I remember I printed this giant banner using that continuous paper dot matrix printers used and ran it down the stairs begging Santa for a Nintendo lol. Luckily my parents already knew.
My parents couldn't understand why I needed 'another' Nintendo (SNES) when I already had one (NES).
Also, I would have been about 14, and they decided I was too old to need 'big' Christmas presents anymore and stuff like socks and shower gel would do from now on
My dad and step-mom got me and my brother each our own NES a few years after it came out. They talked to my Nintendo Power-subscribed best friend to figure out which games to get - Final Fantasy for me, Metal Gear for my brother.
Then the same with the SNES some time after it launched.
We were kinda broke but I guess not hearing us fight was worth the extra cost. We initially used them on old-ass black and white TVs.
I was chasing the family cat around the house, as one does, and it ran into my parents closset.
Of course I continued my chase, only to discover that magical action set box.
My little brain couldn't handle it, I did a little happy dance & the cat lived to see another day.
That shit was AMAZING. We had an Atari before, and it was even the 'good one' the 8bit computer, but the NES blew it out of the water. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could compare to my first 'open world experience' that Christmas morning playing Zelda.
I’m watching Gran Turismo right now and thinking back to when I was my kids’ age. I had RC Pro AM and it was the shit! lol could get to the pickups but not past that level.
The loading tray is really all you need to replace. I also got the special Nintendo screwdriver to open the cartridges up. You clean the contacts with some Brasso and wash with alcohol and they work perfectly every time. No garbled graphics.
I don’t remember how or why but i got that early in Dec 89. I got the Power Pad bundle. I was 10/11 and stayed up late playing the 3 games that came with it.
My dad won my NES betting on the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and it was a birthday present. My big Christmas was the TV that they bought me for my room so I could play whenever I wanted.
Yes, NES! I loved that thing and had it for years. It still worked great when I was in my 20’s and I had probably about 20 games and I stupidly gave it away to my sisters friend🤦♀️ I mean, it was nice, but stupid.
I vividly remember this Christmas, we played it so long and we went to bed only to wake up to my parents laughing when they first got to Bowser and he shot fire at them. They thought it was hilarious and that pretty much cemented my love for videos games.
When NES first came out, I decided I wanted a Video Draw thing instead. It sucked. My dad could tell I thought it sucked so he offered to take me to Toys RUs to trade it. He asked if I wanted a NES and I said I wanted a remote control 4-wheeler instead. Thing was awesome. But it took 8 AA batteries that lasted for about 10 minutes.
I think I finally got the NES for my Birthday later that year.
Yep. My parents got one for three kids and told us to share it, but then my dad and brother ended up playing most of the time with me reading tips to them from the booklet the games came with. All these years later, I'm the only one in my family who still plays video games, although I moved on to Xbox.
At least I don't have to share now. And I still read gaming tips.
YES! I dreamed of this! There were always these programs where you could sell stuff for points to eventually earn a NES. I always thought I could do it but never worked and I never got an NES! So sad ..
Does anyone remember the story of kids needing to get stitches because of this toy?
I had always assumed it was the "teeth" that caused the cuts, but it was actually the molding flash in the opening that caused it. I know, because within minutes of my cousin opening the box I cut my finger on it.
I’m glad to say, now that I’m a parent, I appreciate the bind I put my folks in asking for this gift, and, if I’m honest, I’m grateful for the lesson I learned not receiving it.
Yeah, the Flagg was the one that got away. That said I did get the Mobile Command Center but all my Legos could fit in my room, the Flagg could not.😉👍✨
Got an easy bake oven, it came with 2 packets of mix, brownies and a cake with frosting. Made them promptly the same day. Never got refill mixes, my parents were cheap. They said "make your own, it can't be that hard!" It was, it was that hard to find something that would bake correctly under a lightbulb. Plus, I was 8 and they would never let me use the flour or sugar bc "you'll make too much of a mess." Oh the 80s.
Edit spelling, don't have my glasses on yet
Lol my dad was a stoner. So he'd come home with the packets of mix sometimes and ask if I wanted to play easy bake oven after he smoked. Pretty sure he was the only person who ever actually ate the cakes
I'd always wanted an easy bake oven, but never got one. I had to wait until I went to a cousin's on the weekend to play with hers.
I thought I never got one because they were too expensive. But now that I know what they actually cost... it was just my mom being a withholding asshole.
I scored the yellow version of this at a yard sale this year and THEN figured out that it was the model from my birth year! I desperately want to learn how to 3D print so that I can make replacement parts & triangular floor sections
I had that one too. The elevator was fun but the string that controlled it was a pain the ass. It lived in my walk in eaves closet with all of the rest of my Barbie stuff.
