35 Nostalgic Pictures That Perfectly Capture What Christmas Was Like In The 1980s For Elder Millennials And Young Gen X'ers

1.Being excited the Saturday before Christmas because you knew all your favorite Saturday morning cartoons would be airing their Christmas episodes:

2.Watching random Christmas made-for-TV specials that felt like fever dreams:

3.And of course, watching lots of random Hanna-Barbera Christmas specials:

4.Your mom or aunt who would always wear fancy Christmas sweaters — which always had shoulder pads sewn into them and sequins — to holiday parties and on Christmas Day:

5.Having one of those stuffed animal Santa's whose face you couldn't see as a decoration:

6.And making your parents take you to McDonald's so that you could get the holiday edition Muppet Babies stuffed animals:

7.Having that one neighbor that would set up the light-up Nativity scene as part of their outdoor lights:

8.Or having that one neighbor who thought, Why not more? and decorated with every molded plastic outdoor Christmas light decoration they made:

9.Decorating your Christmas tree with colorful string lights that also had reflectors on the bulbs to make them extra bright...

10....lots of gaudy tinsel and garland...

11....and/or also with pearl garlands if your family wanted a ~fancy~ tree:

12.Eating Holidays chocolate candy, which was just M&M's (the red and green ones) painted with trees and bells on it:

13.Having the Fruity Pebbles Christmas commercial play every 10 minutes and knowing the whole thing by heart:

14.Hanging acrylic Christmas stockings on the mantle that always felt very flimsy and were probably very huge fire hazards:

15.Decorating with plastic holly wreaths that hurt your hand 'cause it was a little sharp:

16.Seeing your family's kitchen decked out in Christmas country geese towels, pot holders, and accessories:

17.And also having strictly red candles as part of the decorations around the house:

18.Not being allowed to ring the ceramic bell decoration (that served no purpose really) because that thing was fragile AF:

19.Being a little scared when watching Mickey's Christmas Carol, 'cause it was a tad darker than you expected:

20.Getting Christmas stickers as a treat if you went with your parents to Hallmark:

21.And getting Christmas-themed Scratch 'n Sniff Stickers at school — that usually only smelled of either pine or peppermint:

22.Being told by at least one older person in your family to be grateful for your gifts because in the USSR they didn't get gifts or celebrate Christmas:

23.Burning your hands if you helped put up the outdoor Christmas lights while they were on (those suckers got HOT):

24.Your parents spending over a week writing Christmas cards and checking off the names of the people who were getting one off a list:

25.And having your parents freak out if someone not on their list sent them a card — which meant they had to now write one back to them:

26.Listening to Time Life's Jingle Bell Rock album over and over:

27.Somehow not realizing how creepy the cartoon characters were in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (they have made soooo much progress with that since then):

28.Circling all the toys you wanted from the Sears Wish Book...

29....and Toys "R" Us Christmas Dream Book in hopes that your parents would see it and secretly buy it for you for Christmas:

30.Going over to your grandma's house and seeing her decorate with Christmas-themed tin ashtrays (if she smoked)...

31....a bowl of dusty ribbon candy that you were pretty sure she had had since 1971...

32....and that ceramic light-up Christmas tree that burned you if you touched it:

33.Having all the presents under the tree be wrapped in very shiny and gaudy wrapping paper — also, it being strictly wrapped boxes 'cause gift bags weren't really a thing:

34.Crossing your fingers that your parents would get you a Nintendo:

35.And lastly, receiving a Cabbage Patch doll even if you didn't ask for one 'cause it was THE GIFT to give: