Christmas Snapshot: 1993

Source: Anon. 1993. "A happy Christmas to you all". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 24: 3.

Merry Christmas to everyone on this Christmas Eve. One more sleep to go until the big day.

As with tradition, I look back at Christmas a generation ago (25 years) and reflect on how we marked the big day.

This year proved to be interesting, not just in what was found but in what happened as well.

Grace Bros decided that there would be no pageant for Christmas as it had done between 1989-1992. It had established itself on the calendar for Sydneysiders. There was an attempt to revive a Christmas Parade in 2007 but was unpopular with the public.

I remember in 1993 viewing commercials on television for the Royal Christmas Show at the Sydney Showgrounds which was organised by the Royal Agricultural Society. Rides and entertainment were all included for the price of admission. There were over 100 stalls where you could do your Christmas shopping. It would not return the following year.

Paddy's Markets returned to Haymarket on December 11, 1993. It had been a temporarily based in the former rail yards at Redfern (now Australian Technology Park) to allow for redevelopment of the site. Construction of a residential tower above the markets had been suspended due to the recession but the heritage listed building was ready to welcome back the markets. Below is a feature from The Sunday Telegraph on December 5, 1993.

What were we buying?

The Daily Telegraph Mirror published a list of the five hottest gifts for Christmas based on sales at David Jones.

1. Mr Bucket 
2. Sydney 2000 Olympic Polyester Tie
3. Frank Sinatra Duets CD
4. Woman's Tartan Boxer Shorts
5. Santas Marching Band

Source: Anon. 1993. "Christmas countdown". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 8, 17.

Brashs had 3 CD sets on sale for $14.95 and 4 CD sets for $19.95. You could buy a Sega Mega Drive II for $269 and a Super Nintendo for $319. This year you can buy the Sega Genesis Flashback with 85 built-in games for just $149 or the Super Nintendo Mini for as little as $99 if you want to relive the days of both game systems.

There was further discounting just before Christmas of video games consoles.



With the Sega Mega Drive, participating retailers were offering a Mega Drive II for $399 with Mortal Kombat, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and a bonus two games included.

There were also plenty of big toys on sale at Brashs.

Grace Bros promoted "Australian Made" clothing from Pelaco for the men. Myer stopped selling Pelaco clothing around a decade ago.

Underwear was on special early in the month.

This was the only toy advertisement that I could find which was one from Grace Bros (The Sunday Telegraph, December 5)

I found a feature from The Daily Telegraph Mirror (December 16, 1993) which identified some of the popular toys for Christmas, 1993. It was reported yesterday in The Sun Herald that Polly Pocket is popular this year, enjoying a revival. Board games, My Little Pony and Lego are also popular as retro favourites appeal to "big kids" who relive their childhood and share it with their children.

Source: Anon. 1993. "Christmas countdown". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 16, 16.

IKEA did not want to wait for the Boxing Day sales and launched their sales in the days leading up to Christmas, commencing their sale on December 23.

BigW used extended trading hours to have hourly sales to attract customers. Below is an advertisement from The Daily Telegraph Mirror (December 23, 1993).

Supermarkets

I managed to obtain scans of Christmas specials for Woolworths, Jewel and Food for Less. However, Coles did not publish advertisements promoting their Christmas specials.

All advertisements were published on December 22, 1993, in The Daily Telegraph Mirror. 

Woolworths

Food for Less

Jewel

The tills were ringing

With the recession "that we had to have" over, retail sales were reported to have increased by 12 %, providing for the best sales since 1989 (the year before the recession began). Unemployment had begun to slowly fall from the 11 % peak earlier that year, but people were now feeling secure about the economy and were keen to spend.

Source: Jones, C. 1993. "Sales Jump 12pc". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 24: 3. 

Carols in The Domain

Held on December 18, thousands were treated to a spectacular rendition of Christmas Carols involving 300 performers including The Wiggles Simon Burke, Tina Arena, Rob Guest, Jeannie Little, and Barry Crocker. Jackie Love presented her fourth consecutive carols, while Barry was happy to perform after presenting the three previous carols alongside Love.

Source: Gibson, A. 1993. "Stunning night at the Domain". The Sunday Telegraph, December 19: 47.

For those unable to attend in the city, there was one at Parramatta Stadium the following evening.

Darling Harbour provided their own pageant. This was broadcast on Channel 7 on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day

It was a warm summer's day in Sydney. The Sunday Telegraph (December 26, 1993) devoted two pages to share how different people spent the day.

From yours truly, I wish you all a very merry and safe Christmas. We will return next week to look at how Sydney welcomed the new year 25 years ago.