Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day makes people nostalgic even though Christmas generally became one of my least favorite holidays; I like giving people gifts, I just dislike the weather and travel associated with it. Anyway, 2007 was the 25th anniversary of my family moving to Houston, an alien world in our minds at first. So I was going to write about that Christmas because it was the one to break the mold (or routine) we’d be in. Then it got me thinking about going back five more years because a co-worker gave me an issue of Starlog #11 circa 1977 with Rick Baker on the cover. I decided to go ahead, pull back another five years to write about it and make it part of a series I’ll call the Six Days of Christmas. I know there’s twelve, I’m just not that old, yet.
Over 30 years ago, Star Wars continued to be all the rage into Christmas but back then, licensed toys just didn’t happen rapidly. Kenner only had four action figures out and they weren’t very good nor easily available. My parents still did pretty well picking out toys Brian and me liked or wanted; namely the Star Wars T-shirts. Mine was the Brothers Hildebrandt poster, Brian had the one of C-3P0 giving Luke directions with the timely ’77 incorporated in the logo. Unfortunately, I’m drawing a blank on the rest of the loot. I’m confident it was appropriate stuff to hold the interests of a nine and seven year-old kid. I know we didn’t receive any of the numerous lightsabre knock-off toys (a flashlight with a colored gel and a plastic tube attached); Dad probably knew we’d be knocking each other senseless with them.
New Year’s Eve was less memorable since it entailed staying up late to watch WGN’s traditional showing of the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup between interruptions of our grandparents demanding to see Guy Lombardo.
It was a great two-week stretch at Grandma’s house in Bloomington, IL. I know I was excited to integrate all the new toys with the existing ones into my various space operas.