Caldor Pre-Thanksgiving Sale Circular (1981)

From Toys to Turtlenecks: A Shopping Time Capsule from Caldor

I grew up in the shadow of New York City, and while it was a populated area, the town I lived in lacked a lot of conveniences. We had no fast food chains, no mall, and no department stores. So, we were always forced to leave town to do things like back-to-school shopping. Then it was announced that we would be getting a mall in town and that the anchor store would be a Caldor. This was a huge deal, and my family, who regularly shopped at Caldor, was pretty excited.

Caldor, a discount department store chain, was founded in 1951 by husband-and-wife Carl and Dorothy Bennett. I was too young to understand the hierarchy of discount department stores, but my mom always put Caldor towards the top of the list. I think it was in a way that some people seemed to look at Target vs. Walmart nowadays. Because my mom liked it, we always had circulars floating around the house, and looking at them really brings back lots of memories.

So, I thought I would scan one and post it online for everyone to see. This is from November 16, 1981, and features a selection of what they call their Pre-Holiday Sale, which, based on the header, means pre-Thanksgiving. While some of the items are suitable for Thanksgiving, many of them would work as early Christmas presents. Let's take a look at these 20 pages of savings. (If you want to see higher resolution scans, I will be posting them to the Retroist Patreon).

This is a great splash page, and I love the sale graphics with the turkey and pumpkins. They complement the Caldor Rainbow perfectly. Most of what’s here is Thanksgiving-related. I love seeing what we would have called “Fancy Candy.” 88 cents for a candy bar in 1981! You’ve gotta be some sort of Rockefeller to enjoy that.

Pajamas everywhere. Highlights include the Strawberry Shortcake gown, generic, AND NY Giants pajamas, and some sweet robes.

Two pages of clothing here. The allure of velour! These sweaters are nice, but those winter jackets were very memorable. I remember seeing them on people for many years. I always wondered why I always had Lee jeans; I think it’s because this was a big thing at Caldor.

Mom outfits! At least half my neighborhood and more than half my teachers dressed like this. I think those Ladies' Wedge Loafers must have been on sale constantly.

The star of this page is the turtlenecks. The guy on the top is really pulling off that look, and I never thought to pair a turtleneck with a hoodie, but it works.

Housewares and appliances aplenty. The Presto Popcorn Now was maybe the most popular thing when it came out. Everyone I knew had to have one, and when we got one, I ate almost nothing but air-popped popcorn for a year. On page 11, they have a Cranberry Jelly Dish for sale. Did they just smear the jelly along the bottom and then leave half still in a can shape?

Now we are talking! They only have one page of toys, but it’s a good one. Just the Empire Strikes Back toys are worth checking out, but you have so many others. The Big Trak and Big Trak Transport, Rubik’s Missing Link, MacBath the Silly Sea Serpent, and Quiz Wiz! I would have been happy with anything on this page.

Some Christmas on the edge of the camera page. I would eventually get a 110 camera like the ones pictured here. I begged for one but didn’t think much about how much the film and development would cost. I love the branding on The Button by Polaroid. You’ll probably want that electronic flash upgrade.

Nice to see a CB radio here. We were still in a time when people wanted them in their cars. But what I really wanted to point out was the Brass ‘n Glass 4-Tier Plant Stand. My mom was obsessed with getting one of these, and one year for Christmas, she got one as a gift from my sisters and me. She kept it until the thing was wobbly, and one of the glass panels had broken.

Home improvement stuff. Nothing too exciting, although in the 1980s you really started to see all-metal trashcans finally completely replaced with plastic ones like that Rubbermaid 30-gallon one.

Tri-Tone Duffle bags are 🔥, but I can’t stop focusing on the placement in the upper right side of the page. The exercise bike and sleeping bags are really crowding the weight bench. Did they plan on grabbing some sleep in their Smurf sacks after their workout? And of course, Racquetball, because it’s the early 80s.

The format wars are at an interesting time. Which were you buying: LP, 8-Track, or Cassettes?

I like the look of those Pioneer Stereo components and would have loved that Panasonic Boombox. They’ve still got a giant wood console stereo for sale. I wonder how many they sold?

Nice to see the Magnavox Odyssey 2 standing alone. Although, this being a discount department store might be the indicator of things to come. We still had a very frosty refrigerator, and the idea of a frost-free one was intriguing.

Hi-Ho Elephant Toy Box is the king of the last page. That colorful fella was in kids' bedrooms everywhere, and his spots still bring a smile to my face.

Looking at these pages, it’s wild to see how much has changed. The ads, the designs, and even the products themselves all great snapshots of the time. Caldor may be long gone, but flipping through these circulars brings it all rushing back, the excitement of holiday shopping, the smell of popcorn in the mall air, and the thrill of finding something perfect on sale that I could talk my mom into buying for me. I hope these scans spark some memories for you too, whether it’s of a favorite toy, Smurf sleeping bag, or the coolest brass and glass plant stand you could find at a discount department store.