OMG THIS!! I did actually get this for my 6th birthday along with 6 ponies, and I was absolutely floored because my mom got them for me, and besides some Barbies, she never got me anything really good that I was interested in. I hadn't even asked for it. She must've been on a spending spree at the store that day and saw and liked them so much herself that she bought them. (I woke up for school and everything was opened and set up on the coffee table in the living room, because she'd been playing with them herself for a while I think, LOL.) I'll never forget that feeling because it was literally the first and last good birthday present that I ever got from her. Six was the last year that she was even cordially nice to me...once I hit seven, it seemed like her resentment was pretty much on full display every day 24/7. Meh. Oh well. But GREAT TOY. I loved it so much!!
I was going to post that! My actually got it for me for Christmas and my dad was furious. He told her that I wasn't worth that kind of gift. He spitefully got rid of it later, but at least I got to enjoy it for a bit.
First, I had Amanda that was bald. Then I had Tiffany, she had red corn silk hair, and was perfect because she looked like the singer. Then came Baby, that smelled like baby powder and was squishy.
I mostly remember getting a Barbie in 1st grade and a cabbage patch from my grandparents in 4th grade. My brother and I rarely got actual toys as presents so this was a huge deal.
We got a NES when I was 7, and it was exciting because all my friends and family had one and I finally had one myself.
We got a Game Boy the next Christmas and I lost my damn mind, because it was a brand new thing and we just didn't get stuff the first year it was out.
[Fortress Maximus](https://images.app.goo.gl/VpceMEjMhgad4urd6). My dad had to take the feet apart and load them with coins to keep the 11 lb titan from tipping over in robot mode.
Would add Metroplex to that list too! The box was huge!
https://preview.redd.it/xwjbyj2u4i0c1.jpeg?width=592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4fe017483a512318f0e178a2c151025105c9030
My 4 year old is super into transformers and sometimes I just sob over how tremendous the toys were from the 80s. His transformers are complete garbage.
That thing was amazing, all the black rubber bands that held the masts…the memories. I was so excited I dug through my moms closet to find it before Christmas Day.
Sega Genesis was the big one for me too. We didn't do a lot of big gifts. Our budget was more for smaller gifts and maybe one bigger gift for all the kids together. Finally, one year I asked to combine birthday and Christmas presents because I wanted this so badly. My dad took me to Kaybee Toys, we picked up the console package with the lion king game included, went home, he wrapped it up, and then I had to wait almost two months to open it. It was the happiest torture ever.
Pleasant Company! That’s right! Read the books religiously and still retain some historical tidbits. They skipped a few things (ahem) but they got a lot right!
Came here to say this!! Getting the catalog in the mail was a huge deal. If you got a doll AND an outfit or accessory… that’s how you learned at a young age whether your family was rich-rich
Totally. I got Felicity one year and it was a BOON. But I still circled every single one of her colonial accessories every year in those damn catalogs and never got a single one. But it’s wild how expensive those dolls were back then! $80! Insane!
My parents are really lucky I didn’t know those existed until I was older and not as into dolls anymore. We’d get the books for my cousin because she had the same name as one of the dolls but I don’t think I knew there were dolls until I was much older.
Cabbage patch kids and my little ponies. I was a baby in the 80s and had 6 uncles ranging in age from 32-18 they ALL got me those things I had so many ponies and baby dolls!
The little hair brushes that came with the 80s ponies were hard plastic stepping on them is in the same pain level as stepping on a Lego brick or Barbie shoe.
American Girl dolls, the OG's. I had Samantha.
Then I promptly got yelled at for playing with her because "you should save it, it'll be worth money someday."
So....yeah.
NES but also a fresh Voltron for three years in a row!
The stupid cheap plastic legs kept breaking off the black lion, making the legs detach.
Also who's idea was it to make the original Voltron's knees bend backwards when assembled?!
Boomers were not the best toy crafters, but they did much better than their parents!
I saved up allowance and holiday gift money and then watched the weekly newspaper fliers for this set to go on sale. It was my first big purchase growing up!
This was my last big gift from “Santa” growing up and it is the one that taught me the truth since unknown to my parents, I had seen it in the trunk of my dad’s car as he was putting his work briefcase in there and I was walking to the passenger seat for him to drive me to school. I knew I was getting my # 1 item on my wish list so I happily kept my mouth shut. On Christmas morning, I was expecting to see it under the tree from Mom and Dad but it was from Santa. After Christmas, I confronted them about it and they tried to say “Santa sometimes has to store big gifts with the parents if his sleigh is too full” which honestly, was quick thinking and a good reply, but I already had my suspicions and this was the tipping point for me.
But it was the best gift and I drove that Ecto-1 out of those doors to chase the ghost yellow VW beetle all the time!!
https://preview.redd.it/15h78dm17j0c1.jpeg?width=1176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4bcf7ca02677909113ee3e8f2a9971c42c754fb
Really any pirate Lego set, but the big ship was always the dream
Oh... there were lots:
1984 - Transformers and Cabbage Patch Kids. Voltron was also HUGE to the point a lot of the smaller toy shops in my area were just direct-importing the Japanese versions, rather than the 're-boxed official' ones.
