sometimes commercials could actually enhance the show you were viewing. Hang on…hear me out! I can remember watching Mickey’s Christmas Carol Special that aired on NBC every year in the mid-late ’80s, and when the commercials that aired were Christmas in nature, it kept the cool Christmas vibe going for my young self. So these commercials we’re viewing here today get a pass. That seems like enough of an opening…let’s get to five of my favorite classic Christmas commercials.
Folgers Coffee – Peter Comes Home for Christmas
I’m not sure why this commercial ever touched me as a kid. It probably had something to do with the fact that my old man traveled a lot, and there were times he would come in early in the morning like this. Never at Christmas though. He was always in town for that. But whatever the reason, this commercial has continued to resonate with me for all these years since I first saw it air.
I think it really embodies the spirit of Christmas in the form I like to think of it. Families being together, and enjoying simple things in life like a fresh cup of coffee is endearing to me. I actually keep this commercial on my Christmas playlist on YouTube to make sure I see every season.
Polaroid Cameras
One of the great frustrations for me growing up was trying to prove or disprove that Santa Claus was real. I tried my own ways of getting to the bottom of things, but trying to snap a picture with a Polaroid camera was never one of them. I give these two kids an A for effort here, as their plan kinda worked. They just didn’t anticipate Santa being a petty thief and sneaking away with their snapshot.
Budweiser Clydesdales
There’s something about those old Budweiser commercials featuring their famous Clydesdale horses that I just love. Now, there was never any drinking in our family, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying these commercials. And this one, in particular, is really good. Just seeing those horses tromp through the snow with the Christmas music in the background is enough to take me way back in time to maybe a Friday night in front of the fireplace while the folks watched the latest episode of Dallas. It makes me think of all those good old days in the ’80s.
Fruity Pebbles Cereal
Ok, so here is another product I identify with Christmas, based pretty much on just this commercial. Now I’ve always loved me a big bowl of delicious Fruity Pebbles, and it doesn’t have to be Christmas for me to enjoy them. But I always make sure I have some on hand for the holiday season. When it gets to be about October, I start keeping my eyes out in the stores for the special Christmas edition of the cereal with the red and green pebbles.
This commercial embodies the Christmas spirit as well as Fred finally lets Barney have a bowl of his Pebbles that he’s always after. Maybe those kids should have paid attention to this lesson and let the Trix rabbit have some for Christmas.
McDonalds Ice Skating
Of all the commercials on this list and all the commercials that have ever aired with a Christmas theme, this one is my favorite. I’m not sure I can pinpoint exactly when I first saw it, but I CAN pinpoint when it first connected with me. It was on during the airing of Mickey’s Christmas Carol in 1985. For whatever reason, watching the sad tale of the little boy who was left behind while everyone was ice skating was something that I held on to. Nowadays, I include this commercial on every bootleg Christmas special I put together for my kids. I really don’t associate Ronald McDonald with Christmas in any other way, but for this 30 seconds, he’s as big a hero as Santa Claus.
Well, that’s it. Five classic Christmas commercials that I never minded seeing pop up in the middle of my favorite show. Do you have any old favorites? Share them in the comments if you do.
With Christmas just around the corner, you’re probably already looking ahead to Christmas dinners or Christmas parties, and you might not be sure just what you should make for the occasion.
Well, I’ve got your hookup. There’s no need to slave over a hot stove for hours crafting something that might not even turn out right after all that hard work. Instead, let me help you out with something quick, easy, and sure to be a hit with everybody: Cousin Eddie’s Egg Nog!
Now I know that Eddie didn’t make the egg nog being consumed in Christmas Vacation, but it makes for a catchier title. But regardless, this recipe is really simple and has no raw egg in it so you’ll feel perfectly safe drinking and serving it. And it mixes REALLY well if you like to spike your nog. Check out the recipe to see just how easy it is, and give it a shot this year. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.
But if egg nog isn’t your bag, then you can check out the recipe for my famous Christmas punch instead!
In this very special edition of Retro Ramblings, I’m sharing a story from my childhood about a Christmas unlike any other I had known before it. It was a Christmas that changed my outlook on the holiday, and as you’ll read, recent events made that particular season all the more special.
Prelude
1983 – 5 years old…I have no real memories of Christmas that year other than my Grandfather passing away in the first week of December.
1984 – 6 years old…Show and Tell on the first day back to school after Christmas break. I took a little plastic trumpet, silver in color, to school…..and I was so proud of it. Several other kids teased me wondering if that was the best thing I had gotten for Christmas.
