When we were children in the late 1930s, and 40s, the Santa Claus parade was an event of immense proportions in its colour and fantasy, bright lights and clamour, crowds waiting on sidewalks to watch as the procession made its way toward other children further along the lines waiting anxiously to see the displays. For children who celebrated the seasonal Christmas events, and for children whose religion was other than Christianity, the event was the event of the year.


People looking at window display, 19??  T. Eaton Co. fonds  Reference Code: F 229-308-725-2
Archives of Ontario

But what surely trumped the parade were the store-front, full-sized street windows of the T. Eaton Company and Simpsons, Toronto's two venerable department stores, both of which decorated those windows with flare and the brightest, most attractive displays imaginable. The windows were stuffed with moving, mechanical automata and toys of all descriptions, of the kind of gifts that beckoned in children's dreams, and everyone flocked to ogle at the displays, enchanted by their raw, bold invitation to imagine.


Santa's Workshop window display, 19??  T. Eaton Co. fonds  Reference Code: F 229-308-0-713
Archives of Ontario 

But even those windows were second-place to the interior of the stores on the floors given over to toy sales, when fairies and elves and Santa were on full glittering display, both live and in cunning and appealing pseudo-doll form; mechanical beings beaming Christmas joy, busy at work hand-carving or building toys for Santa to haul around in his sleigh at Christmas time. And there was Santa himself, jolly rotund elf that he is, inviting children to sit on his ample knee, and tell him their dearest wishes.

Here in Toronto we had Eaton's and Simpson's, both their Christmas window displays at the corner of Yonge St. & Queen St. were quite famous for years. People used to make the trip downtown from far away places just to see those decorated windows with animated statues.

In comparison to what we saw then as impressionable children, displays now are all glitz and show but no wonder captured in their presentation whatever; amateur productions unable to hold a candle to what the imaginative creations of yesterday held on display for goggle-eyed children awaiting Christmas.