When we remember Christmas and the holidays, thoughts of that favorite toy you received as a child can come up.
What was your favorite childhood toy you received?
Happy Holidays from Headsets Direct!
What was your favorite childhood toy you received?
My favorite toy was also a record player. I had not listened to my 45 rpm records for over a year until I received it.
SandyT
Back in the early 50’s my parents gave me a Tony doll. (Tony was a brand of Perms for little girls). The following year I wanted the more popular Bride Doll. My parents were poor, so my mom took my Tony Doll, cut up her own Wedding Gown and made my Tony Doll the most beautiful wedding dress and vail.
Sadly, when I married at age 19, I gave all my dolls to a neighbor girl. But it still holds a special place in my heart.
My favorite was a toy 8mm movie projector. It used a flashlight bulb that could barely put a picture on the cardboard screen inside the cover, and was hand-cranked and sounded like a machine gun when you turned the handle, but was it fun. It came with three black and white silent films, each about one minute; Popeye the Sailor, Laurel and Hardy, and Tom Mix (cowboy star who was long gone even then.) Today’s kids just pop a disc into mom ‘n’ dad’s Blu-Ray-LCD-etc. setup and out comes a full length feature in color, Dolby Stereo, and wide screen 3-D…would they even understand the appeal of something like this?
I had been poking around the Christmas tree in the days before the 24th, looking at packages that were already wrapped, and apparently I found one package that revealed it’s contents through its shape. Soon I was rolling my Tonka Truck around the floor with only the wheels exposed through the wrapping.
As a boy growing up in the 60’s, there were many memorable and awesome Christmas presents waiting under the tree. A ‘grown-up’ bike one year. A replica M-14 rifle, made of heavy-gauge plastic that was almost as dense and heavy as wood, with ‘automatic firing’ sound. A Moon Base set with plastic astronaut figures and lunar crawlers. Mattel’s ‘Major Matt Mason’ and his buddy, ‘Doug Davis.’ And plenty more.
But the coolest present of all was the Marx army set I got when I was about 8 or 9. It was huge, with detailed soldiers in two colors (khaki and tan), vehicles including a tank with swivel turret, halftrack, jeep, artillery pieces, a pillbox with gun slits, etc. I loved that set and played with it for many years.
Merry Christmas to all!
It has to be the slot car set I got for xmas in 1969. My father and grandfather spent the entire night putting it together. They finished it about 10 mins before I got up. Sure made my day.
I received a “Chatty Cathy” doll from Santa, a doll that “talked” by pulling a string on her back. I loved her so much and carried her everywhere on Christmas Day. That afternoon, I went to see my best friend, the little boy that lived next door. Imagine my shock when he told me he “fixed” by doll by pull the string off her back. I was devastated!! I’m not sure how my parents did it but the next day I woke up to a perfectly fine “Chatty Cathy”.
Last year, Hallmark had a Keepsake Ornament of this same doll….talking pull string and all. What a wonderful memory!
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What a great question! From the time I was 6 years old I wanted a guitar. I always loved music and this wish finally came true for me when I was 11 years old. It was a long wait but one worth waiting for. I taught myself how to play and read music and enjoy the gift for many years. What great memories!!
Wow, reading some of the prior entries makes it difficult. I got and liked several of the toys/items described (bike, baseball and mit, rockem sockem robots, an old-timer, lite-brite, superball,… I would say my favorite was probably the Mattel’s Agent Zero M Sonic blaster. A bazooka like gun that fired a powerful blast of air for up to 40 feet (so mostly harmless). It sure helped in snowball fights. Pump it up and ram it into a snow bank and it could fire a snow ball really well.
Back in ’63, my brothers and I asked for an HO-guage slot-car race set, pasting onto our ‘Wish List To Santa’ a Sears catalog illustration of a modest, simple oval with two cars and controllers. Our eyes bugged out Christmas morning when we looked under the tree to find the Aurora ‘Golden Gate Bridge’ set: a huge, elaborate display built around a cardboard cutout of that famous bridge. Mom and Dad later explained that they’d ordered the little set we’d asked for… but Sears was out of it, and substituted the other at no extra charge! We wore out a bunch of cars on that layout, but I’ve still got it and will someday set it up again for the grandkids.
Ok, going way back, you might relate to The Christmas Story movie for a comparison! I was abit of a tomboy, but it’s a toss up between my Fort Apache set or the baseball bat I received. I grew up in the South of the 50-60’s, so girls weren’t supposed to be asking for toys that boys played with, so my parents must’ve been in a quandry that year!
I begged for a Baby Secret doll. She wore red flannel jammies and had red hair done up in a pony tail and bangs. She “Liked to whisper in the dark.” Unfortunately she whispered so loudly my folks could hear her downstairs. I introduced her to my daughter when she was six or seven and she said the doll was creepy and refused to play with her. Later I offered the doll up at a toy auction. Not one single bid, despite the fact that she still whispered, just as loudly. Ah well, I guess that says something about my taste in toys and the reason she dropped into oblivion a few years later.
I love music, so one of my favorite Christmas presents was a record player. My parents gave me the record player, and my brother gave me two records, which I played until they practically disintegrated. I spent every spare dime I had on music after that Christmas, and everyone knew just what to get me every year; they still do!
