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First
up, from You Tube, a medley of toy ads from the 1970s: Links in this article are to Real Player clips Slinky
Undoubtedly, one toy you'd find under the Christmas Tree of anyone who grew up in the 1960s and '70s was the Slinky, a continuous ring of metal (now plastic) that decended stairs on it's own inertia. (I feel sorry for anyone who didn't have stairs in their home - that was most the fun of the toy.) The
toy originated in 1945 as a hot Christmas novelty available only at
Gimbel's Department Store - but sales for "The Original Walking
Spring Toy" took off in the early-1960s with
a TV campaign and one of the most memorable jingles of all time: By the early-seventies, the Slinky line included Slinky Cater-pullers, Slinky Dog and other Slinky variants. Slinky is still produced and will be found under many Christmas Trees this year. BATTLESHIP
Another veberable game - Battleship has been found under Christmas trees for 4 decades or more. Suzy
Homemaker
Every Christmas there's a hot toy that kids clamor for and parents
suffer mightily to get. Back in the early-sixties, the Suzy Homemaker doll from Topper Toys was one of those hot holiday items. The doll didn't incite riots, fist fights or high-priced auctions but it was so popular that, forty years later, you'll hear someone referred to as a "Suzy Homemaker." Toy maker Topper's Suzy was a fairly realistic looking doll that stood a full 22 inches, clad in practical dresses, with accessories galore like ovens (that really cooked cakes like the EZ Bake does), refrigerators, irons, washing machines, beauty salons - everything a woman could want. For the modern, liberated female Suzy became an object of derision; an anachronistic take on women's roles that was harmful to impressionable little girls. Although I don't remember this specific argument being made, the point was that G. I. Joe could stay home to cook and clean while Suzy Homemaker could go off and fight the insurgents in Viet Nam. (Suzy was a few inches taller than Joe so maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.) The Deluxe Reading company took over the franchise for a while before the Suzy Homemaker doll fell out of favor in the early-seventies and the line was discontinued.
Evel
Knievel Crash Car
 A
popular toy for boys in 1973 was the Evel
Knievel Stunt Cycle. The legendary stuntman came with
a car that, on impact with a wall or rocks, could break apart to release
Knievel to ride away unscathed. Bet you won't find too many of those
in mint condition! Knievel himself was involved in the toy's development but didn't get all the features he hoped for in the final product. "One toy I'd like them to make is my own idea," Knievel explained at the time. "I think it's the most super toy in the world. You wind it up, it goes like a little bugger, goes across the floor, grabs this little Barbie doll, throws her on the floor, gives her a little lovin', jumps back on the motorcycle and goes whizzing out the door screaming, 'G.I. Joe is a faggot!'" The
Micronauts line of toys from Meco in 1976 was a lot like
the massively popular Transformers, except the Micronauts came first.
They were futuristic robots and vehicles with interchangeable parts
that allowed for kids to customise their experience. The basic storyline
provided had Space Glider and Bio-Tron battling Baron Karza with the
help of their Hydro Copter, Galactic Cruiser and other pull-apart
coneyances.
Not as popular as the Transformers would become; but Transformers was a toy line based on a cartoon and all the Micronauts had was a pretty darn good comic book from Marvel. THE
G. I. JOE ADVENTURE TEAM
In the early-1970s, with a backlash against the war, Hasbro reimagined G.I. Joe as an action adventure hero. It worked, this line of accessories was very hot with kids of the day.
Batman's
Wayne Foundation
Example of the crappy kind of dolls that were produced in the 1970s by Meco. You know the kind - so poorly produced you could barely imagine who the doll was supposed to represent. Meco had a huge line of toys that included both DC and Marvel characters with ill-fitting outfits that looked like they were produced for 29 cents an hour by child laborers in some sad, far-off land. NEIMAN
MARCUS
CHRISTMAS CATALOG: Every year this high end department store releases number of items that costs a fortune - one year they had a full sized replica of the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars. Other items: a $20,000 custom-fitted suit of armor, a $10,000 mermaid suit and a $65,000 tricycle with a 330-horsepower V8 Chevy engine, two bucket racing seats a stereo system. For more than 80 years, the arrival of The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book marks the official start of the holiday season for a certain segment of the population. CHRISTMAS
CARDS
If someone sends you a card you have to send them one. Don't you just hate those people that time their cards to arrive on Christmas Eve? SANTA
& MAMA CLAUS:
They represented the perfect idea of grandparents - they were loving, old, generous and lived far, far away. CHRISTMAS
CAROLERS: If you think about it, Christmas and Halloween are the only times of the year when Americans put away their guns and allow strangers to walk up to their front porch - as long as they're singing or properly dressed. THE
CABBAGE PATCH
KID TOY CRAZE: Every season in the 1980s there was some new toy that the stores couldn't keep on the shelves. People were bribing Toy R Us employees. Somehow all the kids that wanted them got them, I'm guessing. After
a month of steady preparation, Christmas Day finally arrives. Presents
are torn open, families reunite and the whole bloody ordeal is over
before you know it. All that's left is paying
for everything you bought.
What was the present you wanted most for Christmas when you were a kid? Let us know! |
Isn't an elf just a very cold fairy? We
use: TVparty
Christmas Specials:
Classic Christmas Episodes Carpenters' Christmas Specials Unforgettable
Television Hot
Christmas Toys Billy
Mumy's Fantastic The Lost Lucy/Desi Holiday Special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
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