Santabear is being retired. The stuffed Christmas bear was offered by Dayton's, my hometown department store, for years.
But since Dayton's has been eaten up by Macy's, like every other store in the known universe, the bears are coming to an end, too.
I'll be the first to admit I never really got the whole Santabear thing -- it just seemed like another clunky collectible that people were convinced would score them big money and never did -- although the bears were cute. In 1984, they sold 400,000 bears in three days. The 1980s were kind of a crazy time for people wanting toys that were also supposedly collectibles -- it really feels like a moment caught in time, there.
About Me
- Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
- I'm an entertainment editor at MSNBC.com, and have maintained Pop Culture Junk Mail since August, 1999. The New York Times called the site "one of the best places to explore pop culture online," and Entertainment Weekly included it on their Top 100 Web Sites list. If you like weird food, strange products, and 1970s and 1980s nostalgia, PCJM is your home away from home.
I have a brand new BOOK, written with Brian Bellmont. "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s." Buy it online, and follow our retro reminiscing on our GenXtinct blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
1 comment:
i own several of the bears. i keep them in storage now, but i never bought them to be collectors items. i bought them because they were cute & very well made.
btw a friend of mine who lives in rosemont, mn & worked for 6 yrs at daytons w/ me has recently sold some of her santabear items (ornaments, cookie jar etc...)on ebay & she made a killing. so maye it wasnt such a stupid investment after all..
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