All the things kids wanted for Christmas in the early 1900s

The early 1900s and the early 2000s have a lot of similarities. In the early 1900s, kids LOVED Christmas and presents, and in the early 2000s, kids still LOVE Christmas and presents. Annnnnnnnd that’s actually where the similarities end.

One hundred years ago, kids wrote letters to Santa requesting basic gifts like nuts and mandolins, and newspapers published those charming little letters. Some genius person, who goes by the name R.L. Ripples, has a Twitter page that, according to the bio, “attempts to reveal the lives of our predecessors through the tweets of yesteryear: Real one-line brevities from old newspapers, as they appeared — or close.”

Since December is all about Christmas, the tweets are now dedicated to letters from the early 1900s that kids wrote to Santa — and they are absolutely fantastic. Not only are they hilarious, sweet, and sometimes weird, but they’re educational as well. Kids wanted simple things that made them happy. And that’s worth paying attention to in today’s Christmas culture.

Here are some of our favorites:

Sometimes you just know what you want and aren’t afraid to ask for it.

I wonder how Santa responded to threats in 1907.

Homer Simpson sounds sightly menacing, but he was probably adorable.  

Now this was a generous Christmas wish. Props to Santa if he pulled this one off.

The necessities.

YES, Rhoda! A feminist before her time.

A boy who loved music and his brother (the best fellow).

Morell’s only Christmas wish was to keep the toy he already had.

This sounds like it could have been a pretty dangerous situation for Santa.

Pretty sure a pocket knife wouldn’t help this kid’s behavioral situation.

A boy who looked out for the well-being of his grandpa.

Oh. I guess the whole “walk 4 miles to school in the freezing cold” thing was real.

Well, this seems a little passive aggressive, Ralph.

A little boy, who may not have been great at measuring, kept it simple.

Some kids asked for gum and shoelaces, Mildred asked for this.

John was definitely up to no good.

Vena didn’t quite understand Santa’s schedule, but she made up for it with the cakes.

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