1985 – 7 years old…I had gotten a set of 12 toy cars for Christmas. Not Hot Wheels or Matchbox, but a generic version of them. There was a police car, a wrecker, some race cars, and various other cars and trucks. I wore them out that winter and spring I played with them so much.
1986 – 8 years old…HOLY COW!!! WHAT DID I DO FOR SANTA CLAUS TO BRING ME SO MUCH COOL STUFF?!?
By the fall of 1986, my thoughts were starting to turn to the coming Christmas season, and anticipation was starting to build for the holiday. The hope of children isn’t easily pushed to the side, but back in those days, I would be lying if I said that Christmas didn’t feel a little lacking.
Admittedly, I personally never felt slighted on Christmas morning. Whatever was under the tree from Santa Claus always left a lasting impression on me, even if I sometimes felt the little internal tug of wanting a little bit more. But when I would return to school, and see and hear about all the cool things my friends and others had gotten for Christmas, I would get a little jealous.
I was a good kid. I never caused trouble at school, and I definitely knew better than to cause trouble at home. I did my chores and I ate my vegetables, so why did I seem to be farther down Santa’s Nice list than some of the other kids? “Jonathon pushed Samantha down and hurt her arm”, “why did he get a huge Lego set and I only got a trumpet?”. “Zach punched me in the arm all year…hard.” “Why did he get a cool G.I. Joe HISS Tank and all the Dreadnoks figures and I ended up with a set of cars?” Such are the worrisome ponderings and questions of a kid who is not aware of all the comings and goings of adulthood.
What I didn’t know or understand back then, and actually I’m still learning and gaining a greater perspective on now, is that times were very tough for my family in the early eighties. My Dad was a self-employed businessman. He bought and sold new and used conveyor belts to coal mines, and as the coal business went, so did my family’s financial well-being.
1983 was a very tough year. My Grandfather’s alcohol addiction was in the last stages of consuming his life, and my Dad spent more time helping my Grandmother, both emotionally AND financially, than he did with the business. The first week of December, my Grandfather passed away. Christmas was lean due to dealing with the emotional struggles of losing someone close, and the fact that so much time had been spent away from the business.
1984 came along, and so did the large-scale United Mine Workers of America strike in West Virginia…..primarily against the A.T. Massey Coal Companies and subsidiaries. West Virginia was always the breadbasket of my Dad’s business. When strikes occurred, it crippled his business and our financial well-being for quite some time, and unfortunately, this strike would not be over quickly.
1985 came, and the strike was still on. It wasn’t resolved until late in the year. Too late for lost income to be made up. Several straight years of lean and underwhelming visits from Santa Claus were wearing on my faith in the man.
But then came 1986. The strike had been resolved, and with the mines back in full-time operation, orders poured in from all sides. It was a VERY good year. Not so coincidentally, Santa seemed to fill his sleigh completely just for my family. I guess he was making up for lost time.
That year, I can vividly remember more cakes and candies and goodies being around than any other. While I was pleased by gifts from previous Christmas days, I was totally blown away on that Christmas morning in 1986! The Cobra Terror Drome! The G.I. Joe Tomahawk Helicopter! Tomax & Zamot 2 pack! Grizzlor figure! The Hot Wheels Snake Mountain Challenge Race Track Set! Tonka Steel Monsters Truck! A huge Construx set! A G.I. Joe VHS Tape! Holy Cow!!!
It was like Santa Claus was issuing a huge “I’m sorry” for the previous couple of years, and making it up all in one day. And it wasn’t just me. My brother got a see-thru V8 engine kit, and some other cool stuff. My Mom got our family’s first microwave, a new bed coat, new shoes, a new Aigner purse, and a new Aigner leather coat.
I had always believed in Santa Claus, but 1986 was the year I fully got behind the larger-than-life man. He had come through in a big way and left memories of what was my favorite Christmas season for years….pretty much up until I had kids of my own. I went to school strutting with excitement in anticipation of telling all of my friends what I had gotten for Christmas. I was simply overjoyed.
The years rolled by, and one Christmas after another was really good, but none reached the heights of triumph that 1986 had. It really wasn’t until my later teen years that I learned and thought I finally understood why 1986 had been so magical. The stories I recounted at the beginning of this article came up in conversation every so often. How the early eighties were a really tight time for my family with the business swings and family issues and all. In 1986, my Dad’s business hit its zenith, and he was finally able to give his family the Christmas he had wanted to through those prior years.
Well, that’s it. I was 19 years old, and I had heard the tales and understood why those early Christmas mornings were less than stellar. End of story, have a Merry Christmas.
