In proof that there is a holiday for everything, today happens to be National Landline Telephone Day! There is nothing quite like the ring of a vintage rotary phone to stir up memories from the 80s. What do I remember most about phones growing up?
- No call waiting. The busy signal was ever present. You call someone and get a busy? You call then again five minutes later. Then five minutes later. Your parents made you get off the phone when they were expecting a call.
- No cordless. You had to stand right near the phone when you talked. There were two solutions to this: a really long phone cord or a chair next to the phone location.
- No caller ID which mean prank calls were a hugely common occurrence. I may have even been guilty of one or two myself.
- “Dialing” a number. Yeah, like that’s why they call it dialing, you Gen Zs. And we sure didn’t have to dial the area code unless it was for long distance which you almost never called because it cost more than your lunch money for the entire week.
- Party lines? Anyone remember? Where you would call into some number and be able to hear like a ton of other people out there talking (or really more like shouting) to each other.
Maybe these memories sound like a pain in the rear, but I loved everything about them when it comes to fond memories and nostalgia. And being a child of the 80s, I love vintage phones. I have a collection of quite a few, my favorite being my red rotary phone picked up from an antique store.
Here are two really fun things to do to celebrate National Landline Telephone Day.
- Call someone you love and tell them you love them. Yeah, call them. Don’t text. Don’t email. Just give them a call.
- Gift someone in your life with an amazing vintage phone. You know they will love it!
And now, to celebrate, I’ve come up with some fun ideas for gift giving. I’d love to see some that you know of, too!
1950s PAYPHONE
If you’re rotary phone lover has a house anything like mine, then they probably like cool collectible retro things, and I’m pretty sure they would adore this retro pay phone. Mounts on the wall and doubles as a bank. It comes in three colors, and though I love the blue, I’m pretty sure the red would match my house the best.
RETRO ANTIQUE BRONZE
There are about a million options from this maker of phone, and after scouring through them, this was by far my favorite. It’s got that classic elegant look without being too busy. Gift this to your special someone and then give them a call to test it out.
OLD FASHIONED ROTARY
I have a tendency to lean toward simple and classic for something like a vintage rotary phone, which is why I love my red rotary phone so much. Your phone lover is going to adore the simplicity of this classic pink rotary phone. I picked the pink because it is perfect, but the phone comes in lots of other colors also, so pick the one your special someone will love the most.
CLASSIC MICKEY
Classic Mickey. I wanted this phone when I was younger. I think one of my friends was lucky enough to own it, and every time I went over, I secretly wished they would give it to me. (That never happened.) If you have someone in your life who always wanted this phone, now is your chance to be the hero! Get that Mickey phone for them. You won’t regret it.
OLD SCHOOL CLASSIC
I have never actually used a vintage rotary phone like this. I would see them in old movies all the time, but they were before my time. Still, this phone would look great in pretty much any house (mine included). It’s simple, classic, antique, and awesome!