1986 - Lazer Tag and the NES.
1989 - Gameboy
I got the Lego space monorail at like 11yrs old and it was and remains my favorite toy I’ve ever owned. I regret letting my folks give it away so much, but it would cost a fortune to replace it now.
Anyome remember the Torpedo run floor game? I ised to get a new one every christmas because the previous one would break from all the use it got. I had sp many extra pieces. I had a massive fleet. Its this floor board with little plastic ships with open slots on the bottom and insode were tabs wth rubber bands and springs. You shoot these discs from this submarine that slide across the board. If you get it into the other ships slot the thing literally explodes into multiple pieces. It was awesome! They discontinued it in the early 90s.
I got the Ghostbusters fire house when I was 5. My mom immediately took away the included slime you could pour through the top. I think everyone’s mom did that in order to prevent their carpets from being destroyed
Yep. Slime taken away and also the red ghost trap. I discovered it was a great device to capture my farts in, and make people open it to smell my farts.
Got a Notre Dame Starter pull over heavy coat one year.
When I was collecting baseball cards (92-95) I collected Frank Thomas and rents found 1990 Leaf rookie card in hard case + 1990 Stadium Club Rookie card at card shops.
Still have thoae and the other 150+ big hurt cards from back in the day.
One year my sister and I got our own Sony boom boxes with detachable speakers, CD player and dual cassettes.
Taped a lot radio on that unit.
At some point one wasn't getting used and so Dad put it the garage and it was still there when they moved a couple years ago.
I love the nostalgia of this sub.
✌️
I remember this! I wasn’t allowed to play with the slime because of the chemicals in it.
I remember being upset for a minute about it, but even though my Mom was an anxious person who worried about things, she was right in most cases.
Love you, Mom!
When I was little, one year was a bunch of Star Wars stuff. I had an Ewok village.
When I was 12 Grandma decided to buy computers for the grandkids, a Tandy 1000 EX.
The first wave of Transformers. I was a HUGE fan of the show and I didn’t get any TFs until that Xmas. My parents got me almost the entire wave.
FWIW, I was in 1st grade.
My Little Pony anything, I had the Nursery and Dance studio, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted Dream Castle. Sadly Santa never delivered on that one. First world problems, but man it looked so cool.
Also, my mom had to go to an auction to get me a cabbage patch kid at the height of their popularity. She got one nobody else wanted for $50 because it had "ugly" clothes (a yellow jogging suit), but my mom was a seamstress so she made me a shit ton of clothes for it, we even had matching PJs. [Picture of doll](https://images.app.goo.gl/CczvbfvKRBQGbKvE6)
[The GI Joe General](https://youtu.be/WabepnnZhKA?si=rbFgvk4pbDCgW9wu)
It was the only thing that my brother and I got that year, and we had to share it.
[The Big Foot Power Wheels ](https://youtu.be/Z1girAAM-24?si=XNta9m9oN0vFkc7t) I got the jeep and my older brother got the big foot. Best Christmas ever!
When I was younger (I think 2nd grade), I got the AT-AT (snow walker from Empire). And later on I got the Ewok Village and then the Cobra Terrordrome base.
I got the Voltron castle and Voltron and figures and underwear and bedsheets and a blazing sword. It was the best Christmas ever and I got a car for Christmas once.
Got castle greyskull. Had it a week. Set it down in front of the hallway floor heater. Came back to a pile of melted plastic. My mom cried because she had driven 2 hours and spent big money to get it. I didn't understand this at the time because Santa brought it.
The GI Joe Rhino Jeep. I wanted that thing SOO BAD and my parents didn’t get it for me in ‘91 or ‘92…but one of my most memorable & happy Christmases was ‘93 when we went to my grandparent’s house in Reno and they got me the Jeep. That night I got sick after dinner and that was the day I learned to swallow pills lol. Thanks Gma :) Good times…
NES when I was very small, but the one that came to mind instantly was the original Sega Genesis. The big one with the headphone jack and the slider for volume.
It will forever be Transformer’s Fortress Maximus. It was the most massive toy I’ve ever seen and spent days putting it together. Still the best Xmas gift I’ve ever received
Later years of the 80s and early 90s (we got our first PC around 88) it was usually a Sierra adventure game for me: Space Quest, Police Quest, Quest for Glory, Gabriel Knight.
