The Gifts We Wished For When We Were 10

“What gift would your ten-year-old self want to receive this holiday season?”

I was a kid in the 1950s with five sisters, two older and three younger. Imagine the amount of gifts we were lucky enough to find under our Christmas tree! I was thinking to myself last week what I might have liked as a gift instead of what I got. Please don’t think I am selfish, let’s just say I have a creative mind that conjures up these kind of fantasy situations. I asked my Vintage Unscripted sisters this same question. Here’s what we wished for back then.

Kids Spy Detective Kit

Linda said she was always interested in reading mystery books as a child and loved the Nancy Drew series. She enjoyed the idea of deducing who the culprit was by the evidence and behavior using her logical and science loving brain.

She would have enjoyed this STEM based Detective Kit. Forensics is the pathway using Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to help solve the case. Bloonsy has literally made this kit and sells it on Etsy for $29.98, and as they say about it: “Our Spy (Detective) Kit is designed for children who want to get to know the tools and methods that real-life spies use for solving mysteries. This STEM toy is a great spy training that teaches kids to record and match fingerprints, check the authenticity of money, and do much more spy stuff. No criminals will get past your young detective!”  Linda did grow up to be in STEM-based jobs before the word STEM was in the lexicon. Just imagine how much actual hands on enjoyment her 10 year old self would have gotten out of this kit! Have you got a 10 year old sleuth in your family?

Red Emerson Big-Little Portable Phono, Vintage Record Player

Pam is the Vintage Unscripted blogger who loves vintage jewelry and clothing. She fondly remembers having her own phonograph player as we called it and LOTS of records.  She was lucky enough to get one as a 10-year-old for Chanukah and/or Christmas as her family celebrated both.

I can imagine her dancing around in her bedroom pretending to be one of her teen idols complete with hair and costume (at least in her 10-year-old imagination) crooning her heart out. She could have easily brought it out to the living room to get the adults singing and dancing. What a way to celebrate the season!

She might have gotten a new version of this vintage player. It has a great color as well as a carrying handle. DirtieBertiesVintage on Etsy reminds us that though this is a toy phonograph, it does not play toy records. It needs a new needle but our STEM friend of the blog Linda could certainly fix that problem pronto. The outside of the case has been worn from use at childhood dance parties. You can acquire it for $24.00. Be certain to ask Pam to bring her little carrying case of 45s! Let’s Dance!!!

Barbie’s Dream House 1962

Our friend Laurie would have liked to get this Dream Home for her Barbie when she was ten. I do remember these but never had a Barbie. You had to assemble the furniture I believe, but you set up the loose furniture any way you like. As a kid and a teen, I loved moving furniture around in my bedroom to get a new look.

This is the home of a single Barbie. I’d be jealous of the console record player/television, which was pretty swanky. There are college pennants on the wall making me think she just graduated and this is her first home. BestOfTheMess on Etsy has this fab find priced at $294. I think it sets the stage for serious teenage wishes to fly the coop and dream of college. I know Laurie likes this because of the mid-century furnishings and colors of 1962 in this dreamy house. You might enjoy this Redbook article by Mallory Schlossberg, See The Evolution of the Barbie Dream House.

Vintage Bryan Christmas Dress

This is the dress of my ten-year-old heart’s desire. Okay, so it was made in the 80s and I was born in the early 50s, but remember this is all about the fantasy worlds of 10-year-old girls and let the time space continuum warp just this once. I would feel and look like an English princess in this with some white knee high stockings and black patent leather shoes with a squash heel. My hair was fine and didn’t take a curl well, but Mom would gather it into a ponytail and finish it with a red velvet ribbon. I would be ever so careful not to get it dirty or to be anything less than a perfect princess in thought, word and deed.

Having five other sisters that my Mom would need to make presentable to the grandparents, aunts and uncles and ALL the cousins make me in the dress very much a dream. If your ten-year-old would have the same dreams about this confection for royalty, you might drop in to Etsy and look up Three13Vintage who has it online for $45. It would make me happy to know that some other little girl would be happy wearing it.

Vintage Puppy in a Gift Box Sweater

Our VU sister Dot is in her very busy period at the end of the year and I couldn’t get in touch with her. I am pretty certain that her ten-year-old self would be thrilled with this super cute sweater. I think she loved dogs and puppies as soon as she met them as a very young girl. This sweater presents a puppy in a gift box as a present. Nowadays we are careful about gifting real pets, especially as surprises, at a holiday. That aside, look at all the love hearts they have for each other! A great advantage of this sweater is that it could be worn all year round.

Ha ha ha! I just got the fact that the black and white pattern is a “houndstooth“! We all know how she has loved all kinds of dogs and has given her heart and home to older shelter and rescued dogs. We just love that in her! RobinEggSurprise has this sweet double-dog-darling on Etsy for $20.

***Remember the clothes may not necessarily fit a 10-year-old but in my imagination, it all works out!

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