Stocking Stuffers through the Years!

Host Bee on Friday, December 5th, 2008

In a recent Busy Bee post, Why Do We Stuff Christmas Stockings, I wrote about how “stuffing” Christmas stockings became common place in the United States following the original publication of the poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1822. But have you ever wondered exactly what has been stuffing those stockings over the years? An early Family Fun Magazine article started compiling some of the fun results which were worth sharing!

1800’s – An Orange!

While an orange wouldn’t be well received by today’s kids, this fruit symbolized the gold given long ago to the dowry-less maidens by Saint Nicholas!

1910’s – Barnum Animal Crackers!

The premier of this now iconic snack was timed to the holidays and the boxes were sold with a string so that they could be hung from the Christmas tree!

1930’s – Cast Iron Toys

Toy replicas of Charles Lindbergh’s famous air plane were one of the most popular in that era!

1950’s – A Slinky

“It’s Slinky, It’s Slinky, the favorite of girls and boys,” proved true in the 50’s! A Slinky is 80 feet of fine wire and actually began as a mistake: the Slinky was meant to help guage horsepower on Navy ships, but when it fell off of a desk, toy history was made!

1960’s – Silly Putty

Crafted from boric acid and silicone oil, this rubbery substance is still fun! Stretchy, bouncy, and able to lift newsprint off of the page, this toy is a true classic!

1980’s – Rubik’s Cube

This challenging toy (is it really a toy or a form of torture?) appeared in 1980 and by 1982, more than 100 million had been sold! The goal of restoring all six sides to one color eluded most of us!

2000 – Hit Clips

This postage stamp sized music player allowed kids to listen to about a minute’s worth of a song! Dozens of songs were available, but clearly no competition to today’s array of iPods!

2008 – What would you nominate as this year’s top Stocking Stuffer??

What would you nominate as this year’s top Stocking Stuffer?? Here are a few items that could take the honor: A Webkinz? An iTunes gift card? A Bakugan Ball? (If you have a boy on your list, better check this one out!) A Huru Humifor girls? I’d love to hear from our readers on this one!