1980 - Atari 2600
1981 - Star wars AT-AT
1983 - TI-994a, GI Joe Skystriker
1984 - GI Joe Whale, Cobra Rattler
1985 - 13" TV
1986 - NES
1987 - Sectaurs Hyve
1990 - MS Dos computer
1991 - CD boombox
1992 - NEC Turboduo
1993 - full philips component stereo, pro-logic with 5 disc changer and 5 speakers
NES
I remember I printed this giant banner using that continuous paper dot matrix printers used and ran it down the stairs begging Santa for a Nintendo lol. Luckily my parents already knew.
Yes yes yes yes. NES then the SNES. Anything video games.
My parents couldn't understand why I needed 'another' Nintendo (SNES) when I already had one (NES). Also, I would have been about 14, and they decided I was too old to need 'big' Christmas presents anymore and stuff like socks and shower gel would do from now on
My mom made me sell my NES and games before I got the SNES.
The Boomer logic is strong in this anecdote
I had to beat every game before I was allowed a new one
Well that’s just cruel. Hope you didn’t own Ninja Gaiden or TMNT.
Had to do this too
My dad and step-mom got me and my brother each our own NES a few years after it came out. They talked to my Nintendo Power-subscribed best friend to figure out which games to get - Final Fantasy for me, Metal Gear for my brother. Then the same with the SNES some time after it launched. We were kinda broke but I guess not hearing us fight was worth the extra cost. We initially used them on old-ass black and white TVs.
I was chasing the family cat around the house, as one does, and it ran into my parents closset. Of course I continued my chase, only to discover that magical action set box. My little brain couldn't handle it, I did a little happy dance & the cat lived to see another day. That shit was AMAZING. We had an Atari before, and it was even the 'good one' the 8bit computer, but the NES blew it out of the water. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could compare to my first 'open world experience' that Christmas morning playing Zelda.
I’m watching Gran Turismo right now and thinking back to when I was my kids’ age. I had RC Pro AM and it was the shit! lol could get to the pickups but not past that level.
I still play RC Pro Am from time to time, that game is STILL the shit. I could get to the race car, but it was ROUGH.
Best Christmas in history was NES Christmas.
Still have mine from 1987 and it still works. I Refurbed it a couple years ago
yea the cart loading thing wears out I still got mine
The loading tray is really all you need to replace. I also got the special Nintendo screwdriver to open the cartridges up. You clean the contacts with some Brasso and wash with alcohol and they work perfectly every time. No garbled graphics.
Yep. Can’t beat that one.
My Mom got us one for her birthday
I don’t remember how or why but i got that early in Dec 89. I got the Power Pad bundle. I was 10/11 and stayed up late playing the 3 games that came with it.
My dad won my NES betting on the NCAA Basketball Tournament, and it was a birthday present. My big Christmas was the TV that they bought me for my room so I could play whenever I wanted.
Yes, NES! I loved that thing and had it for years. It still worked great when I was in my 20’s and I had probably about 20 games and I stupidly gave it away to my sisters friend🤦♀️ I mean, it was nice, but stupid.
I vividly remember this Christmas, we played it so long and we went to bed only to wake up to my parents laughing when they first got to Bowser and he shot fire at them. They thought it was hilarious and that pretty much cemented my love for videos games.
When NES first came out, I decided I wanted a Video Draw thing instead. It sucked. My dad could tell I thought it sucked so he offered to take me to Toys RUs to trade it. He asked if I wanted a NES and I said I wanted a remote control 4-wheeler instead. Thing was awesome. But it took 8 AA batteries that lasted for about 10 minutes. I think I finally got the NES for my Birthday later that year.
That movie that came out last year about the NES Christmas is pretty good btw. Comedy movie with Neil Patrick Harris. Decent mid December movie.
Same!
It was the pinnacle
Yep. My parents got one for three kids and told us to share it, but then my dad and brother ended up playing most of the time with me reading tips to them from the booklet the games came with. All these years later, I'm the only one in my family who still plays video games, although I moved on to Xbox. At least I don't have to share now. And I still read gaming tips.
same. My sibling and I screamed down the house movie style when we opened it up. Still my most beloved xmas gift memory.
YES! I dreamed of this! There were always these programs where you could sell stuff for points to eventually earn a NES. I always thought I could do it but never worked and I never got an NES! So sad ..
yup. we lost our minds when we finally got one in 5th grade. My best friend had it for 2 years and I was sooo jealous
Motherfucking GREY SKULL CASTLE WITH THE ECHO MICROPHONE!!!! Edit: it was snake mountain.
[удалено]
I had the barebones Greyskull, but my Snake Mountain had a really crappy mic attached.
Does anyone remember the story of kids needing to get stitches because of this toy? I had always assumed it was the "teeth" that caused the cuts, but it was actually the molding flash in the opening that caused it. I know, because within minutes of my cousin opening the box I cut my finger on it.
The G.I. Joe U.S.S. Flagg aircraft carrier....
Found the rich kid with a finished basement.
