The Most Popular Christmas Presents 100 Years Ago
The 1920s brought a newfound prosperity to many U.S. families, and gift-giving — especially at Christmas — entered a new era. Innovative manufacturing techniques, along with mass production, made toys more affordable and diverse than ever. Radio broadcasting, meanwhile, brought advertising into the home, while in the streets Santa Claus was increasingly being used to push Christmas products. And with women having recently won the right to vote — and embracing shorter skirts and bobbed hair — a freer way of life was taking shape.
The Roaring ’20s were, for many, a decade of possibilities, something we can see reflected in the popular Christmas gifts of the era. Here are six coveted items you would have been likely to see on Christmas lists across America a hundred years ago.
Wristwatches
The perception of wristwatches, which were previously considered feminine and unmanly, changed completely after World War I. During the war, officers discovered that watches worn on the wrist were far more practical than pocket watches, and wristwatches quickly became a key piece of combat equipment. When soldiers returned home after the war, they took their watches with them, popularizing the idea that the accessory was not only practical, but could also be a part of masculine fashion. With both affordable models and luxury brands soon coming to market, wristwatches became the perfect gift for the 1920s man.
You may also like
More from our network
Radio Flyer
In 1923, an Italian immigrant named Antonio Pasin founded the Liberty Coaster Company to sell his handcrafted red steel wagons for kids. The all-steel construction was revolutionary, replacing the more typical wooden wagons that easily broke or splintered. His product was so popular that in 1927, Pasin adopted the mass-production techniques pioneered by Henry Ford in order to meet demand. He then changed the wagon’s name to Radio Flyer, and so was born an iconic toy that became a staple of many American childhoods.
Chanel No. 5
Electric appliances transformed domestic work during the 1920s, with new labor-saving devices marketed as tools of liberation for middle-class homemakers — a role generally held by women at the time. As such, many women received electric washing machines and vacuum cleaners as Christmas gifts from their husbands. But for a man looking for something more romantic for his partner, perfume was always a good option — and one particular fragrance was a surefire winner: Chanel No. 5. Created in 1921 by fashion designer Coco Chanel, the modern fragrance — formulated to have the “scent of woman,” according to its ad campaign — was an instant success, and soon sat under Christmas trees across America.
Yo-Yo
The origins of the yo-yo go all the way back to the ancient world — an ancient Greek vase from the fifth century BCE depicts a boy playing with the timeless string toy. But it wasn’t until the late 1920s that the yo-yo as we know it became a sensation in the United States, thanks to a young Filipino immigrant named Pedro Flores. The whirling gadget had been popular in the Philippines for hundreds of years, and Flores saw its potential in the U.S. He founded the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in 1928, secured financing to open a factory, and within a year the company was producing 300,000 yo-yos a day. Despite coming late in the decade, its massive popularity made it one of the most sought-after stocking-fillers of the 1920s.
Raggedy Ann
In the 1920s, few children’s gifts were as beloved as the Raggedy Ann doll. Created by cartoonist and illustrator Johnny Gruelle in 1915, the doll became a marketing hit when it was introduced alongside the book Raggedy Ann Stories in 1918. With her distinctive red yarn hair, button eyes, and simple cloth construction, Raggedy Ann represented a departure from the expensive porcelain dolls of earlier eras — and her folksy charm had widespread appeal during an era increasingly dominated by mass production.
Tinkertoy
Tinkertoy was a construction set that comprised various wheels, rods, caps, couplings, and pulleys, all packaged in a distinctive tube. After an initially slow rollout in 1914, the set surged in popularity, becoming a standard gift beneath Christmas trees throughout the 1920s. Children could build a vast array of structures from the simple wooden pieces, making it an affordable gift that encouraged creativity and engineering skills. But it wasn’t the only construction set to keep kids busy on Christmas Day. Competitors included Lincoln Logs, invented around 1916 by John Lloyd Wright (son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright), and Erector Set, a metal set that included specialized kits with electric motors for building trains, Ferris wheels, zeppelins and more.
