There were great imported toys from The Prince and The Pauper. You could surprise mom on Christmas morning with a pair of Peruvian Puffies fuzzy bedroom slippers from Stevenson’s Department Store for $7.95. For dad there was always the proverbial silk tie for $1.50 from R.C. Watts, leaders in men’s and ladies apparel on Girard — or boxer shorts for $1.25 or a Pendleton wool robe, more expensively priced at $25. This was Christmas shopping in La Jolla 50 years ago. The year, of course, was 1958 — a time when shoppers adorned themselves in attire like poodle skirts and their houses with the latest in space-age, mass-produced products: color TVs in giant wood cabinets, electric toasters and mixers, modern chrome dinette sets, boomerang tables and sofas that looked like they belonged in flying saucers. The latest in luxuries for Christmas 1958 included Oldsmobiles with not only fantastic tail fins but rocket engines, and electronic dishwashers with the ever-popular “push button” controls. Christmas dinner desserts were apt to include not only the traditional pumpkin pie available from Arnold’s Fine Foods in La Jolla for 49 cents, but the latest concoctions having to do with Jell-O and Betty Crocker cake mix. Henry’s Meats in La Jolla Shores advertised “world famous Mizpah Rancho turkeys.” Safeway had fresh oysters for 55 cents a jar. La Jolla celebrated Christmas 50 years ago in the typical 1950s mood of great prosperity and good times. There was an outdoor community yule sing at the corner of Wall and Girard. The La Jolla 20-30 Club sponsored Santa Claus visits to private homes. The Jewel Cotillion presented a Christmas party and dance at La Jolla Country Club, which engaged the crowd in the latest dance craze known as the Bunny Hop. Merchants in La Jolla entertained shoppers with holiday window displays and advertisements in the local newspaper enticing buyers. Hamilton’s Appliances at 7865 Girard offered “Performance proved RCA Victor TVs” for $625. Stuard’s, a popular clothing store, also on Girard, featured a variety of menswear and, for ladies, “imported gloves with a holiday air of mink trim” for $12.95. Sanderson’s, another La Jolla landmark for women’s fashions at 7802 Girard, featured the latest in Erica high heels for $26.95 and velveteen pants for $17.95. Although many of the businesses that were landmarks of the commercial zone in the late 1950s no longer exist, a number are still in business. They include Meanley’s, Warwick’s, Adelaide’s and Burns Drugs. For Christmas 1958, Burns sold a 1-pound box of Russell Stover chocolates for $1.35. Adelaide’s had the latest in trims and decorations for the yuletide, including “Italian Christmas lights.” Warwick’s suggested “gifts for the teens too old for dolls and too young for convertibles,” the items including portable typewriters and briefcases. Meanley’s gift list suggested Christmas shoppers enrich their new color television lives with items such as TV pillows – “$10 and up.” — “Reflections” is a monthly column written for the La Jolla Village News by the La Jolla Historical Society’s historian Carol Olten. The Society, dedicated to the preservation of La Jolla heritage, is located at 7846 Eads Ave. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.