From Teddy Ruxpin and Rubik’s Cubes to mail order catalogs and holiday films that are now considered classics, relive the magic of Christmas in the ’80s.
From hairstyles to music, nearly everything about the ’80s was louder and bolder than today — and that included holidays. Christmas in the 1980s, in particular, had a sort of analog warmth that can’t be replicated in the modern digital age.
Tree lights were bigger and burned brighter, the wrapping paper was metallic, and children’s wish lists were dominated by Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers, and, of course, the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Some of the most iconic festive movies of all time were released that decade, from A Christmas Story to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Mattel released the first limited-edition holiday Barbie. There was no social media to scroll through while gathered around the tree. It was a different era — one that many wish they could return to.
Go back in time to Christmas in the 1980s through our curated gallery of vintage photos below:
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St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City decorated with wreaths and ribbons on Christmas Eve 1987.James G. Howes/Wikimedia Commons
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Two children smiling while holding a Thomas the Tank Engine book on Christmas. 1985.Ben Sutherland/Wikimedia Commons
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A baby reaches for a Mother Goose book at Christmastime. Oklahoma, 1981.Edsel Little/Flickr Creative Commons
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President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan admire Christmas decorations in the White House State Dining Room. 1984.Public Domain
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A Christmas market in Baden-Baden, Germany. 1989.Gerd Eichmann/Wikimedia Commons
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A woman carries a Christmas tree cake during a family celebration. 1982.Miles Smith/Flickr Creative Commons
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Two children in Indiana show off the stuffed animals they received for Christmas. 1984.Barbara Ann Spengler/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family poses with a mall Santa. 1987.Rhiannon Boyle/Flickr Creative Commons
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Christmas decorations at New York City’s Rockefeller Center. 1987.Library of Congress
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A girl with her family dog, Captain, on Christmas Day. 1986.Christine K/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family waves hello from their home in Ontario. Christmas 1985.Peggy Shanks/Flickr Creative Commons
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An English family takes a photo outside their house on Christmas Day. 1980s.Gwydion M. Williams/Flickr Creative Commons
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A Christmas market in the German city of Halle. 1980.Dietmar Rabich/Wikimedia Commons
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A family poses with Santa. Christmas 1983.fourbyfourblazer/Flickr Creative Commons
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A boy uses his brand new Commodore 64. Christmas 1983.Kreg Steppe/Flickr Creative Commons
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A couple with their cat in front of the Christmas tree. 1982.Mark’s Postcards from Beluit/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family opens piles of gifts on Christmas. 1981.Thomas Hawk/Flickr Creative Commons
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A 1980s family Christmas party.Martin Pettitt/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family Christmas gathering featuring a Santa hat with pigtails. 1980s.Alison Oddy/Flickr Creative Commons
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Christmas shoppers at Broadway Plaza in Los Angeles. 1982.Los Angeles Public Library Digital Collections
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A boy dresses as Santa on Christmas. 1987.Los Angeles Public Library Digital Collections
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A two-year-old boy in Los Angeles holds the puppy he received as a Christmas gift. 1981.Los Angeles Public Library Digital Collections
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Children in Compton play in a neighbor’s yard on Christmas Day. 1983.Los Angeles Public Library Digital Collections
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Presents — including a Teddy Ruxpin — under the Christmas tree in the 1980s.Mary Porter/Facebook
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Father Christmas at Union Station in Washington, D.C. 1980s.Library of Congress
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Christmas decorations at Georgetown Park Mall in Washington, D.C. 1980s.Library of Congress
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The Christmas tree outside the U.S. Capitol building. 1980s.Library of Congress
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A Christmas parade float passes by Kaufmann’s Department Store in Pittsburgh. 1984.Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center/Historic Pittsburgh
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A boy listens to his new Sony Walkman. 1982.Kent Kanouse/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family gathers to decorate their Christmas tree. 1980s.Reddit
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A little girl in Louisiana holds her new Teddy Ruxpin. 1980s.Lindsay Attaway/Wikimedia Commons
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The Spirit of Seattle decked out for Christmas. Circa 1987.Seattle Municipal Archives
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A man’s cats help him open a Toast-R-Oven on Christmas in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mid-1980s.Ronnie Pitman/Flickr Creative Commons
