What We Wanted For Christmas

How did we know what we wanted for Christmas in the days before television, glossy newspaper and magazine advertisements? The Sears Wish Book was our bible. I don't recall regular visits to department stores, though we probably did visit Santa Claus, didn't we? Help me out here guys.

I suspect we had more generic requests--bike, trains, truck, dolls, chemistry sets, tinker toys. I recall being thrilled with a cake baking set. We didn't long for specific brands, colors, sizes. Most of our presents did not require batteries. We were aware that Mom and Dad were not rich. But my memory could be playing tricks on me. Perhaps I spent hours gazing over the Sears catalog and coming up with a 25-item list. In my old age, I have learned to mistrust memories that compare me favorably to younger generations. When Katherine was 5, she said, "anything Santa wants to bring me for Christmas is fine with me." I doubt a Koch would have been so unmaterialistic.