Easter Parade of 1956 Ads

Easter is almost here – so let's take a look at an ample sample of Easter-themed ads from late March 1956 – 70 years ago.

Muir's Cut Rate offered its usual assortment of Easter candy and toys in this ad from March 22, 1956. Our friend the Thrifty Scott offered us a choice of a plastic egg-laying duck, or a "natural" duck – a "once alive duckling, taxidermy preserved. Downy, life-like."

A few of the toys shown in the ad are still available on eBay, including the egg-laying duck and the wind-up bunny.

Rigbee's Kiddieland had already offered its selection of "pre-Easter" toys back on March 15, 1956. Most of the toys don't seem very Easter-like (a telephone, a wheel barrow, a doll house, etc.) but the ad copy explains it away by noting that they are "Summer & Easter Toys."

The traditional Easter parade (which Mom used to tell me about) was still a real thing back then, so many ads were focused on helping people get prepared for it.

March 23, 1956

March 23, 1956

March 29, 1956

There was Easter dinner to think about, and the decision whether to serve ham or perhaps kolbassi, as noted in this ad for Food Center Super Markets. 

March 29, 1956

Kids could enjoy an egg hunt at O'Neil-Sheffield Shopping Center on the Saturday before Easter, as shown in this ad that ran on Friday, March 30, 1956.

Lastly, if you didn't feel like preparing an elaborate Easter dinner, you could enjoy a fine meal at Johnson's Restaurant, "opposite Lorain Drive-In Theatre." 

(I wrote about Johnson's back here on this 2013 post.)