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A Christmas celebration for the children of diplomats in Bonn, Germany. 1988.German Federal Archives
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Two young girls pose for a photo with Santa. 1980s.Jessica/Flickr Creative Commons
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Teenagers at a Christmas dance. 1988.Aimee Dars Ellis/Flickr Creative Commons
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Librarians in New Zealand prepare for a children’s Christmas party. 1980.Christchurch City Libraries/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family in Scotland enjoys Christmas lunch with paper crowns on their heads. 1988.alljengi/Flickr Creative Commons
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President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush pose for a photo in front of the Blue Room Christmas tree. 1989.Public Domain
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A family takes a photo with the Christmas tree. 1980.Bubba Miller/Flickr Creative Commons
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A boy poses with a Roland keyboard he received as a Christmas gift. Circa 1988.Stephen Coles/Flickr Creative Commons
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Cousins gather to celebrate Christmas. 1987.Michael Vance/Flickr Creative Commons
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A girl opens a science kit on Christmas. 1988.BEV Norton/Flickr Creative Commons
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A family gathers around the table for Christmas dinner. 1980s.Cliff Dix/Flickr Creative Commons
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44 Vintage Photos Of Christmas In The 1980s, Before The Rise Of Amazon And Social Media
The Golden Age Of The Holiday Catalog
In the modern age, it’s difficult to tell when the “Christmas season” actually begins. Many retailers begin selling festive decorations well before Halloween even comes around, and the increasingly commercialized holiday shopping season is a constant flood of advertisements and push notifications. An Amazon alert about a deal is admittedly far less exciting than what kids had during Christmas in the ’80s.
For a child in the 1980s, the start of the holiday season was a bit easier to define. It wasn’t with the first snowfall or the appearance of mall decorations. No, the Christmas season began with a distinctive, heavy thud in the mailbox: the holiday catalog.
It hardly mattered which catalog it was — though the Sears Wish Book was particularly popular. Nearly every retailer, from major department stores to toy-specific retailers, sent out hundreds of colorful pages that included the hottest holiday gifts.
Mike Chaput/Flickr Creative CommonsA young boy plays his new Operation game on Christmas morning.
In many ways, it was like an analog version of the internet. But it had a certain charm about it that felt warmer and more wholesome than the detached, digital onslaught of ads we deal with today. It was more than just a collection of deals. Holiday catalogs offered children a unique opportunity to not-so-subtly hint at which gifts they wanted by circling “must-haves” with a felt-tip marker or “accidentally” leaving pages dog-eared for their parents to find.
Going through the catalogs was a childhood ritual, and for parents, the feeling of seeing their kids’ handwriting in the books provided a more intimate connection than simply seeing a new item appear on an Amazon wish list.
This wasn’t the only ritual that defined Christmas in the 1980s, though. Long before we could access nearly any movie with the click of a button, families had to gather around the television together at a specific time for the yearly cycle of holiday specials.
The Lost Magic Of The 1980s Christmas TV Special
The 1980s were the peak era for children’s Christmas specials, turning prime-time television into a mandatory family event. Because there was no streaming or DVR, catching these programs required punctuality — if the TV Guide said Rudolph came on at 8 p.m., you were in your pajamas and seated cross-legged on the floor at 7:59.
It was the decade where the slightly jerky, stop-motion magic of Rankin/Bass productions reigned supreme. Characters like the Heat Miser, Hermey the Misfit Elf, and Bumble were cultural icons that only visited your home once per year.
Of course, there were also the cartoon staples — Garfield, The Smurfs, or Mickey’s Christmas Carol — all interspersed with commercials for sugary cereals and fast-food holiday glasses. Though it may have seemed like no big deal at the time, these shows created shared cultural moments for kids around the globe, all watching the same claymation figures wobble across their screens at the same time.
vainglory/Flickr Creative CommonsA family Christmas photo dated to 1988 or 1989.
Maybe it’s nostalgia, or perhaps it’s pessimism about the current state of technology and the world, but there was something special about the way we celebrated Christmas in the 1980s. Toys were more exciting. Video games were simple but revolutionary.
In today’s world, companies know everything about us. They don’t need to send a catalog. They target us with ads every moment of the day. We don’t gather around the TV together at certain times; we binge tens of hours of content all at once, then watch someone online talk about it instead of sharing our own thoughts with our friends and families.
Like many things, Christmas has lost some of its charm. It has been commodified. But the more we remember how it used to be, the more we can try to bring that feeling back.
After this look back at Christmas in the 1980s, see the rise and fall of Blockbuster through our gallery of vintage photos. Then, check out 40 more vintage Christmas images that will have you ready to set out the milk and cookies.
