1985 Montgomery Ward Gifts

Be Kind Rewind: 1985 Christmas Gifts Catalog

Here is another Be Kind Rewind and another Christmas Catalog, because it's the gift that keeps on giving. This time we take a look at offerings from a 1985 Montgomery Ward catalog which was called simply Christmas Gifts 85'. Sears, of course, had their "Wishbook" which is the darling of the holiday catalogs due in part to its magical "wish fulfilling" name. But I think this catalog, despite it uninspired name, actually offers a great (perhaps superior) selection of toys from yesteryear. It also has some cool features like full page introductions for popular toy lines that give a quick synopsis for parents or kids who may not be familiar with them. So lets begin on page one...

The first page of the catalog included a helpful index for taking boys and girls directly to their favorite toys. It also included a sobering letter from Bernard Brennan, the CEO of the company, that explains the impending demise of Montgomery Ward's catalog division of their business in 1986. It marked "the end of an american tradition" and a business started 113 years ago (at the time). The letter also talks, with optimism, about a change in the retail stores as well that was meant to turn around the companies troubles. This new strategy would prove not enough to save the struggling business. Knowing that this was the company's final catalog makes this review bittersweet.

A full page devoted to Care Bears which were an extremely popular twist on the classic teddy bear. These colorful bears from "Care-a-lot" each had a unique "crest" on their tummies that is emblematic of some trait the bear possessed. For example, there is Wish Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear etc. Not pictured, but new to the toyline, were the Care Bear Cousins who lived "just down Rainbow River in the Forest of Feelings". These characters are similarly brightly colored plush toys but were different, varied, animals than just bears. There is Cozy Heart Penguin, Gentle Heart lamb, Brave Heart the legendary 13th century Scottish hero....AHEM, I mean a Lion, to name a few. At this time in the heyday of toy history, it was not just about the toys themselves, but the many, many additional accessories that could be sold. Several of the more popular toy lines like Care Bears, G.I Joe, Transformers, Rainbow Brite, M.A.S.K, and the like had several pages following the actual toys that were devoted to tee-shirts, sweatshirts, sleepwear, bedding, electronics, Big Wheels, lunchboxes and multiple other products licensed and bearing the toy's names and likenesses.

This is a page devoted to M.A.S.K. or "Mobile Armored Strike Kommand". Yes, they intentionally misspelled a word to make the acronym fit. Why in the world didn't they just spell mask, M.A.S.C.!? But I digress. This was, for a time, a very popular toy line that was often described as a combination of GI Joe and Transformers. The premise is a group of secret agents who drove "sophisticated action vehicles" that transformed from civilian vehicles to armored and armed attack vehicles. The toy line also had a popular cartoon that ranged (in retrospect) from just OK to unwatchable. But, the cartoon featured one of the best opening sequences and themes of the 80's. Like many successful toy lines there was a featured playset, He Man had Castle Greyskull, and GI Joe had the Aircraft Carrier (see below). Mask's playset is one of my favorites because it was grounded in the relative realism of the civilian mode, a cool looking service station. The service station then transforms into an armored bunker. Unlike transformers and other toylines its popularity quickly waned with it's second season. Although no longer a household name, there has been for several years a cry from hardcore fans to make a movie based on the toyline. Although increasingly unlikely, I for one, am waiting for this concept to hit the big screen.

Wuzzles were new plush toys that looked similar to Care Bears, but their gimmick was that they were creatures consisting of two combined animals. Like Care Bears, they come from a magical land, "the land of Wuzz, a magical place that never was......... but sometimes is". They have wacky "combined" names like Eleroo, Bumblion, Rhinonkey, Moosel, Hoppopotapus and Butterbear.

Behold the U.S.S. Flag Aircraft Carrier, the ultimate G.I Joe toy and perhaps the grandest playset ever conceived! You get this for the kid without any friends and watch his prepubescent social life change as he becomes the envy of the neighborhood! This beast was 7-1/2 feet long and featured a six room super structure! It had an electronic sound system complete with microphone. This cost $125.00 and even at that price coming up with the scratch for it was less of a problem then finding a place to keep such a giant toy. As you can see here, there were also many other new additions to the G.I Joe lineup.

Children having children. This is the "Hugga Bunch" their mission in life is to hug and be hugged. Like Care Bears and the Wuzzels they too come from a magical land. This time, called Huggaland "filled with fun and overflowing with heartfelt hugs". The baby-like companions were actually called Huglets. The toyline featured a boy dressed like a Vegas dancer named Hugsy, his hugglet is named Tuggins. There is also a Patooty with her huglett Cushy and one named Tweaker? Her hugglet is named Jitterbug. In 1985 the Hugga Bunch was the subject a live action, made for TV movie, meant to introduce the toyline to the world. The characters were puppets interacting with a young girl (coming out of her mirror) as she deals with the impending "putting out to pasture" of her grandma. Watch below if you dare.