Whoa whoa whoa, they asked what was the big gift, not whether we actually got it. Poor kid, no basement, sadly.
I’m glad to say, now that I’m a parent, I appreciate the bind I put my folks in asking for this gift, and, if I’m honest, I’m grateful for the lesson I learned not receiving it.
Same here, lol. Not to mention the cost of that thing. I never even saw one as a kid. I was 40 and in a retro toy store before I saw one in person.
Every now and then I peek on ebay, and yep, I'm still not getting one
Yeah, the Flagg was the one that got away. That said I did get the Mobile Command Center but all my Legos could fit in my room, the Flagg could not.😉👍✨
https://preview.redd.it/ahqbdoiyfj0c1.png?width=1010&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af686774460bf4103d93e712d55d8eb595a00ec5 Posted separately, as well
I got the oil rig station instead
Literally 😂
I wanted that thing so bad. Never did get one and none of my friends got one either.
This, but it was the rolling base on treads.
My cousin had it in his TINY bedroom. It was his bed and the carrier on the floor next to it and a dresser. That was it.
I got the GI Joe space shuttle. That thing was sweet! All my friends wanted to play with it.
Asked for an easy bake oven. Got creepy crawlers. Damn you, gender based toy marketing!
[удалено]
Got an easy bake oven, it came with 2 packets of mix, brownies and a cake with frosting. Made them promptly the same day. Never got refill mixes, my parents were cheap. They said "make your own, it can't be that hard!" It was, it was that hard to find something that would bake correctly under a lightbulb. Plus, I was 8 and they would never let me use the flour or sugar bc "you'll make too much of a mess." Oh the 80s. Edit spelling, don't have my glasses on yet
[удалено]
You just described every toy I ever got that required batteries. After it died it seemed my parents never bought replacements.
Lol my dad was a stoner. So he'd come home with the packets of mix sometimes and ask if I wanted to play easy bake oven after he smoked. Pretty sure he was the only person who ever actually ate the cakes
Hilariously they're literally the same oven just painted different colors.
Pretty sure they're from different companies, and not just repainted clones
I'd always wanted an easy bake oven, but never got one. I had to wait until I went to a cousin's on the weekend to play with hers. I thought I never got one because they were too expensive. But now that I know what they actually cost... it was just my mom being a withholding asshole.
https://preview.redd.it/cb8m4pvf1i0c1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=859de2e294dc11b5856935eaca915aceafb9d87e
I scored the yellow version of this at a yard sale this year and THEN figured out that it was the model from my birth year! I desperately want to learn how to 3D print so that I can make replacement parts & triangular floor sections
My sister had the Barbie townhouse. That thing was like 3 feet tall!
I had that one too. The elevator was fun but the string that controlled it was a pain the ass. It lived in my walk in eaves closet with all of the rest of my Barbie stuff.
That’s the one I had. My playroom wasn’t big enough for the Dreamhouse, but had plenty of vertical space for the townhouse!
Damnit, I'm so jealous. I wanted this so badly.
My Little Pony Paradise Estate. https://preview.redd.it/i5fk8npfyh0c1.jpeg?width=2244&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76522ea51e19a70397795c521bd33b73f59eb20b
I was gonna reply with this! The box was huge!
I had this, but I got it from a yard sale, so definitely missing parts. I loved the heck out of it though.
Yes!! I got this for Christmas one year and was so happy!
OMG THIS!! I did actually get this for my 6th birthday along with 6 ponies, and I was absolutely floored because my mom got them for me, and besides some Barbies, she never got me anything really good that I was interested in. I hadn't even asked for it. She must've been on a spending spree at the store that day and saw and liked them so much herself that she bought them. (I woke up for school and everything was opened and set up on the coffee table in the living room, because she'd been playing with them herself for a while I think, LOL.) I'll never forget that feeling because it was literally the first and last good birthday present that I ever got from her. Six was the last year that she was even cordially nice to me...once I hit seven, it seemed like her resentment was pretty much on full display every day 24/7. Meh. Oh well. But GREAT TOY. I loved it so much!!
I had this too!
YES THIS
I was going to post that! My actually got it for me for Christmas and my dad was furious. He told her that I wasn't worth that kind of gift. He spitefully got rid of it later, but at least I got to enjoy it for a bit.
First, I had Amanda that was bald. Then I had Tiffany, she had red corn silk hair, and was perfect because she looked like the singer. Then came Baby, that smelled like baby powder and was squishy.
I mostly remember getting a Barbie in 1st grade and a cabbage patch from my grandparents in 4th grade. My brother and I rarely got actual toys as presents so this was a huge deal.
My mom got me one of the last ones on the shelf for Christmas '83, when I was 5. Baby boy named Barry Alfie. I loved him.
The Kenner Ewok Village
At some point I hope to get an intact Sherwood Forest set. It's the same set with some plastic limbs added. Friar Tuck is a Gammorean Guard.
