Writer: Craig Baird
Eaton’s and Simpsons used to be the two largest department stores in Canada. During the Christmas season, that rivalry between the stores took the form of the Christmas displays. Each company tried to one-up the other, especially at their flagship stores in Toronto.
It was the founder of Simpsons, Robert Simpson, who started decorating his windows with Christmas displays. These displays featured children’s toys and anything that would get children to ask their parents to take them to the store.
Following the Second World War, Eaton’s stores around Canada, but primarily in Toronto and Winnipeg, had elaborate displays featuring Christmas scenes and figures. Eaton’s had carols piped to the street, helping to create the Christmas atmosphere. In places like Winnipeg, displays were built by Second World War veterans and aircraft technicians. These animatronic displays were powered by war surplus motors. The figures danced and pranced in the display for three decades.
Crowds of people watched the displays outside Eaton’s and Simpsons stores. The Globe and Mail wrote, “You will see a crowd of children intent on the magic world before them.” Some families drove hours to see the displays. They became so popular that Toronto city officials asked Eaton’s to limit the hours that the public could view the displays. The volume of shoppers standing at the display on Queen Street was slowing down traffic.
In 1959, designers Eleanor and Ted Konkle prepared a 12 Days of Christmas display for Eaton’s in Toronto, which included each item mentioned in the song. In 1966, Eaton brought in a 34-foot-long creche from Czechoslovakia that took artist Adolph Jelinek 10,000 hours over 35 years to paint.
By the 1980s, the displays had begun to disappear as both companies hit difficult times. All of the Simpsons stores were converted to The Bay in the 1980s and the store name was gone by 1991. Eatons lasted a little longer but was bankrupt by the end of the 1990s.
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