What was your favorite Xmas gift when you were a kid?

[Blue-Jay]

I realize that A Christmas Story has made this a cliche, but I was overwhelmed by the BB gun that my older brother bought me one year. I was about 10 years old at the time, and he was 19. He caught all kinds of hell from our Mom, but he bought it for me anyway. It didn't have a compass in the stock or "this thing that tells time", but it could punch a nice hole in a soda can, or shatter a bottle if you hit it just right.

Aside from that, I got many hours of entertainment from the minibike that my Dad bought me the following year. I never even minded the two broken collarbones, the various sprained wrists, or the cracked radius: It was kickass fun!

Note to men: If Mom is scared and disapproving of the gift, you'll be a hero of gift-giving for the rest of your life.

[stinkeefresh]

1. legos.

We grew up on food stamps, and legos cost more than gold, so that meant:

1) two sets a year: xmas and birthday.
2) if we ever dared ask for any other toys -ever- we were told: "you want what? go make it out of legos."

The bonus: incredible problem solving skills, unquenchable creativity.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

23. American Plastic Bricks (late 50's)

Red and white "bricks" that would interlock and came with doors and windows that would swing out and with green cardboard roofs. Could build all kinds of things out of them. Made me think I wanted to become an architect (which I didn't).

[kslib]

2. A Cabbage Patch Kid.

I got one that had glasses. I'd just gotten glasses, and was teased, so I thought it was cool that the coolest toy that year had glasses! Yea!!!

[TlalocW]

3. One Christmas was a Star Wars Xmas

Got a bunch of the ships and a Darth Vader head carrying case for the action figures. That was the most loot Christmas. I think the one that provided the most entertainment was the race track gift my brother and I got - just for the wipe-outs.

Just a few years ago, Mom had some fun and got me a bunch of toys like an electronic cube with 9 buttons on each side that can light up. You push the various buttons to try and find the pattern to turn them all off. She also got me a foam disk gun. That year, the kids got her a lava lamp (she asked for one). She still plugs it in.

TlalocW

[Blue-Jay]

7. I had the Darth Vader head case!

It was full of first-edition figures that I either lost or traded for some magic beans, I don't remember which. :(

[TlalocW]

15. I still have it

As well as all the ships and figures. They're probably not that valuable since they were played with extensively. They're in my garage in some garbage sacks to keep the dust off.

I think they've brought back the Vader and C3PO head cases this Christmas or maybe it was last. I don't go out to the stores much.

TlalocW

[ceile]

4. Coloring Books

BIG, GIANT ones! My mom could never go wrong with those!
Or maybe my Incredible Hulk watch.

[cheezus]

5. Nintendo!

oh wait, I never got that... I just asked for it year after year.

..sigh..

[Dora]

6. The Worst...

I don't remember any favorites but the worst was a Barbie that my mom had picked up at a Goodwill store. One of its legs was broken, and she told me that I could play doctor with it.

The gift I hated the most at the time, but grew to love later, was a hammer. A real hammer that my stepdad bought at the hardware store. I threw a fit, and later he took me aside and told me in no uncertain terms that I was going to learn how to use that hammer, and I'd like it.

To this day I know how to use a hammer, and some day I'm sure I'll give my kid a hammer.

He also gave me for my 25th birthday an oak chest he'd made and filled with hammers, screwdrivers, and other little tools every household needs but no 25-year-old woman thinks of keeping around.



RIP Ray Bob. We all miss you.

[Blue-Jay]

10. Ingrate!

Do you know how rare "Disabled Barbie" is nowadays?

Also, a hammer is an acceptable gift, provided that it's of the dead-blow variety.

[Dora]

18. Explain the acceptability of a hammer

to a seven-year-old girl who was hoping for a real Barbie doll to make up for the busted-up one that mom gave her the year before?

It didn't take me long to appreciate the hammer, but in the moment, boy was I one pissed off little girl.

And I've seen Disabled Barbie - she had some marketing muscle behind her. This Barbie I was given was no Disabled Barbie. This was a "Lucky She Still Has Her Head and Her Eyes Haven't Been Gouged Out With a Pencil" Barbie.

My mother had a problem with Barbie dolls and didn't want me getting sucked into the dream. She tried giving me every kind of doll except a Barbie, but finally caved by my 8th birthday. I think she realized that if I could accept and appreciate a hammer over time, then I could possibly avoid the character damage that boobylicious Barbies could cause.

I will probably give my kids broken Barbies too. (Dammit Mom!)

[MikeG]

8. Table Hockey.

[JohnKleeb]

9. I wasn't a kid really but I got the PS2 when I was umm 13

[Blue-Jay]

11. What? Last year?

hee hee hee hee

[JohnKleeb]

14. oh shut up

I could legally drink in Germany last winter.

[Xipe Totec]

12. Believe it or not, a Mattel IBM360 toy computer

complete with punch cards and dot matrix display. Could answer any question printed on a punch card with a Y, N, or single digit answer.

Of course, the questions were written in English and the answers were punched into the cards.

[China_cat]

13. I got a chemistry set

It was such fun making things go boom.

[TX-RAT]

16. Bounty Hunter belt and winchester

Also had Paladin Belt buckle

[donheld]

17. I loved electric trains

[Sporadicus]

19. Vac-U-Form (by Mattel)

I spent countless hours fabricating cars, boats & planes with this toy, which heated plastic until it was very soft and pliable. The plastic was flipped off the heater onto a mold and a small vacuum pump pulled the plastic over the mold. After it cooled the plastic could be cut out and assembled into toys. As you can see from the box the heating element and partially melted plastic are not protected. I burnt the dog-piss out of myself a few times with it, but I loved it so much that I just chalked it up to 'occupational hazard.'

[DawgHouse]

20. Easy Bake Oven

I loved my Easy Bake Oven. It's only as I got older that I realized what a saint my Daddy was for eating all that "delicious" food I prepared for him during the day and presented to him when he got home from work.

[Nicole]

21. Chatty Cathy

Loved that doll!

[maveric]

22. "Thingmaker" for making Creepy Crawlers.

Its a small hotplate like cooker where you fill these metal molds up with Goop and it bakes little bug-like rubber things.
Lots of fun and vicious burns.

[Kahuna]

24. At 10 or 11... A mohair sweater and go go boots..

:D They were all the rage. And I just had to have them....or else, Mom and Dad. }(

[gollygee]

25. Atari 2600

I loved that thing.

So I just bought myself a Game Cube the other day :)