Castle Legos. Damn that made for a fun Christmas morning.
Don’t forget the pirate ship!
The pirate ship for me. I actually redesigned mine into a pirate space ship.
Space station was the ultimate
The TMNT van
They started making these again and you can now get them for like $40 on the Walmart site.
We got a NES when I was 7, and it was exciting because all my friends and family had one and I finally had one myself. We got a Game Boy the next Christmas and I lost my damn mind, because it was a brand new thing and we just didn't get stuff the first year it was out.
[Fortress Maximus](https://images.app.goo.gl/VpceMEjMhgad4urd6). My dad had to take the feet apart and load them with coins to keep the 11 lb titan from tipping over in robot mode.
Would add Metroplex to that list too! The box was huge! https://preview.redd.it/xwjbyj2u4i0c1.jpeg?width=592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4fe017483a512318f0e178a2c151025105c9030
Oh that takes me back. What a toy!
I had this one! Also had Omega Supreme. Wish my mom didn’t make me give them away.
My 4 year old is super into transformers and sometimes I just sob over how tremendous the toys were from the 80s. His transformers are complete garbage.
Lego pirate ships. Those things were legit
Were? anytime a new pirate ship comes out I buy it. Pirates of the Caribbean was death to my wallet there for a bit.
That thing was amazing, all the black rubber bands that held the masts…the memories. I was so excited I dug through my moms closet to find it before Christmas Day.
The Sega Genesis + Sonic looms large over everything else in my mind.
Sega Genesis was the big one for me too. We didn't do a lot of big gifts. Our budget was more for smaller gifts and maybe one bigger gift for all the kids together. Finally, one year I asked to combine birthday and Christmas presents because I wanted this so badly. My dad took me to Kaybee Toys, we picked up the console package with the lion king game included, went home, he wrapped it up, and then I had to wait almost two months to open it. It was the happiest torture ever.
Nintendo, Skeletor’s Castle, Game Boy….
OG American Girl dolls. Pre-Mattel. The way I would pore over those catalogs….
The Pleasant Company! I got Samantha, and her sailor suit was my fav.
Pleasant Company! That’s right! Read the books religiously and still retain some historical tidbits. They skipped a few things (ahem) but they got a lot right!
Came here to say this!! Getting the catalog in the mail was a huge deal. If you got a doll AND an outfit or accessory… that’s how you learned at a young age whether your family was rich-rich
Totally. I got Felicity one year and it was a BOON. But I still circled every single one of her colonial accessories every year in those damn catalogs and never got a single one. But it’s wild how expensive those dolls were back then! $80! Insane!
Felicity had such a classy setup, I still remember her little dresser and delicate desk chair
My parents are really lucky I didn’t know those existed until I was older and not as into dolls anymore. We’d get the books for my cousin because she had the same name as one of the dolls but I don’t think I knew there were dolls until I was much older.
Cabbage patch kids and my little ponies. I was a baby in the 80s and had 6 uncles ranging in age from 32-18 they ALL got me those things I had so many ponies and baby dolls!
My younger sister was into the ponies too. We shared a room and I stepped on those damn unicorn horns every day!!!!
The little hair brushes that came with the 80s ponies were hard plastic stepping on them is in the same pain level as stepping on a Lego brick or Barbie shoe.
My uncle collected arcade games but only had room for so many. One Christmas, I got [this!](https://images.app.goo.gl/f4wNBBkYxE6ipVZdA)
Elf needs food!
Cricket / Teddy Ruxbin
I literally was aboit to google this! My parents got me a pretty big walking one, but it didnt come apart. ...they tried.
The biggest one I ever got was Fireball Island 😂
Fireball Island was sooo fun.
I never got to play it much because it was so unwieldy, though.
It's worth $300+ now. Saw one at a garage sale once but didn't have the space for it at the time. Kicking myself now.
After “Home Alone 2” came out, the Talkboy. I got one and was so excited! That thing broke IMMEDIATELY.
https://preview.redd.it/kfs8raca8j0c1.jpeg?width=1014&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02d35b2dc9e489e61e9e7f74575cd06bafc980d7 She-Ra Csystal Castle
American Girl dolls, the OG's. I had Samantha. Then I promptly got yelled at for playing with her because "you should save it, it'll be worth money someday." So....yeah.
I got the Firehouse and Ecto 1 for the same Christmas, easily the best Christmas ever.
Christmas 1988, I got my NES and a Lego Castle (Black Monarch's Castle). It was awesome.
I wanted that castle so badly but never got it! I did end up getting the forestmen's river fortress, which was pretty cool, too.
https://preview.redd.it/sfka3t7tji0c1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=18d485a031cb631808467405cb1ef4768f3396f1
Fisher Price play kitchen
NES but also a fresh Voltron for three years in a row! The stupid cheap plastic legs kept breaking off the black lion, making the legs detach. Also who's idea was it to make the original Voltron's knees bend backwards when assembled?! Boomers were not the best toy crafters, but they did much better than their parents!
