Customer Reviews

Christmas Wishes: A Catalog of Vintage Holiday Treats & Treasures (Antiques Collectables)

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I pre-ordered this book and was very excited when it finally arrived. I was not disappointed! If you love nostalgia & Christmas, this book is for you! The stories about how our favorite vintage Christmas decorations and characters came to be was fascinating. The color illustrations are fabulous and the pictures of the author during his childhood at Christmas adds a special touch that invokes memories of Christmas day during my childhood. I recommend you buy this book and take a trip down your own memory lane.

From author, historian and pop culture archivist Tim Hollis comes his newest book, "Christmas Wishes: A Catalog Of Vintage Holiday Treats And Treasures." And if you think the title is a mouth full- wait until you see what the inside of this fabulous book holds! Tim takes the reader on a holiday stroll down memory lane. You'll be reminded of pajamas with the feet in them, colorful story books and records that extoll the wonders of the season. The tasty candies and baked goods, the decorations and trees we fondly remember, and the thrill of Christmas morning and its many suprises and wonders.
I was so fortunate to be able to contribute many images which Tim used in this great book. Having grown up in the time frame celebrated within the pages of this book, it is a keepsake that you will want to read and explore again and again. If you or anyone that you know loves the holiday season- this book is for you and would make the perfect gift for others. This book will no doubt become a tradition during the holiday season and all year round!

For anyone who grew up in the 1950's and 1960's, this is your Christmas Mecca. Tim Hollis writes with sensitivity and with a passion for in-depth research into this magical period. He reawakens memories of long lost toys, books, records and the magic of long gone department stores and five and dimes. Thank you Tim! Your book is a true and valuable gift to American culture and to the eternal child in everyone.

Despite plenty of books devoted to every aspect of the festive season Tim Hollis has produced something fresh: a comprehensive coverage in words and picture of the commercialism of Christmas. In six chapters he tells you all about the toys wrapped under the tree, Rudolph and Frosty story books, records put out by Peter Pan, Disney Records and others, tree and house decorations and finally what the stores did on your Main Street.

Actually some of this has been covered by others, especially the three Christmas books by Susan Waggoner, the latest of which: Christmas Memories: Gifts, Activities, Fads, and Fancies, 1920s-1960s I thought was particularly good. Hollis, though, goes into much more detail (and here and there maybe too many words, especially on Peter Pan records) about the various products that must have filled most houses across the country on the twenty-fifth and not forgetting the razzamatazz of the preceding weeks in large department stores right down to the local five and dime.

What I thought really gives the book an edge are the 224 color images. An amazing collection of toy and candy ads, book jackets, sheet music covers, record covers (lots of these) and product ads, catalog pages showing tree lights and decorations, store Wish Book covers and more. I doubt you'll find pictures of a bigger selection of Christmas commercial products from 1940 to 1970 in any other book.

It was all the wonderful seasonal graphic material that I loved about the book. The title's layout is rather bland but that only throws up all the colorful nostalgic goodies. The back pages have a short bibliography and nicely a comprehensive index.

***HAVE A LOOK AT SOME PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

In CHRISTMAS WISHES, nostalgia-meister Tim Hollis takes readers on a colorful, evocative trip through the Christmas experience circa 1940-1970. Subtitled A CATALOG OF VINTAGE HOLIDAY TREATS AND TREASURES, Hollis' book will undoubtedly bring fond memories of Christmas past.

CHRISTMAS WISHES tops out at 186 wonderfully-illustrated pages. After a brief autobiographical memoir of Christmas, Hollis looks at various Christmas icons in chapters entitled: 'Baby Boomers in Toyland;' 'Rudolph and Frosty and What They Begat;' 'Sing a Kris Kringle Jingle;' 'Deck Them Halls and Stuff Like That;' and so on. Hollis' appealing text is complimented by dozens of vintage and contemporary photographs of Christmas toys, records, candies, books, comics, ads, decorations, etc. The reader really gets a sense of what the Christmas season used to be like in days of old.

No-brainer prediction: babyboomers are gonna love this one! CHRISTMAS WISHES is a touching, sweet but not saccharine guided tour to America's favorite holiday as it was celebrated decades ago. Recommended.