If you were a kid between 1975 and 1980, Christmas tasted like lime Jell-O molds, hollow chocolate Santas and a tin of cookies that ended up full of sewing buttons.
We count down the 22 holiday foods that were on almost every American table — from the fruitcake nobody ate to the sugar cookies left out for Santa.
Which one did your family have every year? Tell us in the comments — and subscribe for more trips back in time.
Opening: real public-domain 1970s films and recordings (Internet Archive / Prelinger Archives, National Archives). Many shots are AI-generated recreations of the period; the narration voice is AI-generated.
Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY / CC BY-SA): Debbie Mc; osseous; Ruth Hartnup; Joost J. Bakker; family of Infrogmation of New Orleans; William Beutler; Barbara Spengler; "Printing the Paper" by Vanuatu Daily Post; Steven Depolo (March 2011); Jennifer C.; Joe Haupt; and other Commons contributors. Stock: Pixabay. Full source list with links in the pinned comment.
#nostalgia #1970s #retrochristmas
0:00 - Christmas morning, 1978
3:00 - #22 Fruitcake
3:55 - #21 The Lime Jell-O Mold
4:58 - #20 Grandma's Candy Dish
5:52 - #19 Canned Cranberry Sauce
6:46 - #18 The Orange in the Toe of Your Stocking
7:36 - #17 Chocolate-Covered Cherries
8:24 - #16 Eggnog
9:12 - #15 Bubbling Green Bean Casserole
10:04 - #14 Candy Canes
10:53 - #13 Pop Rocks
11:46 - #12 The Whitman's Sampler
12:39 - #11 Chex Party Mix
13:38 - #10 Pigs in a Blanket
14:25 - #9 The Hollow Chocolate Santa
15:18 - #8 The Life Savers Sweet Storybook
16:03 - #7 Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
16:58 - #6 The Blue Danish Butter Cookie Tin
17:54 - #5 Hot Cocoa with Little Marshmallows
18:47 - #4 Fudge
19:39 - #3 Pumpkin Pie
20:34 - #2 Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
21:29 - #1 Sugar Cookies Left for Santa
22:50 - One last look back
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