Here is a list of the top 32 popular Christmas gifts. Why
32? That’s just the amount that I found that I felt were relevant. What made
them relevant? First was if there was an insane buying craze surrounding the
item but I also took into account my recollection of the popularity and my
personal memories. Do you have your own list? Feel free to share it here or if
you feel I left out something that was a horrible oversight, tell me.
32) Pound Puppies
My brother had some and we enjoyed
them, maybe not as much as the ads suggested but I recall a great deal of kids
having more than one on their bed.
31) Lazer Tag
I want this badly. Never got my
own, but my friends did (you will see this happened a lot). I played it when
they would let me and it was never as much fun as we thought it would have
been. Now they have facilities dedicated to this. I went to one when I was
older, still overrated. I wanted it badly when I first saw it though.
30) Pogs
They were big in 1991. I ended up
buy my own by selling random catalog items to families in my neighborhood. I
never understood how to play exactly but they sure had some cool looking pogs.
29) Ghostbuster Toys
Eventually we got some at a church
yard sale. We didn’t care when the movies came out. These toys are timeless.
Don’t believe me? Go onto Ebay and see home much the new Trap toys go for.
28) Lego Train set
Who doesn’t like Legos? Who doesn’t
like trains around Christmas time? Perfect combo. I didn’t have this set but I
had plenty of others. I was much more fascinated by building other creations
than making what was on the box.
27) Koosh Ball
Who didn’t have one of these.
Parents loved them because they thought they were soft enough so they wouldn’t
break a window. Kids loved them because they could still break lamps and vases,
oh and they we stretchy and colorful.
26) BMX Bike
In the ‘80s this was the thing to
have. My brothers and I preferred our mountain bikes. We still knew plenty of
kids that seemed fascinated with breaking their arm trying to go off the
biggest and shoddiest built jumps or ramps with their BMX.
25) Razor Scooter
The BMX was the precursor to the
Razor Scooter. In 2000 you had to have one of these. I thought about it but my
Dad told me in a few years I’d see them at a yard sale for $5. Boy was he
wrong, they were free! Never once did I see a “businessman” pull one out of his
brief case to get to work quicker than walking at the ads suggested. Maybe I
lived in the wrong area or maybe anyone over the age of 10 with one of these
looked like a clown.
24) Yo-Yo
It came out in 1929 and they are
still being sold today. They even have a world championship for Yo-Yoers. I was
never good with these so all ours ended up in the toy boy and knotted together.
23) Monopoly
Introduced
in 1935. The game is a classic and most likely the most ubiquitous board game.
22) Slinky
Did this really come out in the
‘40s? Well it keeps coming back from time to time. In 1995 everyone that saw
the movie Toy Story wanted the slinky dog. I heard they did make this toy but I
never saw it, must not have lasted on shelves very long.
21) Barbie
What
young girl didn’t have one of these?
20) Care Bear
These things were everywhere. After
they came out in 1985 they had them in all sizes and colors.
19) Rubik’s Cube
Who
hasn’t wasted at least 5 minutes trying to solve this or one of the hundreds of
variations?
18) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Did I have one? In the early ‘90s
my brothers and I had a duffle bag full of them. Obviously it was a TMNT duffle
bag. We had all the characters, even Bebop. Eventually we also got their blimp
but it was missing the inflatable blimp part. It was another yard sale find and
the one with the inflatable was too expensive. Compared to how much you could
charge now for that, it was a bargain. I saw the action figures in a store last
year and each was over $30.
17) Hungry Hungry Hippos
This game has been around since the
‘70s. I on the other hand have not. When I was 5 and got the game my cousin in
her 20s was the first to play it and break it. Luckily there were 3 other
hippos to use so my brothers and I would just give our friends the broken one.
Talk about a home field advantage.
16) Beanie Babies
In 1995 people would wait outside
stores to get the rarest ones. I had one and that was enough for me to realize
they were a waste of money. Some of my friends had all the special edition
bears and all the “valuable” ones. Today they still have them collecting dust
and they are still a waste of money.
15) Nook Reader
First came the Kindle from Amazon
then the Nook Reader was introduced in 2009 and the completion began. The next
year Apple introduced the iPad and just last year Kindle had the Kindle Fire
that I have heard great things about. I’m sure this won’t be the last we hear
from this segment.
14) Barney Talking Doll
In 1992 every kid was obsessed with
Barney. The purple dinosaur was everywhere. His theme song was stuck in
everyone’s head. “I love you” doubtful “You love me” false. And I’ll pass on
the big happy family part. I had my own happy family to cause trouble in but my
younger brother bought it all. My uncle, you know the one that never gives you
anything you really want or like, he got my brother a Barney doll. His wasn’t
the talking one. He couldn’t have cared less.
13) Transformers
What kid didn’t want one of these
in the ‘80s. I had one. But mine was an old one from another yard sale I think.
It worked, kind of. It was still awesome. Then I found another even more broken
one at a yard sale and I have no idea where in my parents’ house those are now
but they probably are just as much fun.