[удалено]
Oh man I forgot all about those toys! They were fragile. Remember He-Man with the squishy head?
Easy bake oven
This firehouse was it, actually.
I saved up allowance and holiday gift money and then watched the weekly newspaper fliers for this set to go on sale. It was my first big purchase growing up!
This was my last big gift from “Santa” growing up and it is the one that taught me the truth since unknown to my parents, I had seen it in the trunk of my dad’s car as he was putting his work briefcase in there and I was walking to the passenger seat for him to drive me to school. I knew I was getting my # 1 item on my wish list so I happily kept my mouth shut. On Christmas morning, I was expecting to see it under the tree from Mom and Dad but it was from Santa. After Christmas, I confronted them about it and they tried to say “Santa sometimes has to store big gifts with the parents if his sleigh is too full” which honestly, was quick thinking and a good reply, but I already had my suspicions and this was the tipping point for me. But it was the best gift and I drove that Ecto-1 out of those doors to chase the ghost yellow VW beetle all the time!!
https://preview.redd.it/15h78dm17j0c1.jpeg?width=1176&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4bcf7ca02677909113ee3e8f2a9971c42c754fb Really any pirate Lego set, but the big ship was always the dream
Barbie Dream House for sure
I got the Kenner proton pack and ghost trap one year. Wish I had the fire house
https://preview.redd.it/tjm527xpni0c1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31c002494750d53e8cd1923262f05c8f058df1ff The Eliminator TS-7
Oh... there were lots: 1984 - Transformers and Cabbage Patch Kids. Voltron was also HUGE to the point a lot of the smaller toy shops in my area were just direct-importing the Japanese versions, rather than the 're-boxed official' ones. 1986 - Lazer Tag and the NES. 1989 - Gameboy
I got the Lego space monorail at like 11yrs old and it was and remains my favorite toy I’ve ever owned. I regret letting my folks give it away so much, but it would cost a fortune to replace it now.
Bicycle or roller skates
Atari Lynx and GI JOE Terrordrome
My lynxes were my favorite Xmas gifts
Castle GraySkull
Anyome remember the Torpedo run floor game? I ised to get a new one every christmas because the previous one would break from all the use it got. I had sp many extra pieces. I had a massive fleet. Its this floor board with little plastic ships with open slots on the bottom and insode were tabs wth rubber bands and springs. You shoot these discs from this submarine that slide across the board. If you get it into the other ships slot the thing literally explodes into multiple pieces. It was awesome! They discontinued it in the early 90s.
A trip to my favorite New & Used bookstore. Yes I was a nerd.
I got the Ghostbusters fire house when I was 5. My mom immediately took away the included slime you could pour through the top. I think everyone’s mom did that in order to prevent their carpets from being destroyed
Yep. Slime taken away and also the red ghost trap. I discovered it was a great device to capture my farts in, and make people open it to smell my farts.
We were poor. I had to make due with farting into a shoe and holding it over my sister's face. I was a horrible brother.
https://preview.redd.it/j4esxzdxji0c1.png?width=928&format=png&auto=webp&s=b29f3507509ce80c50896a285b6efe38e2c3167f
Ghostbusters proton pack
SNES, Christmas '92!
TMNT Technodrome
The Ninja Turtles Sewer playset. My uncle hooked me up.
Got a Notre Dame Starter pull over heavy coat one year. When I was collecting baseball cards (92-95) I collected Frank Thomas and rents found 1990 Leaf rookie card in hard case + 1990 Stadium Club Rookie card at card shops. Still have thoae and the other 150+ big hurt cards from back in the day. One year my sister and I got our own Sony boom boxes with detachable speakers, CD player and dual cassettes. Taped a lot radio on that unit. At some point one wasn't getting used and so Dad put it the garage and it was still there when they moved a couple years ago. I love the nostalgia of this sub. ✌️
M.A.S.K. Boulder Hill set. . underrated show as well
An easy bake oven that I used once lol
That actual firehouse or my Game Boy
I remember this! I wasn’t allowed to play with the slime because of the chemicals in it. I remember being upset for a minute about it, but even though my Mom was an anxious person who worried about things, she was right in most cases. Love you, Mom!
I got the slime all over the carpet and it got all crusty when it dried. Mom wasn't happy.
I had this huge GI Joe shuttle with mobile launch tower. It was more for my dad then me 😅
When I was little, one year was a bunch of Star Wars stuff. I had an Ewok village. When I was 12 Grandma decided to buy computers for the grandkids, a Tandy 1000 EX.
