Chatsworth the talking reindeer, Toyland, caroling and luminaries

In the late 1980s, my parents would take me to the Village of East Davenport to walk around and look at window decorations. The Village of East Davenport had its own version of the East Village Promenade that we know of here in Des Moines. The shops would be open late, and many would have cookies and cider for shoppers to sample as they go. They even had a living Nativity scene with a petting zoo. 

Years later, I would get to live the two-family holiday special where I would wake up and spend Christmas with one parent and then run over to the other for a repeat. I honestly didn’t mind too much. 

I went to Catholic school in the 1990s and participated in many holiday musical performances. Recently, I found a VHS tape of my fifth-grade performance rescued from mold infestation. That was wild. I also remember in seventh grade when Metal Gear Solid hit the original PlayStation that holiday season. I spent winter break playing it from beginning to end — twice.

Is there a part of me that misses those years? Sure. Mainly because I had no responsibilities and, to be honest, I’d rather kill a week playing videogames than worrying about literally everything. I was never a mallrat and usually stayed clear of them during the holidays (a tradition I still hold up), but some people have fond memories of mall shopping during this magical time. 

Sam Pace-Tuomi of Archive Iowa shares a Christmas mall-shopping memory of Chatsworth, the talking reindeer from Merle Hay Mall. 

“It had a reindeer head poking out of a little cabin,” he said. “The cabin was where the operator was, but they were hidden by the shack. He would talk to you as you walked by or stood around. Because it was a live operator, he could comment on what you were wearing, etc. Always jokes and wisecracks. I have so many fond memories of it as a kid. It was usually in front of B Daltons near where a large fountain used to be and the winged statue on a tricycle.”

The Sheldon family has several memories of Christmas in downtown Des Moines, including the competition between Younkers and Davidson’s department stores to see which would have the most elaborate Christmas window. The stores were kitty-cornered across the street from each other. The windows featured seemingly every kind of Christmas theme and included lots of cotton snow and moving pieces: dolls, reindeer, Santas, trains. Younkers would set up Toyland in their basement with a big running train display and toys the kids could play with. Santas were on the corners ringing bells for the Salvation Army. The city’s Christmas decorations were not only on the light poles but hung on garlands that went across the street from one light pole to another.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jim Sheldon would meet at Waukee at his brother’s house, and a handful of their crew would walk around the neighborhood singing Christmas carols. Do people still do this in the suburbs? I can say that, in my 15 years of living in Waterbury, I have never seen a single caroler. However, one tradition I have continued to carry on are the luminaries. I enjoy filling the white bags with sand and lighting a candle inside them. We let them burn all night and, sometimes, I’ll find bags that have gone completely up in flames.

At times, I can come off as crass when it comes to nostalgia or traditions. That all comes from family obligations that tend to drain my spirit ever so slowly. One thing I notice now is how my nieces have grown up. I never really pay attention until we are all together for the holidays. My oldest niece can now have an adult conversation with me, and my youngest no longer eats Play-Doh. My sister’s boyfriend has finally stopped trying to impress me with his knowledge of whiskeys that he memorized off Wikipedia an hour before I arrive for Christmas dinner. He didn’t give up; he just realized I had zero knowledge of whiskeys and had no interest in finding space in my brain for the information. My dad still buys presents he wants for himself. Last year, he started a collection of mini-arcade games for my nieces to play. He spent the evening after Christmas playing with them by himself. That’s OK, because it makes him happy and that’s what this season is all about. ♦

Kristian Day is a filmmaker and writer based in Des Moines. He also hosts the syndicated Iowa Basement Tapes radio program on 98.9 FM KFMG. Instagram: @kristianday Twitter: @kristianmday