VIEWPOINT

EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME

SHARE THE HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AND SPIRIT WHEREVER YOU MAY FIND THEM

JIM THOMAS
Editorial Director

EACH DECEMBER, I try to rope one or two of my children (the victims), who are now grown, into driving with me to Center City Philadelphia to relive my childhood holiday memories. One of my fondest was of the extravagant and now defunct department stores, such as Lit Brothers and Strawbridge & Clothiers. Wanamaker’s, the store that invented the price tag and boasted 12 floors, is now a Macy’s. The names may be gone, but my kids get to hear my version of the history on our drive to the city. My narration helps them sleep.

ENCHANTMENT AND PRANKS

No trip to Philly was complete without visiting the Lit Brothers “Enchanted Colonial Village,” a display that once included 15 scenes and 100 mechanized figures, including a boy dipping a girl’s pigtail into an inkwell in a one-room school. (Admittedly, colonial children were limited in the pranks they could play.) A portion of the village is now on display at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. The museum also houses the Wanamaker’s monorail, which, in its heyday, took children on a ride above the store’s toy department. How’s that for a marketing solution to give the top-shelf merchandise visibility?

SOMETHING MORE THAN BLINKING LIGHTS

The one exhibit that still stands in its original spot is the Wanamaker’s (now Macy’s) Christmas Light Show, a musical light display standing several stories high. The display retains the feel of 1960s technology. In other words, my kids might wonder, is there something wrong with dad that this display — and those on our other stops — still impress him? Regardless, once the music starts and the nutcracker begins to blink, I am in the holiday spirit. At that moment, I think the kids “get it.” Or they are kind enough not to say otherwise, which is still in keeping with the spirit.

Let me take this time to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season. With all the stress that comes with the holidays and the close of the year, I hope you find the time to take a break and enjoy those traditions that put you in the spirit. And once you find the spirit, don’t keep it to yourself.

EMBRACING THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

JENNIFER KIRBY
Senior Editor

Lazer Tag was 1987’s hottest toy. Like Ralphie from “A Christmas Story,” I did my best to keep Lazer Tag top of my parents’ minds. Days before Christmas, my dad said it was tough to find. Translation: It wasn’t going to happen.

Only it did! One peel of wrapping paper revealed the red script “Tag” on the toy’s box. I immediately removed the slick space gun and tag light from the plastic sarcophagus.

“Dad, I thought you said it was hard to find!”

“It was,” he said with a smile.

He went to the F.A.O. Schwarz, nowhere near his New York City office, and stood on a very long line. I was beyond thankful — for a father who would go to so much trouble for his daughter. — Jennifer Kirby

SHANNON SIMCOX
Associate Editor

Each year, I partake in a Christmas movie marathon, with favorites like “Little Women,” and fresh baked cookies!

One year, I painstakingly insisted my youngest sister, Cheyenne, participate. A baby compared to my ripe old age of 27, she was made to change the movie. Next up: “The Muppet Christmas Carol” on VHS. Dumbfounded and incredulous were the looks from Cheyenne at the rectangular contraption. Never mind the baffled expression at the term “rewind.” What’s more, she had no interest in learning it.

This tradition has since changed, but, I still keep it — with a DVD of “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” —Shannon Simcox OM