Here is the second generation of Transformers, before the toy line went totally bat shit crazy. The Transformer is, next to Barbie, arguably the most popular toy of all time. The Dinobots are added as well as additional seekers (jets) and some new Autobot cars. We also see the introduction of triple-changers. If you look closely you will see many of these toys are missing their stickers, for example the "Tracks" character (blue corvette) is missing it's iconic hood sticker.

Sweet Secrets could be described simply as Transformers for girls. A comb turns into a bed, a mirror turns into a vanity, and a hairbrush turns into a jeep. The characters themselves were pieces of jewelry? The jewelry sprouts a head, arms, and legs to become a cute little figure.

Given the popularity of the show and the physical size of the toy, this Knight Rider talking car was shorted in the amount of physical space it was assigned in the catalog. It's photo, seen here, is actually only about the size a business card. This was a large, fairly detailed, KITT that was close to 1/10th scale. The car said several phrases in the voice of KITT. William Daniels (also known from Boy meets World) provided the voice for the show and this talking car.

The $39.99 Petster is the perfect pet "no more messy cat food cans or kitty litter pans". Petster is your very own adorable pet that responds to your commands (unlike a real cat). This humble little Cat toy was the precursor to much more sophisticated interactive electronic "pets" that would come along many years later from companies like WowWee or Sony.

At the center of a tiny galaxy in the far reaches of the universe lies the planet Symbian where technological experiments have gone wildly out of control. I guess these experiments resulted in half-man, half-insect-like beings. The Hyve was the He-Man-esqe flagship playset. Sectaurs featured legs that could be puppeteered or manipulated to crawl. This was called "Hands in" technology. The heroic Dragonflyer had motorized wings while the evil Skulk was a Tarantula.

Here you can own a radio in the shape of a constipated He-Man.

A Peanuts snow cone maker, because every child needs a toy with a spinning, razor sharp, blade on it. The Snoopy Sno-Cone machine turns ordinary ice into delicious treats! This item had a home in my house. I distinctly remember using the "snowman", meant to squirt the colorful flavored syrup onto the ice, as a squirting bath toy.

Radio and remote control cars are still popular gifts today. Here we have four different GM vehicles to represent the best of the day. A Firebird, a Fiero, and two Corvettes are shown. While the top three vehicles were radio controlled, The Corvette in gold was "remote controlled". It had less sophisticated wired tether to it's controller, but featured illuminating and flip up headlights.

These Sprites were part of the Rainbow Brite toy line and gained popularity on their own, in part due to a fast food promotion during Christmas, 1984. Taco Bell offered these with kids meals a common type of cross-promotion in the eighties occurring especially around the holidays. It was a real "collect them all" situation. They are only part of the Rainbow Brite cannon which featured Miss Brite and the "color kids" and a wide variety of other toys from this colorful universe.

My Buddy was a doll, significant, because it was expressly marketed toward boys. Based on it's sucess, and converse to the tradition, a "girl version" followed later called Kid Sister. The My Buddy doll inspired the Child's Play movie character Chucky who was a possessed, murderous version of a similar Good Guys Doll.

No, these are not escapees from the island of Dr Moreau, they are called Koosas from Wykoossa Valley. These creatures, part of the Cabbage Patch universe, have lost their home in a terrible flood! You can help one by adopting it. It comes with obligatory paperwork gimmicks in the form of Cabbage Patch Kennel Association registration papers, collar, and ID tags.

This Tomy Turnin' Turbo was a fun but unsophisticated form of early video game. Its illuminated digital viewing screen displays "simulated real diving" situations. I believe the front half of the toy was molded to resemble a Porsche.

As part of a larger celebrity doll collection here are a pair of Dynasty (the prime time soap opera) dolls! Krystal represents a world of romance and glamour. Alexis has the power, the glory, and the courage to take it all". If only they had fight slapping action for their inevitable disputes. Below is a video showing how a Dynasty style Crystal versus Alexis catfight looks like.

This is a nice Lego set that I actually owned as a child. The Legoland Airport consisted of 472 pieces it cost 39.99. This set would cost much more today.

We know not to judge a book by its cover, here are two cautionary tales that demonstrate the danger of selecting a gameboard the same way. These two games have misleading themes, "Ghosts' had really cool box art featuring a ghost that looked just like "Slimer" from Ghostbusters. The game however was just a simple overtake and capture strategy game. At least the pieces were glow in the dark. The Rodney Dangerfield game "No Respect" had the lovable loser on the box cover, yet had nothing to do with the comedic actor, instead it was a "nerve racking number stacking game of sudden death". Wheres the connection?

