The Dreams of Children: Christmas During the Great Depression

During the Great Depression, many children were happy just to have food for Christmas. However, others yearned for items they saw in the Sears & Roebuck Christmas catalog.

Oranges.

Search online for “Great Depression Christmas,” and you’ll find numerous histories and personal recollections of that holiday when the United States was in the depths of the longest, ugliest financial downturn in its history. As you browse these narratives, many written by people who lived through the economic disaster, or by their children, you’ll find a now ordinary fruit, the orange, mentioned time and again. Along with candy and nuts, an orange was the most common stocking gift given to children; it was a rare and costly treat in a household where the Christmas meal might consist of soup and homemade bread.

Some may feel moved to pity the reduced circumstances in which countless fathers and mothers struggled to provide a Christmas for their children. However, the stories of these families deserve admiration and respect: The hard times of the 1930s led to creative ways to celebrate the winter holidays that continue to influence us today.

Appreciating the Basics

Before the stock market crash of 1929, the unemployment rate in the United States was a little over 3 percent. During the Depression years, from 1929 to 1941, that rate soared, peaking at 25 percent in 1933 and remaining in the double digits until World War II. Consequently, struggling families had to make Christmas gifts for their children instead of buying them.

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In his article “Fruits of the Great Depression: Christmas Memories,” Damon Sims interviewed elderly individuals who grew up during the economic collapse. Their memories of Christmastime often included stockings filled with nuts, candy, and oranges. Any other gifts were usually secondhand or handmade by a parent.

Richard Grondin, who grew up on a Michigan farm, remembered receiving a store-bought lunch bucket for Christmas, a novelty among his classmates in their one-room schoolhouse.

“Everybody was poor,” he recalled. “If you had food to eat and a place to sleep, you were thankful for that.”

Marie Calandra, 86, reminisced about her childhood in Cleveland, where her family enjoyed looking at the store windows during Christmas but rarely made purchases.

“We were lucky,” she said. “We had food to eat, and we were never deprived.”

Secondhand and Homemade

In her sketch “Christmas in the Depression 1936: We Had Each Other,” Reva Swanson described her family’s efforts to provide a Christmas with secondhand and refurbished gifts for their children.

“What a wonderful Christmas,” Swanson concluded. “We had food on the table, toys to play with, a roof over our heads, warm beds to sleep in, the love of our parents—and none of it came from the Sears catalog.”

Store-Bought

The Sears catalog, known as the Wish Book, featured a variety of gifts for children and adults during the Great Depression era. It became an iconic representation of American holiday shopping.

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The first issue included toys, clothing, bath accessories, chocolates, fruitcakes, and even canaries for sale. The catalog provided options for families looking to purchase gifts during tough economic times.

The availability of a catalog and detailed descriptions of window displays in various towns and cities across the United States indicate that many Americans were able to afford store-bought Christmas decorations during the Great Depression. The affordable prices of these items matched the economic downturn, and manufacturers came up with innovative and inexpensive seasonal decorations to cater to potential customers.

For example, foil icicles and garlands for Christmas trees became increasingly popular during this period. Cardboard Putz houses, originally from Germany, were used to create miniature villages under Christmas trees. In 1937, Max Eckardt began mass-producing Shiny Brite ornaments in collaboration with Corning Glass, which quickly gained popularity as tree decorations. Richard Drew’s invention of scotch tape in 1930 became a hit for gift wrapping. Additionally, Coca-Cola’s Santa Claus, depicted in ads in 1930, set the standard for the modern image of St. Nick – a plump, white-bearded, jolly old man in a red suit.

Personal accounts of Christmas during the Great Depression often emphasize the importance of family and community ties. Despite the challenges posed by the economic crisis, people sought comfort and joy in spending time with loved ones and neighbors.

Stories like Janie McKinley’s tale of Granny’s efforts to ensure a joyful Christmas for her extended family showcase the spirit of generosity and care prevalent during those difficult times. Similarly, Elsie Balint’s experience of receiving a fully decorated Christmas tree from a local hardware store owner exemplifies the kindness and compassion that characterized the holiday season during the Depression era.

Looking back at Christmas during the Great Depression provides valuable lessons in resilience, creativity, and gratitude. Despite facing hardships, individuals found ways to celebrate the season with joy and appreciation for the simple gifts they received. As Janet Hirz succinctly puts it, “Things don’t make you happy. People do.”

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