OH yes, I remember it well. My red coat with a Peter Pan collar, pull-ups and white booties. And the horror of standing in line to sit on Santa's knee.
Robb's department store in Castle Place was the centre of the universe come December and a visit to the grotto was compulsory.
Into the shop, where little metal canisters whizzed overhead as the wires carried money to a small wooden cabin high above the counter and down again with the change - no tills, no card, no chip machine.
This is where my mother took out a garment on 'appro', tried it on at home and either kept it or returned for adjustments to be made. It wouldn't happen in 2022...
As tattoo parlours take over, there aren't such stores today - except at the Theatre at the Mill in Newtownabbey.
Here, until December 31, you'll find The Shop At The Top Of The Town, courtesy of Little Willow Productions.
It's Christmas 1972 and although Belfast is surrounded by steel barriers, the audience enter to festive music. There's a buzz of excitement and good cheer and so into a warm and comfy theatre where you're welcomed to Hoffman's Department Store.
This is a play written by Michael Cameron who has achieved what he set out to accomplish - a family show, rekindling memories, with no moralising or preaching. It was triggered not only by his own childhood travelling on the top of the bus to see the lights of Belfast on the way to visit Santa in Robb's, but also a long lost photo.
It is a most enjoyable play filled with local references, conjuring up memories for so many in the audience. It's peppered with songs written by Michael and with music by Garth McConaghie, who has managed to create a special melody for each character, be it a cabaret number or a tender love song.
The department store is the empire of Felix Hoffman, who escaped war in Central Europe only to walk straight into the arms of the Troubles.
It's not easy for him. The security barriers prevent shoppers coming into town, he has a wife who likes to go dancing with a different man every night, and he is sorting out his successor as manager. There were sighs from many in the audience to the characters' talk of Romano's, the Floral Hall, the Fiesta, the Starlight. I could smell the Old Spice...
But gentle Mr Hoffman (Sean Kearns) has one thing going for him - his loyal staff. The golden boy (Rory McCollum) is looking for love, his senior lady assistant (Libby Smyth) is hiding a secret - but what's the importance of her annual window display? And what is the ambitious Mr Fenner, (David Marken) hiding? Is it his connection to Mrs Hoffman (Mary Moulds)...?
And what, wonders Ciara (Rosie Barry), is the significance of the letters addressed to 'My Dear Friend'? Pacifying everyone is Mr Peterson (Marty Maguire), who tries to keep his colleagues calm. And as for the drunken, amorous Santa Claus - this is a cameo part to savour. As one of the staff comments, the TV show Crossroads didn't have half the drama of Hoffman's.
Fifty years ago window dressing was central to a store's popularity. Big windows revealed wonderful themes all year round.
One day, when my friend first got her blue Vespa scooter, we went to show off driving through town, down Donegall Place towards Royal Avenue.
We made quite a spectacle in our dirndl skirts and tight Jaeger elastic belts. All was good until we stopped at a red light right outside Anderson and McAuley's.
I put my feet on the ground for balance and looked into the huge store window to admire myself but when the red light changed to green, Brenda whizzed off and left me standing legs akimbo in the middle of the road looking like a real plonker. I got a round of applause from some boys waiting to cross the road as I struggled to an upright position.
In the audience on opening night was Grieg Keyes who designed many window displays in his time and remembers especially dressing up to 16 windows in the old Bank Buildings.
"The Christmas windows were beautiful - Santa's Grotto with all the animated creatures and elves, and then bringing that theme through into the store where queues to meet Santa stretched down three floors and out into Castle Street.
"Just like Mr Hoffman, we realised the importance of selling Christmas."
Liz Cullinane's set features a wide staircase coming into the centre of the stage with a balcony above, a nod to Robinson & Cleaver opposite the City Hall in Belfast.
My memory of that store is twofold. First, going in to buy gloves for my mother, I was ignored as ladies with hats were served before me. I decided I'd go back the next day wearing a hat. I was served immediately with a smile.
A second memory of what I remember as a very snobby shop was the surprise on the day I was coming down the grand central staircase to see a well dressed woman stuffing bars of soap into her bag.
It was a dilemma: should I approach her, report her or ignore her. I opted for the last option, to report her could have ruined her life.
For actor Sean Kearns and his companions, working on this show has been a wonderful chance to look back in time and capture the essence of a store 50 years ago. The audience's response at the end of the evening must have delighted them.
With direction by Colm G. Doran and choreography by Sarah Jane Johnston, Michael Cameron has assembled a terrific company of players: as he says, thanks to the theatre god who has given him just what he wished for this Christmas.
The Shop at the Top of the Town runs at the Theatre at the Mill in Newtownabbey until December 31. theatreatthemill.com