12) Tamagotchi
We were introduced to this digital
revolution in 1997. I was well versed in determining the fads so I was content
with using my friends from time to time. Then they realized that I had fun sitting
there feeding their “pet” until it couldn’t eat anymore. I let them with the
mess to clean up by letting them figure out how to reset it. If you were cheap
and got the Gigapet or Digipet your search may be futile.
11) Power Rangers
I wasn’t allowed to watch the show.
Sounds weird I know. It probably showed the same time as Barney. Since I didn’t
watch the show I didn’t have any desire for my own toys. They had some cool
ones. Like the ones with the abnormally wide chest cavity which allowed their unmasked
head to be replaced by the one with the helmet, awesome. A friend of mine had
his mom arrange with a store to meet a delivery truck to find the only one he
was missing. It’s amazing the lengths parents will go to make their children
happy around Christmas.
10) Talkboy
Did you see the Home Alone movies?
I did hundreds of times. When I saw the Talkboy in the second movie my mind was
blown. Was that even possible? Turns out, the one they used in the movie didn’t
actually work as show. The one they made in 1993 did! I secretly wanted it. For
some reason I thought I could get it in a cereal box. I had no luck. Little did
I know, those cereal boxes were just advertising that you could mail in money
to purchase one.
9) iPod Touch
Do you like the iPod? Do you use
the internet? Do you want to use both with one device? As of 2007 Apple gave
you a way to do that without buying the iPhone. This was the next of the many
Apple product people were waiting to see under the tree.
8) Pokemon
In 1999 it was all about Nintendo
games. There were plenty of them. I never got into the cards. I preferred my
baseball and basketball cards. I wanted even less to do with the cards after I
heard a classmate argue with a teacher that he would one day retire on his
Pokemon collection. Then I played Pokemon Snap. This was another great game
offered only on the Nintendo 64. Years later after the original game broke I
bought a new one on Ebay. Everyone had some tie to Pokemon mania. As much as I
tried to avoid it all I eventually got stuck in.
7) Mr. Potato Head
This has been around since the ‘50s
and generations have been loving it and will continue for years to come.
6) Pet Rock
I wasn’t around in the ‘70s for
this one but I heard stories about the madness. 5 million of these were sold in
6 months. All it was is a polished rock inside a box. They are still being
sold. People you can make this at home! Stop spending money on them.
5) Cabbage Patch Doll
This was one of only two toys
featured on a stamp. The other was the slinky. My older brother had one. I
think it was the astronaut one. I think I broke something on it but I was too
little to remember.
4) Atari
This
spot is more for all gaming consoles. Atari was just the first. The Nintendo
was a hit the was slow to catch on. The Super Nintendo was huge. Sega made a
valiant effort with the Genesis. Then the Nintendo 64 was even bigger. Sega
again tried with the Dreamcast. Soon Sony offered the Playstation and the
battle really began. Next was the Nintendo Game Cube Then the Microsoft Xbox
and the Playstation 2. Microsoft came out with the Xbox 360 in ’05 then Sony
answered with the Playstation 3 and Nintendo offered something slightly
different in the Wii. Now they all are looking to compete directly with a new
system this holiday season. Each system has been a big holiday hit
3) Nintendo Game Boy
Nintendo offered the opportunity to
bring your games wherever you go in 1989. This was a huge hit. Sega again tried
to match it with the Game Center but it wasn’t the same. Other design changes
have been offered over the years but the big splash came in 2004 with the
Nintendo DS. Kids rediscovered portable gaming all over again.
2) Furby
So this is a mechanical Gremlin
that you feed like a Tamagotchi but will also talk and can learn from you,
sounds weird but it could be fun. In 1998 everyone wanted one from Santa. As
Christmas shopping increased and supplies decreased the prices started
increasing. In some cases the lucky individuals that had one would turn around
and sell them to desperate parents for close to or over $100. Some young kids that
got their hands on one found that you could get them to say “bad” words. They
weren’t so much fun when they woke you up at 3am screaming to be fed or in some
cases repeating those “bad” words you spent so much time teaching it. Needless
to say, many of them found their way into the trash can. Recently they have
been making a comeback but I doubt the end results will vary much.
1)
Tickle Me Elmo
This is the classic example of Christmas
buying gone crazy. In 1996 The Tickle Me Elmo was the must have toy for
Christmas. Well before Christmas day, all stores were sold out. What was a $30
or so toy was now demanding hundreds and sometimes even over $1,000. I recall
being at my grandparents, where we spent most holidays, for Thanksgiving when I
saw a morning talk show that offered one of the sought after toys to a member
of the audience that could do their best impression of Elmo’s giggle. Humiliating yourself on national TV is
clearly worth the smile on the face of you 4 year old come Christmas morning.
As you have read, many of these gifts were very popular and
in some cases created a frenzy that drove prices sky high. Most of these items
I personally never had and the ones I did I generally did not get as Christmas
presents. What I’m trying to say is that I LOVE CHRISTMAS. And I don’t love it because
I got all the gifts all my friends wanted. I love it because I spent time with
my family and I have great memories. Did I like the gifts I got? I sure did.
But I like them because I wanted them not because they were popular. As I have
grown older I have seen this to be true for most people.
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