Toys of Christmas Past
by Vicki Barlow
• Published 22/12/2022
With Christmas only days away I realise, now that my daughter is almost thirteen and my youngest niece is nine (going on thirteen), that I haven't had to visit a single toy shop in my quest to buy Christmas presents this year. It makes me a little sad that they're growing up.
As a parent I miss seeing my daughter's face as we walked into Smyths, The Entertainer or Toys R Us; shops lined with endless possibilities and wonder - what would my daughter choose this year?
As a child I remember being given a catalogue: Argos, Index or Kays. We would write our list from the glossy pages of the toy section and leave them expectantly on the hearth for the elves to take to Father Christmas. Then followed weeks of excitement as we wondered which gift he would choose as our main present that year. I remember the time I got the Silver Cross Dolls Pram and a new doll for it - I named her Nicky. It was perfect and just what I wanted - what a happy memory!
To help write this blog, I asked a few of my colleagues a couple of questions:
- What is your favourite toy you ever received for Christmas?
- Was there something you always wanted for Christmas but never received?
We will explore their answers below, as well as some of the most popular Christmas toys from the past.
Dolls are one of the most popular toys of all time
It comes as no surprise that dolls, of various brands and styles, is the most popular answer to this question. In fact one particular doll is one of the best-selling Christmas toys of all time - Cabbage Patch Kids. Back in 1983 they were the 'must-have Christmas toy'.
The most popular doll of all time is Barbie. Barbie has managed to adapt to stay current, and still remains a best-seller at Christmas time.
Tiny Tears, Baby Annabelle, Bratz Dolls, Tressy Doll (with growing hair), a doll with long blonde hair and Betty Spaghetti were all answers my colleagues gave. I remember always wanting a Tiny Tears doll and I never received a Barbie - I did get a Sindy doll once with a car - great memories!
The Rubik's Cube is the best-selling toy of all time
Only one gadget was mentioned by my colleagues - Simon. The digital game is still available today and is now considered a classic.
The most popular puzzle of all time is the Rubik's Cube. Invented in 1974 by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik, the puzzle game stormed onto the market in the early 1980s and is still available now.
Monopoly is the most popular board game of all time. I never received Monopoly as a child, I got something called The Game of Life which saw you drive around a board picking up a partner, children, houses and jobs as you went - great fun!
Gaming has been around since the 1970s
One year my brother persuaded me to ask for a joint main present from Santa; an Amiga 1200. He wanted it more than I did but I was happy to go along with him and Santa didn't disappoint. We played Paper Boy, Street Fighter, Monkey Island and Indiana Jones; the interactive games were like nothing I had ever played before and blew my young mind.
The Amiga 500 features in my colleague's answers, as does the legendary Commodore 64.
The world of gaming changed forever in 1991 with the launch of the Game Boy - video games in your hand. How many of you can remember the theme tune to Tetris? I know I can. One of my colleagues remembers asking for a Game Boy but never receiving one - I have a lot of those memories too.
My sister received a Sega Master System one year which came with Alex the Kid game built in. Games loaded instantly and classics like Sonic the Hedgehog were born.
Other classic gaming consoles include the ZX Spectrum, Sega Mega Drive, Sony Playstation, the Wii, Nintendo DS and the Game Gear.
Getting a bike for Christmas
Remember on Christmas day when you would look outside and see the street full of children on their brand new bikes? You don't see it so much now as many of the most popular toys are indoor toys/gadgets/games.
One of my colleagues recalls getting a bike for Christmas as a child:
"I had already opened what I thought was all of my presents and Mum told me to go and make her a brew to say thank you. When I went into the kitchen a shiny new bike was waiting for me. Best surprise ever!"
One of the most popular bikes of all time is the BMX. I remember my brother getting a Raleigh Burner and I was jealous, as much as I loved my shopper bike with a bell, a basket and three Sturmey-Archer gears, it wasn't half as cool as the blue and yellow Burner.
In the 1970s the chopper style bikes were the must-have Christmas gift.
TV & film inspire the toys market
The world of film and television have always inspired our toy choices, long before the massive franchises of Harry Potter and the like. One of my colleagues remembers receiving an Evil Knievel stunt bike for Christmas. I collected Sylvanian Families, only recently parting with the windmill, school, shop and house sets.
In the 1980s an Optimus Prime transporter (robots in disguise!) was the must-have present. Followed by a Ghostbusters Proton Pack, the Batmobile, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Thunderbirds Tracy Island, Power Rangers and of course, Buzz Lightyear in 1996.
Toys my colleagues always wanted, but didn't receive, included Star Wars At-At and The Barbie Dream House.
In Victorian times, some children were lucky to receive an orange for Christmas. Rocking horses, dolls houses, prams and train sets were all popular toys; for those who could afford it.
If you're interested in taking a further dive into the world of Christmas toys, check out this article by Preston Park Museum
here.
If nostalgia, memories and Christmas past is of interest, read our previous blog:
Memories of Christmas past.
I feel very privileged to have such wonderful childhood memories of Christmas, not every child is as lucky, particularly in today's challenging world. If you can help bring Christmas to a child at risk of waking up to nothing on Christmas Day, please consider making a donation to Cash for Kids'
Mission Christmas appeal.
Thank you for reading, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
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