A few years ago, "Hannah Montana" paraphernalia might have been at the top of your holiday wishlist -- now it probably seems as outdated as Miley Cyrus' Disney career. But have you ever imagined what your wishlist woulda looked like if you'd been a teen back in the '50s? Let's just say it would have been (hilariously) different.
Here are a few examples of the gifts you would have been begging for in the 1950s:
1. A Princess Phone
Here's something your flip-phone from 2007 can laugh at: The 1959 Princess Phone. Before "there was an app for that," people thought it was very fancy that this Bell System rotary phone doubled as a night light -- and you could pick it up in all these colors:
The Princess Phone: "It's little ... It's lovely ... It lights." And it makes you want to give your iPhone a big, fat kiss.
2. Angel Face Powder
The face powder was advertised as the perfect "girl-to-girl" gift, 'cause nothing says holiday generosity like "Hey girl, your complexion's looking kinda blotchy."
3. A Chemistry Set
Chemistry sets were all the rage in the 1950s. There were even special pink versions for girls, because girls can do science as long as it's cute:
Typically, these kits contained smaller versions of your high school chemistry class equipment, but sometimes they had some extra-terrifying goodies, like toxic radioactive uranium ore or blowtorches. Many of these scary toys were banned by the 1960s.
4. Transistor Radio Set
Think of this portable little listening device as your very retro iPhone. Popular amongst teens in the '50s, the portable music player allowed them to enjoy music outside of the strict watch of their parents. Don't be deceived by how funny-looking it is -- the transistor radio was crucial to the popularization of rock music, and all your favorite tunes that came after.
5. Elvis Christmas Album
This album was so scandalous that some tried to get it banned. Naturally, that only made teens love it more -- and the 1957 album became one of the top-selling Christmas albums of all time. A very merry way to make your father's hair fall out.
6. A Rented TV
Nothing good lasts forever -- especially not your rental color TV, special-delivered in time for the Christmas holiday fun. Back then, Tivo would have looked like the Holy Grail.
7. A Hula Hoop
Laugh all you want, but you would have been begging your parents for one of these once-majorly-hip toys. Hula hoops exploded on the toy market in 1958, when the Wham-O toy company started making them for American youth. According to Time Magazine, "Hula hooping teens became an iconic image of the 1950s." Kind of like how texting teens are an iconic image of right this second.
8. A Yo-Yo
Playing with yo-yos was all the rage in the late '50s, and not just as a casual pastime. Nimble teens would spend hours trying to best each other in cutthroat yo-yo competitions, where they showed off complicated tricks. If Santa was feeling hella generous, you may have even received a LIGHT-UP yo-yo for Christmas.
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