Glossy Time Capsules #22: Family Circle - December, 1976

Glossy Time Capsules #22

Family Circle

December, 1976

Price: 39 cents

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Throughout this project, I've featured Family Circle quite a few times. We've visited 1942, 1965, 1986, and 1980 and 1982. Now it's time to visit the 1970s!

This issue is huge! It has 236 pages, and there were over 100 pages that I felt compelled to photograph. I tried to bring that number down for this blog, but it wasn't easy! I hope I did this issue justice, anyway.

So this was the December, 1976, issue, and naturally, there was much ado about The Holidays....

Gift suggestions were aplenty!

Stamps, rodents, and steering wheel covers. Groovy.

True Value had plenty of gifts to choose from...

ATARI! PONG!

True Value may have had a lot to offer, but they weren't nearly as persistent as Sears, who bought out numerous full-page ads and had them scattered throughout this magazine....

Pooh-rated.

Other companies felt they needed a gimmick to catch the reader's attention. Coronet paper towels may be pretty, but who can resist an offer for a wallet that can hold 24 credit cards?

And clearly you would run like lightning to your nearest grocery store after discovering THIS coupon...

SEVEN WHOLE CENTS, baby.

Not every ad featured something that exciting. There were the usual ads for detergent...

Appliances...

Cleaning products...

And that perennial favorite, toothpaste...

As this was a family magazine, there were plenty of ads for toys....

Bless the pre-Elmo Sesame Street days!

No Family Circle would be complete without a section devoted to tacky craft ideas and questionable recipes...

And there were, of course, articles...

This article is all about then-rising trend of wives running way from their families. Yikes!

And then there's this one...

Hey, it's the former Shirley Temple!

See her expression? I'd have that look, too, if I was being interviewed by this guy...

"Her figure was more ample than I would have liked, and her golden hair had turned to black, but the sparkle in her eyes was undiminished."

You tell him, Shirley!

Hey, let's take a look at food. Who doesn't love food? I love food!

Nothing healthy here -- Just the way I like it!

Onward to Beauty!

"I'm Sand."

Ugh, why so much blonde?

Meanwhile, in Entertainment, they asked celebrities of the day how they handle all the Holiday treats & goodies without gaining too much weight.

I especially love the juxtaposition of these two...



 Mala's all like "blah blah blah, feasting, fasting, Zigzag diet, liquids, willpower, blah, blah, blah..."

And Loretta's like, "I do Yoga. Annnd we're done."

Ah, the music of 1976...



And in TV & Movies...



A ballet version of Little Women?! How do I get my hands on this?

And now, the moment you all have been waiting for...

NEAT STUFF YOU SHOULD BUY!

Surprise! It's soap! That's a terrible surprise.

Live, Laugh, Love?

Nope!

"etc." was good enough for people in the 70s.

Give the gift of "music"... annnnd instantly regret it..

So that's 1976. 44 years ago, this hunk of dead trees was sprawled on coffee tables throughout the land. Those toy ads were making kids' letters to Santa even longer. Those recipes were inspiring culinary disasters from coast to coast.

And this face was beckoning to one and all, ready to sell you chocolate and haunt your nightmares eternal...

For more Glossy Time Capsules, click here!