Matching Kimonos For Christmas? The 1971 Sears Wish Book Had That And More ...

If you're in midlife now, you probably remember Christmas 1971. But do you remember how different things were? Take a look at what was in the 1971 Sears Wish Book -- the dog-eared focus of many a child's Christmas list.

It was a year in which happy moms and kids wished for nothing more than a portable dryer ...

... or matching kimonos ...

... boyish aggression was encouraged (and we're not even showing the rifles) ...

... although as the Vietnam War wound down, GI Joe left the Army and was now part of an "Adventure Team" ...

... little girls could hope for cleaning and kitchen equipment (Ms. Magazine first appeared just after Christmas 1971) ...

... bike handlebars and seats were really, really long (who knows why?) ...

... pre-global warming, any family could have an ice rink in their back yard ...

... after skating, if they wanted a fireplace, they could order it from Sears, plug it in, and stick it on the wall (it was Christmas for plaintiffs attorneys too) ...

What's missing from the 1971 Wish Book is just as interesting as what's in it.

The catalog has no digital watches or calculators (the famous TI digital watch debuted in 1976; while the first true handheld calculator, also from TI, was introduced in 1970, the popularly priced ($240) Bomar 901 was launched in 1971). Even the "digital" clocks were analog, with motors flipping printed digits.

Pop culture and cross-promotion are virtually absent from the Wish Book. There are a few mentions of the then-new Walt Disney World, but there are no cross-media "platforms" like Hannah Montana and few mentions of popular TV shows.

The catalog is not a representative slice of American life as the country put the 60s behind it. Entire groups of people were missing from the catalog ... most noticeably anyone who was not Caucasian. There appears to be one African-American (a man modeling a coat) and one teenage girl of Asian extraction.

But for those who grew up in middle class suburbia, there's a lot that's familiar in the Wish Book.

Alas, there's no Wish Book equivalent today. Sears discontinued its catalog business in 1993 ... just in time to miss the rise of online shopping. They've resurrected the Wish Book online, but the "Add to Wishlist" button isn't as fun as circling what you really, really want and draw giant arrows pointing to it ...

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