7 very '80s things from A Very Brady Christmas

Big shoulder pads, bigger hair, and one sweet mustache.

In 1988, A Very Brady Christmas gave us a chance to catch up with TV's favorite family 14 years after The Brady Bunch ended. Carol and Mike, now empty nesters, try to get the whole family (plus Alice) back in the same house for Christmas. Not an easy task, since the kids have all gone their own ways over the years. But do the parents succeed in getting everyone back for a nice TV special Christmas? Would it be a Brady show if they didn't?

The made-for-TV movie also turned out to be a time capsule of some very boss '80s fashion, trends, and tropes. Let's take a look at some of the most '80s things from A Very Brady Christmas.

1. The kitchen remodel

The orange Formica countertops are OUT, blond wood and pastels are IN. This is a kitchen made for drinking New Coke and eating Mr. T cereal. The living room could also count — those throw pillows just scream '80s.

2. Getting tangled in the phone cord

Before cell phones, and before cordless phones became the new norm, dealing with the cord during a conversation used to just be a part of life. Conversations just hit different when you were absentmindedly playing with the cord while a friend gave you all the gossip. Of course, cords also meant that sometimes if you were moving around, you ended up wrapped in it instead.

3. Greg's mustache

There are a few mustaches in his movie, but none is more '80s than Greg's Magnum P.I. looking lip hair.

4. Cindy's outfits

There's a lot of good '80s fashion in this special (more later in this list, even!) but Cindy, as a cutting-edge college senior, gets some of the best looks. With this off-shoulder oversized jersey, glittery belt at the waist, tights, and chunky tennis shoes, Cindy looks like she could have stepped out of a Cyndi Lauper video. 

5. Everything about this office

The Pepto-Bismol pink flooring and walls. The marble desk. The glass brick windows. It feels like '80s Harrison Ford is going to walk into this office at any moment.

6. Meeting people at the gate at the airport

In the '80s, there was no better way to show that you cared about someone than meeting them at their gate at the airport. Or if you really cared, maybe you'd even get a dramatic montage of rushing to their gate before the plane takes off so you can make an impassioned speech. 

7. The shoulder pads

Yes, we mentioned the fashion already, but the shoulder pads in this special needed a separate item. In the '80s, shoulder pads meant that you were a classy, independent woman who didn't want romance without finance. And boy, are there a lot of them over the course of this holiday tale.

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29 Comments

SrLerxst 9 months ago
You forgot the cameo appearance Mark and Brian, the famous DJs of KLOS of Los Angeles!
Runeshaper 9 months ago
Very 80s indeed!
TheSentinel Runeshaper 6 months ago
Including Jan's '80s-style bob (a far cry from the waist-length hair she sported during the original show's run) and the appearance of Fake Cindy.
JasonParmeter 9 months ago
Going to be enjoying this Brady Holiday movie today!!! On me tv 🎅🏻🌲📺😊
Robertp 9 months ago
Don’t like anything Brady.
JohnGrant 9 months ago
Do most people watch the Brady Bunch now because its so corny?
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DonnaNMI LoveMETV22 9 months ago
No, it was over the top corny even then. And 80’s colors were and still are the worst
SrLerxst DonnaNMI 9 months ago
Millennial always going to hate us Genxers!
TheSentinel DonnaNMI 9 months ago
How about the earth-tone colors used for decorating in the 1970s (avocado green, orange, yellow and brown)?
bradyguy JohnGrant 8 months ago
Nope. Those of us in our 50s watch it because it was the first show for "US" that wasn't a cartoon or a Krofft puppet show. It is, perhaps, the fondest reminder of our own childhoods! In the late 60s/early 70s, the BB was no more corny than many of the family sitcoms of the day. WIth 50+ years of hindsight, it has become fashionable to say that the BB was "corny" or "silly", but the same can certainly be said of its sitcom progeny DIff'rent Strokes, Full House, Family Matters, Small Wonder, or the most blatant BB ripoff of all, Step by Step.

As for AVBC, we watched it with a mix of nostalgia and reverence, but fully expecting it to be a bit treacly and contrived...and we were right! I, for one, was at viewing/costume party with my co-workers wearing only a bathing suit (In December, no less!!!), and Greg's infamous tiki idol (Boo da boo doo boooo....) while dancing with TWO "Molly Webers"! And we loved every minute of it!
MeowMix 9 months ago
Florence Henderson’s wardrobe in this movie deserves its own article. She hit every 80s trend from workout wear to those big shouldered blouses. I would still wear that gorgeous green blouse she had on at the end.
Michael 9 months ago
If you put your desk on a pedestal, it forces the minions to be lower than you.
JimD Michael 9 months ago
80s exec power move. - desk up high or lower the minion chairs to exert power position as exec
Andybandit 9 months ago
I grew up in the 80's. It was awesome. Greg's Mustache makes him look like the soup Nazi on Seinfeld.
cperrynaples Andybandit 9 months ago
"No pork chops and applesauce for you Peter!"...LOL!
JustGeri cperrynaples 9 months ago
He was always my fav and still is. Pork chops and applesauce any time for him!
RazzMatazz71 cperrynaples 9 months ago
Come back One Year!!!!
bradyguy JustGeri 8 months ago
Shouldn't that be Pork ChoSH and AppleSHauSHe....??

SHWELL.
Michael 9 months ago
Cindy's outfit looks more like Jane Fonda and the workout craze.
TheSentinel Michael 9 months ago
Though I'd prefer it on Cindy over Hanoi Jane anytime.
LoveMETV22 9 months ago
Well:
1. The Brady's were long overdue for a kitchen upgrade.
2. Just absentmindedness , whether you were gossiping or not.
3. Not sure 80's, but very triangular.
4. I wonder what Cyndi Lauper might think?
5. For what reason would the desk need to be on a stage....and why only one step ?
7. Shoulder pads- " didn't want romance without finance." Hmm that's a tricky interpretation.
LoveMETV22 9 months ago
#6. I used to think "Meeting people at the gate at the airport", was fashionable until their flight arrived at multiple gates.
cperrynaples LoveMETV22 9 months ago
Now with all the security added after 9/11, you can't even come close to the gate without a ticket! SAD!!
Pacificsun cperrynaples 9 months ago
We actually went onto the plane, with my cousin's large family. To wait with them, before taking off. I can't remember the airline but they treated farewells like bon voyage experiences on a ship. I swear on a stack of potato chips this happened. Because I can remember where each of my six cousins sat. And no, there weren't 3 seats in a row. Going from CA to Houston TX. And it probably took all day. Incredible.
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