See, this is how the story has been left and told for the last 16 years of my life. I learned the truth, thought it was cool that when my Dad finally had the chance, he went overboard on us for Christmas, but for all these years, there are other details that he had left out that I didn’t learn until just 3 months ago. Bear with me while I finish this tale.
Where I currently work, there are several people from throughout the community that also ply their trade here. One of the fellows whom I’ll call James so as to keep his identity private, served with my Dad in those early 80’s years in the local Volunteer Fire Department. James and I would sit around during break periods and talk about those old days. Somehow one evening, the conversation turned to Christmas and other holidays. I recounted an abbreviated version of the events above and explained to James how my Dad had finally had a good year and turned into Santa Claus overnight and threw a big Christmas in ’86. James then proceeded to enlighten me to some details I had never been privy to before.
He said that “Santa” was a heck of a man, and just because I may not have gotten a lot of toys and such those years, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t much to go around, it just meant that there were more gifts being given to some folks who maybe needed it a little more than I did.
He piqued my interest and we continued talking and he opened my eyes to so much about those years. He reminded me of the Christmas parties that the Fire Department would host every year. He reminded me that every kid there got a new toy. He said that in those years when the fundraising for the party came in below what was needed, it was my Dad who donated the rest to make sure that every needy child in town got something there and went home happy.
He told me that when the town’s Christmas decorations that were hung from the light poles in town fell apart and needed to be replaced before the holiday season, it was my Dad who went and got a loan against his business to buy them so the town would still have decorations up for the Christmas season, not just that year, but for years to come.
And without any hesitation or embarrassment whatsoever, he told me that there was a year in there that he (James) had had a very rough year financially, and was in a real bind coming up on the holidays. My Dad could sense it, and went to James and asked him if he had the money to give his kids a nice Christmas. James told him that, no, probably not. He said my Dad gave him money to buy his three kids presents. He also bought him a ham and some other food for a Christmas dinner, and that my Dad and my uncle cut and delivered him two loads of firewood to see that he got through the season with heat for his family. He told a few other stories in the same vein of my Dad helping people through the holidays.
I need to tell you right now, I shed a tear listening to James tell me all of these things. For those years as a kid, I may have been selfish and wished for more than I had gotten. As I grew older, I thought I learned the truth and thought my Dad was really cool for making that year of ’86 extra special. But now, all these years later, I learned the rest of the story. I learned that even though I doubted the validity of Santa Claus being real, he IS most definitely alive and well. I learned that the real Santa is a hard-working man who wants the best for his family, but he is also a caring and kind man to everyone else too. He is a humble man, as he never felt the need to talk about all these things he did for people. And I’m sure that the spirit of Santa Claus lives in many more men than just my own Dad.
Through these experiences, he has taught me to care for others, and he has taught me love. Heck, all the things I mentioned in the article I wrote last Christmas about all the great things my Dad gave us each year were inspired by the Christmas of ’86, and at the time of writing, I had no idea just how far-reaching his Christmas spirit carried.
It may have taken 37 years now to learn the lesson to this degree, but I go into this coming Christmas season with a newfound outlook and a new attitude. I hope you get something from this story to take with you, and I hope THIS is the most wonderful and magical Christmas of your years.
What a year it was for new Christmas specials! 1987 saw the debut of the much loved Garfield Christmas Special, AND the less heralded, but just as awesome, Claymation Christmas Celebration.
These two specials debuted on December 21st 1987. Compared to today, it’s really unique that they waited until that close to Christmas to air them. Like this year, the annual showings of Rudolph and Frosty were in November. I’m not a fan of that. Christmas specials shouldn’t start airing until late in the first week of December at the earliest. Unless we’re talking about the 25 Days of Christmas on Freeform. I love that shit.
I distinctly remember watching these debuting specials on that night. I was really into The California Raisins at the time, and always being a fan of the Garfield comic strips, this was appointment television for me. I even distinctly remember recording both shows on VHS. If I only still had that tape. Sigh.
This is a great example of what I miss about the old days of television…anticipation. With the modern world of streaming, it doesn’t quite feel the same. Seeing an ad like this in TV Guide, and keeping it on your brain until the day it aired is an art lost on children of today. And with so many fewer options back then, stuff like this was widely viewed by the public in general. That meant that you and your friends at school would get giddy together waiting for the day, and then after it aired you knew it was going to be the topic of conversation before school and at lunchtime. Stuff like this were shared experiences. I’m willing to bet that a whole lot of you reading this can relate stories about seeing this as an example of what I’m talking about.
Christmas is coming up quickly, so I thought it would be a good time to open up an old Sears Christmas Wish Book and relive some great old memories from the past. I’m going back in time to 1988 with that year’s edition of the Wish Book to pick out some of the cool toys I wanted.
