Social media and online retailers offer lots of Christmas gift suggestions. Similarly, a hundred years ago people turned to magazines when looking for gift suggestions. The December, 1925 issue of Ladies Home Journal included an infographic advertisement that contained “practical Christmas gift suggestions.” for “Universal” products from Landers, Frary, and Clark.
Pretty fabulous gifts!
Some of these gift suggestions would have utilized technology that was state of the art at the time.
Interesting!
It is nice to hear that you enjoyed this post.
That waffle iron looks very similar to the one my grandmother used. We always called it the magic waffle iron, because her waffles turned out perfectly every time–and she made a lot of them. The family who lived next door to my grandparents had two girls about my age, who also called my grandmother Nana, and were in and out of their house as much as we were. The older daughter, I think jokingly, asked my grandmother to leave her the waffle iron in her will. After my grandmother died, my grandfather packed the waffle iron up and sent it to her.
What a sweet story! It’s really nice how your grandfather sent the waffle iron to someone who really liked it.
Interesting that pretty things without practical value were no longer considered good gifts for Christmas. I guess useful gifts have been the thing for quite a while now. I wonder if the magazine editors back then would think all the electronic gadgets we have now are in the practical category.
There apparently has been a tension between whether to give practical gifts or more sentimental ones for a long time.
The first thing I noticed was the prices… $10 was a lot more then than it is now.
But I know that waffle iron could still work as opposed to the $10 one on sale I bought a couple of years ago.
The next thing is I think even then you should try to give the “lady” of the house jut a vacuum for Christmas regardless of how useful it would be.
You’re absolutely right. This waffle iron was a very expensive gift. I just did an online search and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator, $1 in 1925 is now worth $18.77, so this $10 waffle iron would be the equivalent of $187 now. Whew, this gift might be “practical,” but it clearly was a status item at the time.
My aunt bought the toaster as an antique years ago.
Wow, it’s awesome that she found one. I’ve never seen that type of toaster.
She was very proud to have found it.
I enjoyed looking at the items they had for sale. I would not suggest giving those gifts today. What my wife and I use to do if an item was needed for the house was to wrap it up, put it under the tree with a tag from Santa. Our children just thought that Santa gave us something for the house.
That’s a great suggestion. I wish that I would have thought of it when my children were young.
Loved seeing these “practical” gifts!
They may have been “practical,” but the gifts that utilized electricity also were probably considered “high-tech.” A hundred years ago, many homes would have only recently been wired for electricity (and there still would have been some without electricity).
So true and thought-provoking.
That toaster was very similar to the one used in my parent’s household, probably back in the 50s. It worked very well…
Wow, it’s awesome that your family had a toaster similar to the one in the picture. It’s good to hear that it worked well. It looks very different from modern toasters.
I’d like the silverware please! With a maid to keep it all nicely polished. Thank you.
🙂 It definitely would help to have a maid to keep it polished.
Toasters were so beautiful! Well, everything was until plastic and built-in obsolescence took over our culture. All I want for Christmas is to dial back at least 10 years and reset absolutely everything that is happening today! (My 30-year old Olympic juicer AND my nearly 50-year old Cuisinart finally bit the dust within days of each other. I think they planned it. So, Santa-Baby, if you’re listening . . . ) 🙂 Have a wonderful holiday, Sheryl!
Oh dear – though it’s amazing that the juicer and Cuisinart lasted as long as they did. Fingers crossed that Santa hears. And, I hope that you also have a wonderful holiday season.
My mother particularly hated practical gifts for the household. She would go around in a huff all day if she received one.
People have strong opinions about practical gifts.
I believe these practical household items reflected the times!
The gift suggestions probably seemed modern and innovative at the time.