Who wouldn’t want a Scat for Christmas?
The 1967 issue of the Kapi-Mana News had all the information for a successful Porirua Christmas.
Advertisements spruiking gifts and beauty treatments ran alongside daring recipes, guaranteed to make it a festive season to remember.
For the man of the house, Hallensteins offered an array of gifts, from 65c clothes brushes to $10.95 folding umbrellas to a genuine leather-backed comb-and-brush set for $3.95.
Any fella would be thrilled with a flagon case, complete with four glasses and suitable for lime juice. This beauty would set you back $6.30.
For the ladies, James Smiths had everything they could possibly want in a gift - particularly if they desired the ‘‘perfect fashion shape for the holidays.’’ An array of girdles was on offer and early opening hours would cater for the rush.
The children were covered with gifts split into gender - appropriate advertisements. Slot car sets and toy sailing boats were a popular choice for the boys while the girls were offered hairdryers and dolls.
The Lions Club of Porirua was selling ‘‘perfect’’ Christmas trees [with or without imitation snow] delivered to your door for $1.50, while the local electronic store promoted televisions as a gift for only $1.50 per week.
For the person who had everything, their very own ‘‘Scat’’, a type of foot stool, would do the trick and only cost $5.99.
Meanwhile, Santa Claus had made Porirua history by arriving in a hovercraft to tumultuous applause the week previously, the paper reported.
‘‘A happy band of gaily dressed clowns distributed sweets to hundreds of waiting children.’’
The Housekeeping with Eunice column included recipes for festive dishes such as chicken casserole, cheese and tomato savoury and stuffed veal - the latter using two sets of brains to create.
A further column championed a recipe of ‘‘Oriental Bananas’’ which included six bananas, curry powder, chicken stock and a can of shrimp.
The housewives could stock up the cupboards for the holidays with Redwood Supermarket’s festive specials, including 25c lambs tongues, 33c mincemeat and 4lb cartons of biscuits for $1.88.
Plimmerton’s annual ‘‘Old Folks Christmas party’’ was a rousing success and entertained by ‘‘The Old Folks Choir’’ and a Mrs Delicate ‘‘who gave an entertaining number where she told a story about when she bought a girdle.’’