Character slippers were popular gifts in the eighties with Garfield slippers probably being the most iconic. Here are Care Bears, Wuzzles, and an oddly colored Optimus Prime Transformer themed slippers. These were great, no doubt,for lounging around the house, warm and cozy, on the long Winter break.

The Montgomery Ward 85' Gift Catalog presented some traditional styled doll houses. For relatively large houses, these seemed to be reasonably priced with the most expensive house kit costing just $39.99. The catalog also featured some highly customizable slot care race sets. Cliffhangers by Tyco were heavily advertised sets where the cars defied gravity with loops and vertical runs. These sets have all but disappeared, no doubt replaced by racing themed video games which, despite being "virtual", actually provided a more dynamic racing simulation with the player having much greater autonomy.

In an effort to create more drama on the race track these slot cars came cars tethered together in teams. TR-X team racing set included a powered car and a blocking car that could knock your opponent off the road! Here, it was Camaro versus Firebird!

This catalog feature many licensed plush animal characters including Ewoks, The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, Care Bears, and Wuzzles as well as an eighties icon the "centipede in sneakers".

A Micheal Jackson Radio is better than a constipated He-Man radio.

Here are even more stuffed animals, the famous ones are; Mickey Mouse, Big Bird, Hello Kitty, Miss Piggy, Smurfs, Alvin, Simon (where the hell is Theodore?), and finally the entire Getalong Gang complete with roller skates.

This early portable game opens to reveal two stored controllers. Punch-Out!! was a "Micro VR System" boxing game made by Nintendo.

Did I mention this catalog was infested with plushies? Here we have Micky Mouse (again), Big Bird (again), The Muppet Babies, Bert and Ernie, Fraggles, Undercover Bears (whatever that is), Chubbles, and more.

Haley's comet was, for a time, a national obsession. These telescopes were here to help you see this once in a lifetime celestial event.

These classically crafted teddy bears from the Steiff Company were reproductions of bears made between 1904-1930. These were imported from Germany and collectible. The Gund bears towards the bottom are not as exclusive but every bit as cute.

These educational toys did not resort to cartoon characters or similar gimmicks, instead, the Texas Instruments machines just delivered a good learning experience...and were very popular. The Speak and Spell was even featured in ET. They were $45.99 each. Speak and Read introduced 250 works to children, Speak and Spell stored 150 word spellings, and Speak and Math held 100,000 basic math problems to be solved.

This family stands idly by as their home becomes overrun with their eventual mechanical overlords. These robots by Tomy were an extensive line of mechanical toys ranging from the from sophisticated to sophomoric. The most advanced and expensive was the $469.99 Omnibot 2000, this robot could earn its keep as a personal servant. A step down to the Omnibot was still $259.99. The Verbot was voice activated, Chatbot could relay messages. A charming feature of Chatbot was that his face looked like a micro-cassette even though it was fake and relied on its on-board memory to record and play messages. He can be seen here extorting a candy bar from this little girl.

These bikes were looking pretty cool on account of the special molded cladding designed to make one look like a motorcross racer and the other like a scooter. Built by Hedstrom, the boys bike cost $129.99 and the girls $89.99.

This was a common treatment for the Big Wheels of the period where they would be re-styled based on a popular toy line characters. This is a Sectaurs Dragonflyer featured flapping wings you control and realistic motor sound (which is odd for an animal themed ride on).

The Sidewinder's stunt lever allowed you to power slide this big wheel. Built or endorsed by Tonka, it also featured three wheeled steering at just $29.99. Its funny to think of a ride on toy being so inexpensive. I'm surprised these aren't still made today.

This Knight Rider Ride-On car featured working illuminated "scanner" and says five messages in KITT's (William Danials) actual voice. The pedal car claims to look and sound like KITT "the exciting TV trans am", but to a discerning Knight Rider and automotive enthusiast this toy has some design problems. The ride height is way too high, the hood scoops aren't accurate for a period Firebird, the red striping, the Knight Rider text and the spoiler were NOT present on the TV car. Even as a kid It looked funny to my eyes and did not do justice to KITT. They did get the color and the wheels right.

This digital watch transformed into a robot then back again. This was likely unbranded, listed as a stocking stuffer and cost only $5.99. Rare and collectible today it would be worth many, many, many times more!

This $12.99 watch transformed from watch, to car, to robot. This is clearly modeled after a Pontiac Firebird. This was officially part of the Transformers line and was called Autocepter.

