1980s Christmas Toys on the News!
I dug up some real treats for you tonight. Here are three ancient news reports about 1980s toy fads, all set at Christmastime. I live for this stuff!
This first video reminds us of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, and the absurd lengths parents went to for ‘em.
While I was too young to pay much mind to the pandemonium, I do remember Toys “R” Us keeping the dolls in that weird “pen” near the front of the store. (The windowed room where they kept all of the super fancy stuff. Before Cabbage Patch Kids, it was unheard of to find such “cheap” toys in there.)
This next video has embedding disabled for whatever reason, so click here to watch it on YouTube.
It’s a strange bit about people protesting war toys — meaning G.I. Joe toys — starring a guy in a Santa Claus suit. It’s set in a department store that isn’t Sears but sure looks a lot like it. Judging by the toys on the shelves, I’m guessing this was shot in 1987. Look close and you’ll spot oodles of Real Ghostbusters figures!
Lastly (and on the lighter side) is this random spotlight on hot holiday toys, probably from 1985. So much great stuff, including shots of Thundercats and Masters of the Universe store displays!
These clips got to me in a big way. I wasn’t at all expecting to tear up over a rando in a Santa suit protesting Cobra Commander tonight, but here we are. Hope you enjoy ‘em as much as I did!
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
I’m a big fan of Do They Know It’s Christmas?, even if I agree that the lyrics get a little boneheaded and would never fly today.
The 1984 charity single featured everyone from Bono to Boy George, and while I obviously must’ve heard it as a kid, I didn’t pay any music much mind until I was in high school. The song was more a part of my older siblings’ generation, and through talking to them I’ve learned that it was even more divisive in its heyday.
Whatever. I’m a sucker for any supergroup charity song, and the fact that this one is all synthy and Christmassy makes it doubly great. Here’s a “Making Of” special that was released on video back in ’84:
Enjoy!
The Star Wars Holiday Special!
If you’ve never seen The Star Wars Holiday Special, yes, its infamy is deserved. The 1978 TV special was an absolute fiasco in so many ways, but if all you’ve ever heard is BAD BAD BAD, know that it does have some highlights. Sorry, but you’re never gonna convince me that Bea Arthur singing in the Mos Eisley Cantina was a bad idea.
The truth is that there was a serviceable-if-cheesy special hiding in there, but the thing is just so long and so full of meandering bits that it’s hard to see anything but the… well, the BAD BAD BAD.
I wasn’t alive when the special aired, and never even heard of the thing until I had AOL almost two decades later. Homebrew VHS copies were commonly traded on ancient action figure newsgroups, and when I finally got mine, just seeing any “new” Star Wars footage blew my mind.
I won’t tell you not to make fun of it, because I guess making fun of it is part of the fun. But if you’re even a minor Star Wars fan, you really gotta see it once. It’s… it’s something.
The Smurfs Christmas Special!
The Smurfs Christmas Special is an old favorite of mine:
The special debuted back in ’82, and eventually found a second life on cable channels, with Cartoon Network in particular treating it with great reverence even decades after its premiere.
Weird note: The special has some surprisingly vicious moments!
