In the days before the internet, catalogues were one of the main ways for us to plan (and dream about) our next purchase from the comfort of our own home - and the Argos catalogue was by far the most well-known.
Printed for the final time in 2020, the shopping bible provided a convenient service and entertained many, especially children who would peruse its hundred-odd pages for hours. No birthday or Christmas list was complete without a handful of Argos items.
The catalogue, which first appeared in 1973, contained all of the latest must-have toys and gadgets to suit all ages of Glasgow youngsters. In 1989, this included Barbie dolls, My Little Pony, and action figures from Transformers and Ghostbusters.
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A decade later, the catalogue’s offerings in 1999 included Polly Pocket, Action Man dolls, Toy Story, and Power Rangers figures. As well as products for the kids, the Argos catalogue contained household items, electronics, jewellery, and everything else you could possibly need.
Toy Story and Action Man toys available in an Argos catalogue (Image: Argos/Retromash)
Nowadays, we’re totally spoiled for choice when it comes to shopping from the comfort of our homes, with a plethora of websites - including Argos - selling a variety of items that can be ours within the touch of a few buttons.
Scrolling for hours online, however, isn’t as exciting or enjoyable as browsing the catalogue with a pen or pencil in hand. We'll also never forget the catalogue's unique inky smell.
Looking back, it feels like we didn’t appreciate it enough, with our coffee tables and bookshelves now dearly missing the hefty catalogue. Christmas time certainly isn’t the same without it, as children are no longer able to dedicate an afternoon to sift through the pages of Argos’ stock.
An Argos catalogue from 1999 advertising Polly Pocket, Animal Hospital, Fluffy Surprise and Pets To Go toys (Image: Argos/Retromash)
Below is a list of 11 things most kids did while looking through the catalogue - oh, what we wouldn’t give to browse it one more time.
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1. We'd sit cross-legged on floor to study the catalogue for absolutely ages. More often than not, this would result in a horrendous case of pins and needles, but it was totally worth all the pain.
2. Circling all the toys you wanted was essential for building a list for Santa or for simply communicating to mum and dad what to get for your next birthday. Many of us would use a bright coloured pen or highlighter to make sure our circle wouldn’t be missed.
3. C, To make it extra easy for our parents, we'd make sure to jot down the exact code of the items we wanted - then they really had no excuse but to buy them all (yeah, right..).
4. When writing became too much effort, we’d cut out the pictures of our must-have items and stick them to our wish list.
5. Folding the corners of pages as hints to our parents (and Santa), so that the next time they browsed the catalogue, they’d know what we wanted without having to ask.
6. Accidentally ripping the extremely thin pages while flicking through them too quickly. This never happened in the store, thankfully, because the book was laminated.
7. Coming across the big girl/boy bikes and confidently announcing we were ready for one, despite being a few years off the recommended age.
8. Struggling to pick just one doll or action figure, so insisting we needed a few so that they wouldn’t be lonely.
9. Venturing away from the toys as we grew older to more sophisticated items, such as those massive 1990s Hi-Fi systems that played cassettes, records AND CDs and had mad-looking equaliser displays.
10. Browsing the home section and designing our dream bedroom, knowing that there’s no way our parents would let us have such bold and mismatched colour/style choices.
11. Spend hours insisting to our parents that we will use the item we want ALL the time, so it will be worth the money. In reality, it was around a week before it went in the cupboard not to be touched for six months.
What do you miss most about the Argos catalogue? Share your memories in the comments section below.
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