Ideas please for stocking fillers from 1950's

fesdufun

Hi,

I am going to try to do a stocking for my parents like they had when they were children (both born 1945). I am a bit stuck about what to put in it. Thought of an orange and that's about it - help. Perhaps you kind MSE's who are around that age could remember what you had in your stocking as a child.
Thank you.

floss2

Old pennies, an apple, an orange, small wooden toy, tin soldiers, marbles, socks, gloves, girls knitting needles & wool....My mum would tell us how lucky we were when we were kids!

buxtonrabbitgreen

Are you sure they would want it? I know I wouldn't. A piece of coal, a tangerine, a pair of gloves, coulouring pencils and a colouring book. I was there.

bucksliz

Oranges weren't about during the war. Most children didn't see an orange or a banana until the mid 1950's. A piece of coal or a holly leaf just to remind you what could happen next year if you didn't behave yourself!

Anthillmob

the turkeys foot aparently went down a treat.

kethry

I'm doing something similar for my gran - only hers would be in the 1920s!! I do know she had a tangerine and an apple in the base of the stocking, and nuts, i'm going to try to find some traditional sweets, but anyone know where i might be able to get sugarmice from in the Manchester area?

She wrote her memoirs a few years ago for me and mentioned that one christmas she got an annual that she had wanted for a long time, because she would go to her cousins house and her cousin always had them, so when she got the annual herself she was overjoyed. I tracked down the annual on ebay, unfortunately i don't know what year this was so i've had to buy what i could, but the principle is there!! Hopefully it will mean a great deal to her. anyway. With elderly relatives the trick is to ask them about christmas and their childhood one christmas (if they're anything like my gran, their childhood memories are very sharp) and use the ideas for the following year when they've forgotten about the conversation they had with you.

HTH someone.

keth
xx

jetty

http://www.handycandy.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=sugar+mice&search_in_description=1&HCid=d6fff4a677f86012d8c9c578e23375f7

found this site, they sell sugar mice over the net

kethry

ah, i don't have a card so find it difficult to buy over the net. I have a friend who has one, if necessary, but was hoping for a local shop, is why i asked. Thanks anyway, will check it out!!

keth
xx

Horace

Tinplate toys were popular in the 50's and you can buy old annuals and comics on the internet e.g. The Eagle etc. Why not get some old books such as Enid Blyton's Famous Five series or the Secret Severn? Another book idea would be Biggles, Mallory Towers series. Mecanno was also popular as were knitting kits for girls.

I only know all this from talking to my parents - thankfully, I am a 60's baby and our toys were a bit better

balmaiden

Spinning top, maybe? I remember one of those in my stocking. I was born mid fifties so maybe slightly more affluent time. We didn't get oranges in our stocking, they were there in a fruit bowl on the sideboard on xmas morning probably the only time in the year that we had then though.