In the eighties almost anything could have a clock on it, proving this, are LocLocs (lock clocks) some brightly colored padlocks with digital clocks built in. Oddly enough, you could buy one for 12.99 or you could get two for 14.99.

Here is a unique 80's spin on the traditional pocket watch. These colorful watches have a grid pattern on the face and clips to attach to belt loops or backpack. Also note in back to the left the L.A. Gear watches in funky 80's designs.

On this page we see some colorful pendant watches and watches by Armitron, which was a very popular brand in the 80's. The watch in the middle is a phone dialer, not only does it it store names and telephone numbers, but also through its built in speaker it plays touch-tone codes and allows it to auto-dial these contacts for you.

Canon's Snappy S appealed to youth with its colorful body. The goal of the Cannon Snappy S was to make picture taking simple and fun. This camera was heavily advertised in upbeat youthful advertisements. It cost $69.99, used 2 aaa batteries, and also came in a more utilitarian Black color. Below is a later commercial but the camera is vastly the same.

Proving once again that color was the cure for the common item in the 80's, these small televisions were meant to fit in with the decor. At 249.99 these 10 inch color TVs were compact and lightweight (16 lbs) and could be carried from room to room. It was available in these alliterative color: Brook Blue, Primrose Pink, Autumn Almond, and Winter White.

Staples of typical 80's holiday season fashion, here we have a quilted puffy coat that moms liked to wear. The Christmas themes pajamas were likely employed for Christmas morning and several kids no doubt spent all Christmas break in them. It also ensured for mom that she knew what the kids would be wearing on the inevitable Christmas morning pictures and home video.

Bean bags in various fabrics including vinyl priced from $18 to $28 dollars depending on size. "Plump polystyrene beans shift with you for maximum snugly comfort" A world of entertainment opens up in this wonderfully convenient and sufficiently pimp globe bar. At $159.99 the globe was made of plastic with old world style map applied.

Feel like a a champ in this Mary Lou Retton pantset and body suit. Mary Lou Retton was briefly America's sweetheart famous for her success as a gymnast the 1984 Olympics. She won a gold medal, two silver medals, and two bronze medals that year.

This girl:
a) was delighted to see her loot under the Christmas tree on Christmas morn.
b) was terrified to discover these Christmas mannequins alive and looting the Christmas tree on Christmas morn.
c) was traumatized to witness caroler girl push caroler boy to his death from the top of the ladder on Christmas morn.

This old fashioned Christmas fireplace will put a hearth in every home! It only costs $24.99 and is made of heavy duty laminated cardboard. It can be used year after year!

This is a bit of a failed experiment where I thought it would be fun to name all the different albums shown in the stereo cabinets. The problem is the same album appears four times. That's the Madonna album. Then there's one which appears to have the artist's or lead singer's face on the cover, a generous head of hair can be seen, but you cant even tell if it's a man or woman. This album also shows up three times and for now, will remain a mystery. The rest were easier to identify but I did need help from internet friends to identify the Traffic album. Here is the list of identifiable albums from left to right.
Mystery Album - ?
Madonna - Madonna
Mystery Album - ?
Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
Mystery Album - ?
Traffic - John Barleycorn must Die
Madonna - Madonna
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A
U.S.A. for Africa - We Are the World
Oh, Well. Clearly this would have been more fun if there was a greater variety.

This compact television cost a whopping $299.99 (on sale from 349.99). Its "new" LCD technology seemed inherently flawed in that it will not work in the dark because it needs light to activate the 52,800 film transistors to produce the color. This item shipped from Kansas city.

The Disc film format was introduced by Kodak in 1982. The film worked somewhat like a Viewmaster disc and it rotated to advance the it's paltry 15 photos. It's goal was ease of use, but the camera unfortunately produced small (10mm by 8mm) grainy photos. So it was not unlike a Polaroid quality photo with none of the convenience of instant development. Despite being a Kodak invention other manufacturers gave the new format a "Shot". Here we see an Minolta Disk camera that was $29.99.

It felt like the future when the touch of your hand on any metal part of these handsome lamps provided the desired intensity of light; night light, mood light, bright light, and then off.

The clock radio phone was a common bedside luxury in the 80's, but now, we up the utility ante with this three-in-one television, phone, and clock radio by Quasar.
The Montgomery Ward Christmas Gifts 85' turned out to be quite a catalog and time capsule! It had an impressive array of toylines from arguably the best decade of toys. It featured full pages devoted to those toylines and brief overviews of the toyline's story. You saw rare toylines like Tomy robots and lots and lots of stuffed animals even some retro electronics. Another Be Kind rewinds draws to close and this being the final Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog is a significant and sad milestone smack dab in the middle of the eighties!

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