Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I got my very first electric guitar on Christmas day 1966.I had asked for one the two previous Christmases so it was a pretty big deal. Other great gifts I got were The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour album and an Aurora model car racing set. What was your very favorite gift you received when you were a kid? Here’s a mash up of what some of my Somerville friends said. It reads like the longest Christmas gift list ever.

Under the tree Mary gets a “Thumbelina life like baby doll and an Easy Bake Oven.”

Ronny got a Sting Ray bike. John got s Stingray bike with a steering wheel for handlebars!

It just wouldn’t be an old fashion Christmas without a singed doll or board game from The Bargain Center in Davis Square. The store sold water and fire damaged products. I still remembered the smell.

Bob also received an Aurora racing set in 1966, so many great toys while growing up, too many to mention. Nancy got a pair of roller skates that she practically slept in.

Kevin received a NASA play set from the S&H Green Stamp store that used to be down by Wellington. Linda got a Tressy Doll. You could pull her hair out in the middle to make it longer. Phil got a blue sparkle Kent Drum set and an Aurora car set too. Tracy got a tape recorder and Mark got electric trains. You were a very lucky boy if you got a Lionel train set. We set ours up in the cellar on a big slab of wood and had many hours of fun.

My Uncle John and Aunt Frances gave me a Lionel electric train set probably about 1955. I thought I was the King of The Universe. I can still hear that whistle blow. A doll house that my dad put together and a large saucer for sledding. My Tiny Tears Doll. It cried real tears

I remember blackmailing family members with unflattering photos! Some kids got new bicycles! Cool! How about a hand-made Pinocchio marionette and a ventriloquist dummy? After visions of sugar plums danced in our heads, kids received Chatty Cathy dolls that talked (with the same few phrases over and over). Partridge Family and other rock’n’roll LPs, drum sets, and earplugs for mom and dad!