vintage holiday gifts toronto

The gifts of holidays past in Toronto

It's Christmas roughly 50 years ago, and you're shopping for gifts for your family. As always, Eaton's is a great place to start. That year, the department store chain, which was headquartered at Queen and Yonge, filled the newspapers with multi-page spreads advertising everything from winter tires to dolls. Maybe you'll get a Baby Pattaburp for the girl, or perhaps some rainbow binoculars for the boy.

Here's a look at what was on offer 50 years ago this Christmas.

toronto eatons

Sam the Record Man got festive in 1964 with Johann S. Bach and drum and bugle band records. Language records were also popular. Note the reel-to-reel starting at $1.98.

toronto 1964 movies

How about a movie tickets? My Fair Lady was playing at the University theatre on Bloor and Mary Poppins was at the Hollywood near Yonge and St. Clair. Elvis' Roustabout, in which he performed his own stunts and injured his head, was in its second month.

toronto eatons

Eaton's had an auto centre at Bay and Gerrard. I'm not sure a set of tires would fit under the Christmas tree, however.

toronto eatons

The gadget pages. Check out the foldaway hairdryer: "Tops in any gal's book."

toronto eatons

It's interesting to note that in 1964 fashion was still advertised using stylized sketches.

toronto eatons

Photography gear at Eaton's College St. and Don Mills. A Kodak Instamatic for only $15.75.

toronto eatons

Maybe Christmas 1964 is the year you'll finally ask Susan to marry you.

toronto eatons

Home appliances were firmly marketed at women in the mid-60s.

toronto eatons

"Think how clever I could be if only I owned a beautiful, fully-automatic Bernina '65."

toronto eatons

Some excellent T.V. tray sets were up for grabs. With wheels and everything. Also: Teflon cookware.

toronto eatons

Dusters were all the rage in 1964. Also hi-rise, pull-on girdles and fabric shoes.

toronto eatons

Desert Flower or Charles of the Ritz? There was always the novelty dog option.

toronto eatons

More dusters, this time for kids.

toronto eatons

Something for the girl. Baby Trixie's had a "vinyl face" and "black sleeping eyes." It was probably best to shell out the extra few bucks for the Baby Pattaburp.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Doug Ford just got even tougher on Ontario bike lanes with new measures

Toronto's $27 billion Ontario Line just crossed its biggest construction milestone so far

Rare Canadian gold coin sells for over $1.5 million

Toronto ranked among the top 100 best cities in the world for 2025

A full list of all the items included in Canada's holiday GST cut

Liquid soap sold at stores across Canada recalled due to contamination

Canadians to get GST cut on groceries and new $250 rebate ahead of holidays

Snow is finally coming to southern Ontario and here's when it will hit