I was 10 years old in 1988, so it was right at that perfect time of still being into toys, but at the same time, starting to have an eye towards some gifts that were a little more “grown-up”. The 1988 edition of the Wish Book was loaded with so much cool stuff, and I want to share some of them with you in this edition of Retro Ramblings.
G.I. Joe Locker Bag Kit
Oh my goodness! If you’ve got to start a personal grooming habit as a young man, what better way to do it than with G.I. Joe?!? This kit has everything a 10-year-old young man would need too. G.I. Joe approved toothbrush and toothpaste (ADA be damned), mini soap with its own case to keep it from getting all slimy, a brush and comb for whatever stylish ‘do you are sporting, and a cup to go along with that toothcare set. To top it all off, there is a small pocket-size pack of tissue to take with you wherever you go, and a cool ass locker bag to store it all in. You would be the envy of your fellow gym mates if you walked into a locker room with that bag slung over your shoulder. And on top of all of that, how cool would it be to see this puppy hanging up in your bathroom at home. It would almost make coming in from playing outside to get cleaned up enjoyable. Almost.
Rock Tumbler
This rock tumbler is still my holy grail of never gotten Christmas gifts. I circled this thing in every Wish Book from as far back as I can remember all the way up through the early nineties. Never once did I find it waiting for me under the tree at Christmas. I had all these dreams about using it to start a profitable business making gemstone jewelry and price gouging the other kids at school. Just yesterday I was out doing a little shopping and had to make a stop at Hobby Lobby. I’m browsing the aisles and minding my own business when I turn a corner and BAM! There’s a display full of Rock Tumblers! I couldn’t believe my luck. After all these years I could finally have one of my very own. But then I saw the price tag. $119.99. Are they serious? How is anyone supposed to turn a profit on cheap gemstone jewelry with overhead like that? Not this old boy, no sir. I’ll just have to continue to circle this thing in every catalog I come across hoping one day to be gifted one.
Slot-less “Slot” Car Track
Now here we go! I am an old slot car fiend from way back, and this track just looks awesome. Now I know it doesn’t have all the cool twists, turns, loops, and the other bells and whistles that various other slot car tracks have, but it has one feature that one-ups all of those. Do you see any actual slots on this track? Nope, not a single one. That’s because you have to steer these cars yourself. There’s no slot to guide you on your way or to keep you from slamming into your opponent. You have to have the skill to avoid, or ram, your opponent yourself. That makes this track set so awesome. I can totally see myself mimicking “The Intimidator” Dale Earnhardt and “rattling some cages’ to put other racers in the wall….or cheap plastic guard rail as the case may be here.
Now while I never did get an awesome slot-less track, I DID actually get the slot car track above. It was a pretty badass track in its own right though. I thought the lap counter was just the coolest feature I had seen on a track before. You could set it to however many laps you wanted to run (up to 50 I think), and then the first car to clock that many laps would have a little winner’s flag pop up on their timer. I’m pretty sure I got the track for Christmas ’88, so there is a very good chance it was ordered from this very catalog.
LEGO Sets
LEGO was really my cup of tea throughout my whole childhood. Heck, my kids still play with all my old LEGOs even today. Luckily, it was one of the toys my Mom kept for all those years. Some of the pieces still in my childhood collection come from that Hospital pictured at the top of the page. It was a pretty cool set as it gave you a building to add to your LEGO city.
But while that was cool, it’s the bottom two sets that really get my motor running. First of all, that Truck Stop is just dripping with manliness. If you had this set as a kid, you probably grew chest hair before all you’re friends who didn’t have it. With two rigs and a big rig wrecker, you were ready for some heavy hauling. And when the hours got too long, you could pull into the truck stop itself for a hot cup of Joe. Life couldn’t be much sweeter. Since my Dad drove some big trucks like these, this thing was on my list for a couple of years. I had to make do with creating my own versions though. Since I never had it, it’s going on my list again.
To finish it off, there is the Super Speedway. My old man picked me up the small version of this one at some point. It had only one base plate though instead of two, and only two race cars instead of the four pictured here. My small set was super fun, so I can only imagine how much fun this mammoth set would have been.
Nintendo Games
How could any self-respecting kid not just circle the entire page? Do you see the selection of games just ready for the taking? And this is only one of a two-page spread! Even though a kid can’t restrain themselves, as an adult, I can. That, and I don’t have the space or time right now to write about every game on the page, so I just circled a select few.
A couple of my absolute favorite games featured on this page are Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest and Pro Wrestling! I had gotten Pro Wrestling the night I got my Nintendo, and I saved my allowance for what felt like forever and bought Simon’s Quest. So to narrow this list down a little further, let’s just go with the rest. There’s RC Pro-Am, Rad Racer, Ghosts and Goblins, and the legendary Legend of Zelda. Those are some hall of fame titles right there. And I’m sure every game on the page has its hardcore fans, making this a page with probably more circles than any other in the whole catalog. Back in this time period, if you were a kid whose parents had any means whatsoever, you generally found a new Nintendo game under your tree. I know I was fortunate enough to find one most years, and any of these games I had circled would have entertained me for the rest of Christmas break.
Now from this page, I’ve circled several of the ones I really want. You’ve got the all-time classics Contra and ExciteBike, the much-adored Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, and the underrated Goonies II. But the one on this page that would really pique my interest is Tag Team Wrestling. Pro Wrestling is one of my all-time favorite games for the console, so I really want to give this game a go.
You really couldn’t go wrong getting any of the games on either of these pages for Christmas. Let’s face it, a Christmas day spent playing a new Nintendo game was going to be one hell of a day regardless of what the title was.
Merlin the Magician Magic Kit
I’ve probably talked about it before on here somewhere, but I’ve been fascinated with magic ever since I saw Lance Campbell perform in the 4th-grade talent show at school. Matter of fact, a lot of the tricks he performed can be found in this very set. They may even be a good chance that this is the set he used in the show.
Regardless, this thing is full of cool tricks that would amaze your friends. That is if your friends are eight years old. But if I had this thing, I’d force my kids to sit on the couch and pretend to be amazed at the astounding acts of magic I was performing.
Willow Toys
When the movie Willow hit, I was all about it. Even though I never saw it in the theater, I was hooked by the trailers alone. Well, that and those cool Willow Magicups that came in Wendy’s kid’s meals as part of the promotion for the movie.
Even though I hadn’t seen the movie at the time, I would have LOVED to have all of these toys. I’m a sucker for fantasy realms and their toys, so these look like they’re right up my alley. The only problem I see with them is that they don’t appear to be articulated. I still like the idea of setting them up in battle settings, but it would be even cooler if you could “play” with them.
Micro Machines Toys
If you know anything about me at all, then you should know that I simply adore Micro Machines. I have ever since the day Marcus Callis showed up at school with a pocket full of the little things. It only took a few moments of marveling over them to know that I wanted some of my own. And while I had my fair share of the cars, I was always enamored with the play sets that were available for them. There are a couple of the small playsets pictured at the top of the page, and those were the ones that you could connect together to make much larger sets, construction a whole town or small city if you had enough of them. Let’s go ahead and put both of those on my list.
There’s also the Micro Machines Transport Truck pictured. I had it once upon a time, and it was great as a carrying case that you could also play with. It would hold 11 cars, so it was a nice option to tote along when I was heading to Grandma’s house for the day.
Playmobil
Oh, how I loved Playmobil toys. Especially their western-themed sets like this. It seemed like I only ever got Playmobil toys at Christmas, and usually only from aunts and uncles at the annual family Christmas party. I had a lot of the cowboys and Indian-themed sets, and the toys shown above just go right along with them.
That train would be awesome, but it came with a very hefty $219.99 price tag. That’s $462.00 in today’s money! That sucker was one expensive toy. But it does look really cool, and I know from experience that Playmobil toys were as durable as they came.
Besides the train, there is the Western Station which comes with 8 figures! It has a big price tag on it too though. Anyway, I’m going to just circle this entire page and hope for the best.
Marvel Comics Pack
You’d always find listings like these every year in the wish books for things like comics, baseball cards, stamps, and other collectibles, but this collection right here looks astounding! This pack is brimming with cool 80’s properties. I can see ALF, Willow, GI Joe, Silver Hawks, and even Transformers comics. Those alone would probably make the pack worth the price of admission, but then you throw in the classic Marvel titles like Avengers, Hulk, Thor, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man and you’ve got yourself a super fun way to spend a few afternoons.
PXL 2000 Deluxe Video Camera
And this my friends, is one of the coolest Christmas gifts I ever received. This thing was a real, honest-to-goodness, video camera designed for kids. But the really unique thing was that this camera recorded onto cassette tapes. Don’t ask me how. The description says it records a unique black-and-white image called Pixelvision, with sound. I remember it having decent quality on playback, and the whole thing was really easy to set up and use. I sure wish I still had the tapes I recorded with it, as I would set it up and record myself dancing to 1989 hip-hop tracks. I’m sure that would be a sight to see today.
Whew. That just covered a lot of ground, but in truth, I could fill this blog with nothing but things I want from this 1988 catalog. We better cut it off here before I overload the server.