By Terry Hughes

Do you remember a time when children were not pressured into experiencing what Christmas was all about? Our picture for the column aptly explains how a child many years ago daydreamed about enjoying one of the toys or sporting equipment shown in this window display.

There were both spiritual and gift opportunities that stand out in our minds that made this time of year so special. For me, one such experience was being part of the Holy Trinity choir singing at the Midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve and sleeping over at my grandparents. This was followed with a quick trip home to enjoy my gifts and the relatives that came to join us for Christmas diner.

Money was not that easy to come by and children had to rein in on the kind of present you hoped to receive. Often that present was not forthcoming, and you had to wait for another Christmas and hope it would appear under the tree. Sources for gift ideas were held to advertising around the first week of December when storefronts and display windows offered a glimpse of what item you longed to have. Locally, for east end kids McCrae Sporting Goods on East Main Street near the tracks offered everything from hockey sticks to your favourite team’s jersey that usually, back in the days of the Original Six, was the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens. In later years that team sweater may have had the number of your favourite player whether it be number 27 (Frank Mahovlich) or number 5 (Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion). A pair of new skates was a break from having to endure hand me downs you were forced to wear. Remember having to shove paper into the toes to make those old skates fit?

A source for toys was found in the Eaton’s and Simpson’s catalogues. Barbara Ann Scott dolls, miniature dishes, a table and chairs or kitchen stove and figure skates tantalized the girls while electric trains, tinker toys, Meccano sets and military action figures with appropriate equipment were liked by the boys. My wife still has her china set! Remember the Canadian-style log cabin that you built, or a family favourite – the hockey game with levers that you activated the ‘players’ to hustle a marble (in place of a puck) up and down the curved wooden surface?

Sometimes, a visit to a large centre such as Buffalo or Toronto offered the eye of a child a visual experience that was hard to forget. Large stores offered winter scenes with mechanically-activated figures, nativity scenes and characters found at the North Pole. Santa and his elves were busy manufacturing make-believe toys or the old gentleman was shown flying with his reindeer across a wintertime sky. In Toronto, a family favourite of ours was getting breakfast at a Honey Do Restaurant that just happened to be on the Santa Claus Parade route. After the parade a visit to Eaton’s Toyland topped our visit to the city. The huge display of Lionel and American Flyer Trains speeding around a winter wonderland of snow and ice was the topper!

Well, we hope that you enjoyed some memories of days gone by and we look forward to offering some new historical experiences that enhanced our heritage.

God bless you all and have a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year!