What you see on these two pages represents my Christmas of 1977. I can’t believe I found these catalog scans of the toys that I got from my mom and dad that magical year. Only the Karate Men, Isis, the monster figures and the Batcave weren’t in my Christmas stash. The rest, heck yeah! All those DC-heavy superheroes (yeah, Marvel’s Spidey and Green Goblin were in the mix that awesome morning), the Batman exploding bridge, the Joker van with the squirting flower, Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Evel Knievel.

Not pictured but also dropping my way from “Santa” in ’77 was a fan operated U.S.S. Enterprise replica that lifted and spun around and an Enterprise bridge playset for the figures to frolic in. I remember the twist around “beaming down” apparatus I loved so much. You know I franchise clashed on the Enterprise deck with all those action figures! Sub out the monsters for superheroes and Planet of the Apes you see on the catalog page, yeah, that’s accurate. I also had a blast pretending the Joker had taken his van into outer space and squirted the Klingons out of the way for his hostile takeover of the Enterprise.

The double LP soundtrack of John Williams’ original Star Wars score was there that morning, and it landed on my turntable forever. A toy Happy Days guitar, Stretch Armstrong, a set of Hot Wheels cars, an army figure mountain playset called “The Guns of Navarone” and a set of Batman and Robin walkie talkies rounded out my haul that year. There was also an elasta-plastic dome “medical center” for Steven Austin that had a perforated section for him to blast out of. I loved that you could peek through the back of his head and see out, plus his roll-up forearm skin.

Sadly, the walkie talkies were busted that same afternoon when my childhood buddy, Donnie and I were playing with them long distance and the antenna on Robin’s got bent and out of commission. My mother was brokenhearted and being a parent myself for 17 years, I get why. Final note, I was talking to TJ about this incredible Christmas being the last one my parents would have together as the following year would end in divorce. I’ve made such a big deal about this Christmas because of my parents’ nightly fighting and how, for one day, everyone seemed so happy. My wife made the astute observation the blowout likely came with the knowledge they’d reached the end of their rope and wanted to give me one final hurrah together.

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.