100+ Photos That Show What Christmas Looked Like Through the Years

Like everything from popular slang words to trendy hairstyles, Christmas has definitely changed a lot over the years. Just ask your parents or grandparents, they'll probably give you an earful. And this year, Christmas will probably change for a lot of us more than it has, well, ever. Many will spend the season hunkering down with our nearest and dearest, decorating our homes with a Griswold-level collection of LED Christmas lights for our neighbors to enjoy on socially distanced walks, and of course marathoning this year’s Hallmark Christmas movies while we enjoy the fruits of our quarantine baking projects.

But if you find yourself growing nostalgic for the simpler times, join us in taking a walk down holiday memory lane and exploring the past 110 years of Christmas past. Take heart that, through huge cultural phenomena, iconic holiday TV specials and trendy toy crazes, we’ve always found a way to spread the holiday cheer. And luckily for us, lots of things have stuck around through all these monumental changes, from classic holiday movies like A Christmas Story to major holiday traditions like the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting. Maybe this list will help you recall some of your favorites from years gone by.