It's officially December. Time to turn on the office Christmas music, cast sidelong glances at the peppermint bark in Duane Reade, and start planning your disappearance to Nicaragua for a week to avoid your extended family. The holidays may not hold the same magic they once did — checking if there’s toffee on the giveaway table isn’t exactly tiptoeing downstairs at 4:30 a.m. to see if Santa’s come 'round — but the holiday season still has its perks: reading about how much better things were in your day, for one.
Click through for a peek back through the ages (well, the '90s) and a few of our favorite holiday rituals.
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Power Wheels
These babies are, reportedly, still going strong, but nothing quite matches the way the OG models squealed like a long-suffering harbor seal when you floored it across the cul de sac on Christmas morning.
These babies are, reportedly, still going strong, but nothing quite matches the way the OG models squealed like a long-suffering harbor seal when you floored it across the cul de sac on Christmas morning.
Gak & Floam
While pine needles and Easter grass were the bane of many a '90s mom’s wall-to-wall carpeting, nothing — nothing — beat Gak and Floam for most likely to immediately get smashed in the rug.
While pine needles and Easter grass were the bane of many a '90s mom’s wall-to-wall carpeting, nothing — nothing — beat Gak and Floam for most likely to immediately get smashed in the rug.
Mariah Carey
Long before Love Actually used it to break our grinchy hearts, Mariah was slaying "All I Want For Christmas Is You" in a onesie.
Long before Love Actually used it to break our grinchy hearts, Mariah was slaying "All I Want For Christmas Is You" in a onesie.
Rugrats
We learned more about Chanukah from the Rugrats holiday special than we'd care to admit.
We learned more about Chanukah from the Rugrats holiday special than we'd care to admit.
Spice Girls
#TFW you lunged for your stocking and pulled out the girl-power group's first album.
#TFW you lunged for your stocking and pulled out the girl-power group's first album.
Old Navy Performance Fleece
Old Navy pulled out all the stops for these off-kilter spots, though at the time, the classic Gap logo pullover was the actual status piece.
Dream Phone, Girl Talk, & Pretty Pretty Princess
This triumvirate of problematic games probably messed us up for life ("Call 24 boys and listen to what they have to say!" encourages the Dream Phone's box), but nothing teaches humility like putting a zit sticker on your face.
This triumvirate of problematic games probably messed us up for life ("Call 24 boys and listen to what they have to say!" encourages the Dream Phone's box), but nothing teaches humility like putting a zit sticker on your face.
*NSYNC
Now That’s What I Call Christmas! has nothing on this 1998 anthem.
Now That’s What I Call Christmas! has nothing on this 1998 anthem.
American Girl
That thing where your parents would give you one of the dolls, or so you thought, but then it's just clothes, because they figure one of your relatives will give you the actual doll and so you thought Christmas was all some kind of twisted transactional joke. No? Just us then.
That thing where your parents would give you one of the dolls, or so you thought, but then it's just clothes, because they figure one of your relatives will give you the actual doll and so you thought Christmas was all some kind of twisted transactional joke. No? Just us then.