Gifted: a look at the Christmas ads in the Cork Examiner in 1920

Robert Hume casts an eye over the ads in the Cork Examiner 100 years ago to see what Christmas presents were on offer.

Children's toys were a little bit different 100 years ago.

A few superbly organized people manage to get their Christmas presents all bought and wrapped up by the beginning of December, some not even bothering to go out but ordering their gifts with a click. Others wait until the sales begin to get the best discounts – something unheard of until recently: in older times nothing was reduced before the big day. Then there are the last minute dashers along Patrick Street on Christmas Eve, in panic mode. Research has shown that men are more likely to fall into this latter category: 14% compared with 6% of women, according to one recent study.

What on earth shall I give them for Christmas? All too familiar words today; but a hundred years ago our forebears were facing precisely the same headache. "To think of Christmas is to think of gifts", said Fitzgerald’s, “the famous shirtmaker” of 14 Patrick Street.