A tie between the sit-n-spin and the Old Fischer-Price Farm and Barn animals set! There were never enough sit-n-spins to go around, and I think I drove my parents crazy opening and shutting the barn door to hear the “moo-ing” sound!
Rockem Sockem Robots Game was always my favorite. Tons of fun with this when I was a kid. Glad to see them out on the shelves in few selected stores here and there.
My favorite Childhood toy would have to be my trampoline they just don’t make them like they used to I still have it and there is not a single hole in it i have had it over 20 years and I will be passing it down to my children this year hopefully it can last another 20+ years.
My favorite toy was Tuesday Taylor and her penthouse! Ya I know, I ‘m pretty old. lol
I remember a train set that I got one year. I had to have been 8. The set was completely setup with buildings and landscaping and the trains running around the tracks as I got up.
I remember toy trucks and a skateboard, but one in particular that I had really wanted, was a chemistry set. Do they even still make those? I spent many an hour doing “experiments”…lol..
It might not be much of a toy, but when I was about 8 yrs old my Father gave me an “Old Timer” pocket knife. I still have that knife today and it’s gone through many situations. It has most definitely been a life saver.
My favorite toys from my childhood were the Lego sets that Santa brought for me. I played with those for hours on end – hours.
My favorite toy was a doll “Baby First Step” and she could walk to me, or walk with me. It was one of the first dolls to be able to “do” things. I spent many hours playing with her.
The one that comes to mind was a Transformers boxing ring. In one corner was Optimus Prime. In the other – Megatron. Both sides had two mechanical levers that controlled the punching motion for each of the arms.
Each round was an epic battle. But with no time limits on the rounds, Megatron soon landed a crushing blow to Optimus Prime’s head that sent it flying across the room. Much to my dismay the headless hero’s arms still worked, and each of his punches connected solidly until Megatron too had lost his head and left arm. The battle continued until Optimus Prime was declared champion – he was the only contender left that could punch. And he only had his left arm.
Best toy ever!
It’s hard to say, there were many toys I loved, I would probably narrow it down to one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures.
The one that stands out to me the most is the Nintendo. My brothers and I played so much on Christmas day that fingers were sore and we had to stop playing.
One of my absolute favorite gifts as a child was my Squire Precision Bass made by Fender. It was my freshman year of high-school, and I stopped by Gordons Music Shop every day after school looking for a left-handed Bass Guitar. Every time i stopped there i would look through the entire stock, sometimes taking the most symmetrical models off rack and making an attempt to play them upside down. After about 3 or 4 months of stopping by every day I walked in and immediately spotted that one backwards head-stock amongst all the others. It was the only one they had in stock. I excitedly walked up to the counter and asked the guy if he could refrain from selling it until i came back from talking to my parents. I ran home, called my dad in Oregon and reminded him that he had promised if I found a left handed Bass that he would buy it for me. He said that he would make it happen if my mom could make the first payment. I then ran to my mom’s work and told her what my dad said, she reluctantly gave me the money for the first payment, and I ran to the music shop, gave them the money and set up the payment plan. My dad sent a couple of payments, and then they just stopped coming. That Christmas my dad surprised me by coming to California for Christmas. When we got to my grand-parents house for Christmas dinner there it was sitting behind my favorite chair complete with a gig-bag and amplifier.
As a Child I had many favorite toys. I would have to say that out of the gifts I received at Christmas, the most memorable is a toss up between a hand carved oak chess set and a hand-held digital version of the game Asteroids. I had to have been about 9 or 10 when i got the chess set. The Asteroids game was awesome for it’s time. I can’t remember how old I was, but what made the game so cool was that it talked. It would say “hit” every time you hit the target with a blast from your ship, and “miss” when you missed, up until I got that game all of my hand-held digital games only made annoying beeping sounds.
One of my favorite (besides my hopeful “BackBeat GO Wireless Earbuds”) presents from Santa was a “Lite-Brite”, I remember spending hours sitting with my older brother in a the dark room punching holes in the black paper just to see the little pegs light up. My favorite colors to watch light up were the blue, red, and purple.
Santa… wouldn’t it be nice if you brought me “BackBeat GO Wireless Earbuds” so I could listen to music on my phone while I play Lite-Brites now! 😉 I still believe!!
A Super Nintendo. They had already been released for over a year before I received one (a family gift, it was labeled) but for the first time I was no longer dependent upon my brother dictating when I was allowed to play his video games. That change of power was amazing!
My favorite toy I received as a child was my first bike. That bike meant freedom to me… I could pedal faster than my sister and brother could run. No more tagging along with big sister. 🙂
Well, I had many favorite toys growing up….basically anything that was a ball was my favorite! However, to be more specific I loved my Hotwheel car’s. I guess by now anyone reading this has concluded that I was quite the tomboy…yes, those were the days!
My 45’s record player back in 1968! I was so excited and played it to death. I proceeded to unplug it, put the plug in my mouth and chew. I still have the scar on my lip to prove it!
It’s a tie between a Schwinn Stingray bike with banana seat (that was a sweet ride!) and a Peter Gunn snub-nosed .38 cap gun with shoulder holster! And yes, I’m THAT old!!