Our personal reflections on gift giving conclude.

Liz Barnes, Lecturer in Modern History

Liz’s most memorable gift inspired some reflections on the magic of Christmas for children. When she was 3 years old, in 1995, Liz was given

‘the original Buzz Lightyear toy, complete with laser, wings, and Tim Allen’s voice acting. To me it embodies the magic of Christmas. Toy Story is pure childhood wonder – it was my favourite Disney film as a kid, simply because the idea that your toys get up to their own adventures when you’re busy elsewhere is lovely. ‘Santa’ placed Buzz, in his iconic box, at the end of my bed, which to me was utter proof of his existence. Surely there was no way a mere human could achieve such a feat of stealth? Of course, I now know that 3 year olds are remarkably easy to sneak up on while they’re asleep (though it was certainly my dad, rather than my clumsy mum, who was put up to the task), but at the time I was convinced I couldn’t be so easily fooled. I still have Buzz (and Woody, and all their friends) and they all still work and bring me joy. I am now much harder to sneak up on.’

Graham Moore, Research Student and Associate Lecturer

Graham’s love of a particular frozen dessert made the Christman of 2012 especially memorable. He received an ice cream maker.

‘I made lots of ice cream. I like ice cream. It’s very good. Lemon flavour was a particularly good venture.’

Jacqui Turner, Associate Professor in Modern History

For Jacqui, toys that encouraged her love of art and creativity stood out compared to the more common, strictly gendered offerings of the 1970s.

‘My goodness toys were so gendered in the 1970s! Sadly, there are threads of the same such toys on the bestsellers list today. For me, toys were all about art. I could draw, one of the few things I thought I was good at, which makes it surprising then that my favourite toy was that peak of 70s creative technology, the Etch a Sketch. I toyed with Spirograph but that repetitive symmetrical winding of a plastic wheel inside a larger plastic wheel to produce geometric, concentric patterns was just too restrictive for me, despite the multi-coloured biros. No, instead I coveted a grey screen with two knobs that worked with only straight lines (if you could generate a curve I never managed it in 1975) and zero colour – the Etch a Sketch.’

Heike Schmidt, Associate Professor in Modern African History

Heike recalls more fondly the experience of receiving gifts from family at Christmas, rather than any object in particular.

‘I remember not the gift, but the excitement that Father Christmas was coming to give me presents. I was two years old, and at that age, I did not understand quite who he was supposed to be. Then a strange looking man who appeared to be a giant and who spoke in a funny voice arrived with a bag full of presents. There is a photograph that shows my father squatting and holding me, presumably because I was quite scared. What I remember vividly to this day is that I recognised this odd giant’s hands just about reaching out of his huge coat’s sleeves – they were my brother’s! Somehow, as young children do, I recognised that the adults – my brother is significantly older than I am – did not want me to recognise him. So I played along, and it gave me deep pleasure that my beloved big brother – though oddly dressed – did this for me.’