The History of Gifts: What Americans Bought for the Holidays 100 Years Ago

Step into 1925: the era of jazz, Model T Fords, and the first radio receivers to discover what lay beneath the Christmas trees of our great-great-grandparents

In 1925, America was celebrating the midpoint of the Roaring Twenties—a time of economic prosperity, mass production, and the birth of consumer culture. Christmas was the premier holiday, and gifts reflected the spirit of progress and practicality. Let’s open the 1925 Sears catalog and see what presents were most coveted back then.

Children’s Dreams: Mechanics Instead of Microchips

In 1925, kids didn’t dream of smartphones—their world was ruled by wind-up mechanisms and electric trains.

Top Toys:

• Lionel Electric Train—the ultimate gift for boys. A set with a locomotive, cars, and tracks cost $5-7 (a week’s wages for a factory worker). Premium cars sold separately for $1-2 each.
• Wind-up Mechanical Toys: tanks that moved and made sounds, clowns on strings, «jumping rabbits.» Price range: 50 cents to $2.
• Composition Dolls—these replaced porcelain dolls. Popular models included «Pinocchio» or «Baby Ann.» Cost: $1-3 .
• Raggedy Ann Doll—a cloth beauty with embroidered eyes, symbolizing home comfort. Just 25-50 cents .
• Board Games—»Business» (a predecessor to Monopoly, which would appear a decade later), «Beano» (an early version of Bingo), chess, and checkers. Price: 50 cents to $1 .
• Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Books—adventure novels from the Stratemeyer Syndicate. 75 cents per volume.

Gifts for Ladies: Elegance and Practicality

• Elbow-Length Gloves—silk or cotton, an essential accessory for any fashionista. A pair cost $1-3 , which was considered a luxury.
• Perfume and Cosmetics: «Coty» cologne or «Evening in Paris» fragrances by Bourjois. A bottle: $1-2 . Lipstick was just coming into fashion— 25 cents.
• Fringed Shawls—colorful, ornate, wearable with evening dresses. Price: $2-5 .
• Singer Sewing Machine—a gift for life. Cost $35-45 (a month’s salary), but sold on installment plans for 12-18 months. Many families saved for years to buy one.
• Costume Jewelry—glass bead necklaces, Art Deco brooches. Looked expensive, cost 50 cents to $3 .
• Hand Fans—for parties and theater outings. Made of feathers or fabric, $1-2 .

For Gentlemen: From Tobacco to «Iron Horses»

• Tobacco and Pipes—»Prince Albert» in the red tin, «El Producto» cigars. A tin of tobacco: 15 cents; a pipe: $1-5 .
• Ronson Lighter—a premium model, $2-5 . Cheaper option: matches in a gift box.
• Gillette Shaving Kit—brush, soap, and safety razor with replacement blades. Kit: $1-2; blades: 10 cents per pack.
• Stanley Tool Set—screwdrivers, pliers, files. Price: $2-8 .
• Pocket Watches—Elgin, Waltham brands. Good quality pieces: $10-25 , considered a status symbol.
• Car Accessories—if someone owned a Ford Model T (which cost $260 then), you could gift them a new shock absorber or headlight. Price: $3-10 .

Universal Hits: Sweets and «Smart» Items

• Whitman’s Sampler Chocolate Box—a classic since 1843, in 1925 cost 50 cents to $1.
• Calendars—wall calendars with art reproductions or company advertisements. 10-25 cents.
• Handmade Greeting Cards—with glitter, embossing, sometimes even musical mechanisms. Many people collected them. 5-15 cents.
• Bestselling Books—The Man Who Fell to Earth by Sinclair Lewis, The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald (published April 1925). Each: $2 .
• Alcohol—during Prohibition (1920-1933), gifting whiskey was complicated. «Medicinal spirits» were allowed, but people more often gave non-alcoholic punch or 3.2% «near beer.» A bottle of legal near beer: 15 cents.

Where They Shopped: From Catalogs to Five-and-Dimes

• Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog—the «wish book» at 500 pages. Orders placed by mail, delivered in 2-4 weeks. In 1925, the catalog’s circulation reached 7 million copies.
• Department Stores—Macy’s in New York, Marshall Field’s in Chicago. Toy departments transformed into Christmas wonderlands.
• Five-and-Dime Stores—the F. W. Woolworth Company chain, where everything cost 5 or 10 cents. Perfect for small gifts and stocking stuffers.
• Specialty Shops—toy stores (FAO Schwarz opened in 1862 and was thriving), bookstores, tobacconists.

Prices and Budget Reality: The Cost of Holiday Cheer

• Average factory worker salary: $50-75 per month ($600-900 annually)
• Teacher: $80-100 per month
• Doctor: $200-300 per month
• Ford Model T: $260 (could be purchased on installment)

Cultural Traditions: How Gifting Worked in 1925

• Christmas was King. Gifts were placed under the tree on Christmas Eve, December 24th.
• Santa Claus—the image was established but looked sterner than today. Children wrote letters, not to the North Pole, but to local department stores.
• Stocking Stuffers—small gifts in stockings: nuts, clementines, candy, tiny toys. Santa himself was believed to place them there.
• Adults to children, but not vice versa—Kids rarely gave parents gifts since they had no money. It was primarily a children’s holiday.
• New Year’s—not celebrated. January 1st was just a day off, not a gift-giving occasion.

What Changed in 100 Years: Then vs. Now

Conclusion: Three Lessons from 1925

1. Quality over quantity. A Lionel train or Singer sewing machine served for decades and was passed down. Today we replace gadgets every 2-3 years.
2. Time invested = love invested. A hand-knitted scarf or handmade card in 1925 was valued equally with store-bought items. In the age of AI, handmade is becoming precious again.
3. The holiday is about anticipation, not price. Kids waited months for Christmas, poring over the Sears catalog and dreaming. Today we buy gifts last-minute, and children receive them any day of the week.