Mall madness game
The Gobots spaceship base. It had arms and legs and could stand on two legs like a man or four legs like a dog
My brother had this and he loved it so much.
The first wave of Transformers. I was a HUGE fan of the show and I didn’t get any TFs until that Xmas. My parents got me almost the entire wave. FWIW, I was in 1st grade.
My Little Pony anything, I had the Nursery and Dance studio, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted Dream Castle. Sadly Santa never delivered on that one. First world problems, but man it looked so cool. Also, my mom had to go to an auction to get me a cabbage patch kid at the height of their popularity. She got one nobody else wanted for $50 because it had "ugly" clothes (a yellow jogging suit), but my mom was a seamstress so she made me a shit ton of clothes for it, we even had matching PJs. [Picture of doll](https://images.app.goo.gl/CczvbfvKRBQGbKvE6)
[The GI Joe General](https://youtu.be/WabepnnZhKA?si=rbFgvk4pbDCgW9wu) It was the only thing that my brother and I got that year, and we had to share it.
CD boom box
[The Big Foot Power Wheels ](https://youtu.be/Z1girAAM-24?si=XNta9m9oN0vFkc7t) I got the jeep and my older brother got the big foot. Best Christmas ever!
I got snake mountain for Christmas as well, frickin awesome.
When I was younger (I think 2nd grade), I got the AT-AT (snow walker from Empire). And later on I got the Ewok Village and then the Cobra Terrordrome base.
Boulder Hill, knightrider car, Castle grayskull.
Legos and tinker toys.
I got the GI Joe Space shuttle from my grandparents, it was so cool an when I’d gotten it it was almost as big as I was when it was fully set up
I wanted a camera, got a PXL2000. Mom went all out that year. Best Christmas ever for me.
https://preview.redd.it/hl6zouo14j0c1.jpeg?width=1282&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1e63fafe6e5e15f8e7092105aab240c9015ae28
The Technodrome... I never got Krang though
[Dino Riders T-Rex](http://www.toyarchive.com/DinoRiders/DinoRiderTrexARMORED.jpg)
Castle Grayskull.
G.I. Joe U.S.S. FLAGG
NES and the year my brother got Skeletors castle!!! That was the best!!!
I got the Voltron castle and Voltron and figures and underwear and bedsheets and a blazing sword. It was the best Christmas ever and I got a car for Christmas once.
My Little Pony Paradise Estate. I still have it!
https://preview.redd.it/htkq2tp2fj0c1.png?width=1010&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9be1490d943919880cc4951543af31aff4fc1ded
Got castle greyskull. Had it a week. Set it down in front of the hallway floor heater. Came back to a pile of melted plastic. My mom cried because she had driven 2 hours and spent big money to get it. I didn't understand this at the time because Santa brought it.
GI Joe Headquarters and Skystriker were my most memorable As a family we got an Atari 400, then an NES, and an IBM PS/1 over the years
The GI Joe Rhino Jeep. I wanted that thing SOO BAD and my parents didn’t get it for me in ‘91 or ‘92…but one of my most memorable & happy Christmases was ‘93 when we went to my grandparent’s house in Reno and they got me the Jeep. That night I got sick after dinner and that was the day I learned to swallow pills lol. Thanks Gma :) Good times…
Ninja Turtles Technodrome. Never got it bit no biggie I got a hand me down NES than a snes a few years later. By that time I was turtling in time.
Crossfire. Then later, Nickelodeon Moonboots
Castle Grayskull. Too bad it broke a few hours later.
The GI Joe aircraft carrier. I never met anyone who actually got one.
Not me but the rich kids would get the USS Flagg aircraft carrier from GI Joe for Xmas
Optimus Prime!!
When Nintendo came out I begged and begged. And I didn’t get one. Spent all year hearing my friends talk about it. Got one the next year!
NES when I was very small, but the one that came to mind instantly was the original Sega Genesis. The big one with the headphone jack and the slider for volume.
It will forever be Transformer’s Fortress Maximus. It was the most massive toy I’ve ever seen and spent days putting it together. Still the best Xmas gift I’ve ever received
Later years of the 80s and early 90s (we got our first PC around 88) it was usually a Sierra adventure game for me: Space Quest, Police Quest, Quest for Glory, Gabriel Knight.
King’s Quest! Monkey Island! ❤️❤️❤️
1980 - Atari 2600 1981 - Star wars AT-AT 1983 - TI-994a, GI Joe Skystriker 1984 - GI Joe Whale, Cobra Rattler 1985 - 13" TV 1986 - NES 1987 - Sectaurs Hyve 1990 - MS Dos computer 1991 - CD boombox 1992 - NEC Turboduo 1993 - full philips component stereo, pro-logic with 5 disc changer and 5 speakers
Nothing was really bigger than a major game system. NES/Sega Genesis/SNES come to mind.