This Christmas you will probably do a good chunk - if not all - of your shopping online. Whether searching Amazon on your laptop during a spare minute at work, or scrolling the ASOS app on your phone.Â
Now we are in November, the Black Friday sales will already be starting in places - as more and more of us try to get an early bargain. You may still head down to the high street, or an out of town shopping centre, to do some browsing in person.Â
But it is nothing like fighting through crowds at popular shops in the 1970s. Back when you had to do all of your shopping in person - or it didn’t get done at all.Â
Take a trip back in time to see what Christmas shoppers looked like 50 years ago.
1. Christmas Shopping in the 1970s
Shoppers pictured looking at a Christmas display in the window of a Marks and Spencer shop on 20th December 1976. | Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
2. Joy of toy shopping
A child shopping in Hamley's toy store on Regent Street at Christmas, UK, December 1971. Hopefully they got plenty of good ideas for Santa's list. | Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
3. It could get busy
Having to do all your Christmas shopping in person meant it could get very busy. Like all these people who hit the stores in December 1976. | Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
4. Queues could get long
If you didn't time it right, you could get caught in long queues as you waited to pay at the tills. | Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images