December 2002. Polish footballers are still recovering from a moral hangover after a disastrous performance at the World Cup in Korea and Japan, and Adam Małysz is preparing to start in the next edition of the 4-Hills-Tournament, where he will have to accept the superiority of Janne Ahonen and Sven Hannavald. Radio stations – of course, alternately with “Last Christmas” – “torture” us with the hits of Garou, Shakira, Wilków and Kasia Klich. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the second installment in Peter Jackson’s fantasy trilogy.
Preparations for Christmas are underway in Polish homes. Poles go to the shops for gifts. They are literally starting, because online trade is just beginning on the Vistula River. Allegro.pl and several e-shops (merlin.pl or empik.com) are already operating, but we will have to wait a few more years for the real e-commerce revolution.
Gifts tailored to our dreams or possibilities?
Before we move on to the review of dream Christmas gifts AD 2002, it is worth making one important reservation. 20 years ago, two years before accession to the EU, the Polish economy was in a different place than it is todayand the presents we wanted to find under the Christmas tree were not always (and in many cases rarely) the ones we actually found under it.
Although we are currently struggling with rampant inflation and we face the specter the biggest global economic crisis since 2008, the “power of the portfolio” of the average Kowalski is greater than two decades ago. According to the statistics of the Central Statistical Office, in 2002 the average salary in Poland was PLN 2,133.21while in the third quarter of 2022 this amount is already PLN 6,480.67.
As for the purchasing power parity per capita calculated in international dollars, while in 2000 it was $11,654, already achieved in 2018 $31,939 (data from the International Monetary Fund).
However, let’s leave these numbers behind and head towards Christmas dreams – both fulfilled and unfulfilled ones. Here is a completely subjective list of Christmas gift ideas from twenty years ago.
MP3 players, DVD players and Nokia phones
In 2001, Steve Jobs presented to the world iPod. Portable mp3 player, advertised with the slogan “1000 songs in your pocket”, not only started a new era for the Cupertino company’s products, but also had a major impact on the shape of the entire music industry.
After the premiere of the iPod, the fashion for it exploded around the world “empetriple”. This fashion has also reached Poland. The problem is that buying an iPod on the Vistula bordered on a miracle. Few lucky people managed to import Apple devices from across the Ocean, paying for them like grain.
Creative MuVo TX FM 512MB player fir0002/Wikimedia Commons/GFDL 1.2
Fortunately, other manufacturers took advantage of the market vacuum, e.g. Iriver or Creative. Finding under the Christmas tree Creative MuVo player in 2002 would be a dream come true for many. However, there was a greater chance that Santa would bring us a player of the Chinese brand “bush”. Who of us doesn’t have a box of cables somewhere in a drawer, in which a non-company “empetrójka” got tangled?
Unbranded ’empetroika’ photo Wikimedia Commons
And if not an MP3 player, maybe DVDs? Although in 2002 we were still “pirating” a lot, DVD discs began to gain popularity. Here, too, we could pay more and buy a branded player from Sony, Panasonic or Samsung, or buy its Chinese equivalent.
And on such a player we could watch many hits at the end of 2002. Only in December, DVD editions of such cinematic hits as “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, “A Beautiful Mind” and “Black Hawk Down” hit stores. Slightly younger under the Christmas tree could find the animation “Monsters & Company” or the film “Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra” with the iconic Polish dubbing.
Mobile phones, which 2-3 years earlier could be considered a luxury good, in 2002 have already become commonplace. The market was divided and ruled by the Finnish one Nokia. It’s the devices of this company (possibly Siemens be Sony Ericsson) we have been looking under the Christmas tree for 20 years.
Nokia 3310 photo Nokia
Anyway, it was in 2002 that one of the most famous models of mobile phones in history had its premiere. Speaking of “indestructible” nokia 3310, which – along with the 3330 variant – has sold over 126 million copies worldwide.
PlayStation 2, PS one or your dream PC?
Although the console PlayStation 2 had its premiere at the end of 2000, two years later only few could afford to buy it in Poland. Device was valued at PLN 2,699, which, with average earnings of just over PLN 2,100 at that time, basically says it all.
Playstation 2 photo Sony
This does not change the fact that almost every teenager dreamed of PS2 at the time. Especially that in 2002 a lot of games using the potential of Sony devices had their premieres. Examples include titles such as “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” if “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4”.
It was a slightly more realistic dream P.S. they i.e. a refreshed version of the first PlayStation, which premiered in June 2000. PS one was priced in Poland at PLN 599. The same on the Vistula had to be paid for Game Boy Advance console from Nintendo, which went on sale in June 2001.
Those who did not play on consoles certainly dreamed of a new PC. We would pay for a mid-range gaming PC and monitor in 2002 around PLN 3,000. Such equipment was equipped with an Intel Pentium 3 or one of the Athlon processors, 128 MB RM and a GeForce 2 graphics card.
Furby and craze for interactive toys
If there is any toy that can be considered a symbol of the turn of the 90s and 00s, it is without a doubt Furbies. The interactive, hairy creature then became a real world phenomenon. It is enough to mention that in 1998-1999 almost 16 million such mascots were sold.
Furbies photo Hasbro/Ebay
The name Furby comes from the English language and is an abbreviation of the words fur ball, meaning “balls of fur”. The first Furby resembled an owl in appearance, although other variants of the mascot appeared later. One thing is certain – anyone who found a Furby under the Christmas tree in 2002 could feel lucky or lucky. Unless you were over 12 at the time.
The beginning of the “zero years” was a great time for all sorts interactive toys. In addition to Furby, dolls were also very popular Baby Born or finally cult tamagotchi.
“Bajonikles” save LEGO
The LEGO concern is one of the largest today giants of the toy industry, whose activities go far beyond the sale of famous bricks. However, hardly anyone remembers that at the end of the 20th century the company experienced serious financial problems and almost went bankrupt.
The Danes were saved by a number of brave decisions, and one of them was the launch of a completely new series of blocks with a mysterious name LEGO Bionicle.
LEGO Bionicle photo LEGO
The Bionicle bricks (called “bajonikels” in Poland) were warmly welcomed by the young “constructors” who wanted LEGO so much at that time (and even more so to their parents’ wallets). The success of this series was the fact that biomechanical robots strongly stood out from other – more family – series of blocks.
LEGO Harry Potter – Chamber of Secrets LEGO
After 2000, LEGO began to boldly enter into cooperation with well-known franchises. One of these marriages resulted in a series LEGO Harry Potter – sets inspired by books and movies about a young wizard from Hogwarts. Finding a famous one under the Christmas tree Chambers of Secrets was in 2002 a dream come true for many a Potter maniac.
LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets LEGO
Interestingly, the 20-year-old LEGO Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets set returned to stores in … 2021. The question is whether this re-edition was created for the youngest, or rather for today’s 30- and 40-year-olds who – on wave of nostalgia – they return to toys from their childhood more and more often. Perhaps to finally fulfill those dreams that they could not fulfill 20 years ago.
Source: Gazeta
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
