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 Let’s
take a brief look at what was the most popular Christmas toys for
kids over the past 100 years, you might be surprised what you
remember……..
1924 Christmas morning in 1924, was
on a Thursday and Calvin Coolidge was president making about
$2,200.00 a year. The year before President Coolidge had the
privilege of lighting the first national 64-foot fir Christmas tree
at the White House. The average home cost was about $7,000 and the
biggest entertainment was the radio that invaded most American’s
homes. The “Macy’s Christmas Parade,” or what is known today as the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade had roughly 10,000 people lined up to
see live animals from the Central Park Zoo.
What was the most popular toy this year for youngsters? The Erector
Set with a retail price of $1.00 to $10.00. This toy was conceived
in 1911 by A.C. Gilbert during a train ride from Connecticut to New
York City. Although this set mainly focused on skyscrapers and
buildings, the most alluring part of this set was that it was
motorized on some of its special units within the set.
Another popular 1924 toy for little girls (and Mom’s)
was the Flossie Flirt doll. This doll flirted with her eyes, darted
from side to side, winking and blinking and saying “Mama.” This was
so popular that the newspapers would publish schedules of where and
when dealers would be available. The dolls ranged from 14 to 23
inches high and cost from $1.98 - $4.98.
1945
There are still versions of this toy around today in bright colors
and made from different materials. Slinky has been around for an
exceedingly long time. Richard James, a mechanical engineer, was
trying to build a spring that would steady equipment on a boat and
stumbled onto a prototype spring that “walked” forward instead of
toppling over, hence the beginning of the Slinky. In 1945, Slinky’s
cost $1.00 a piece with over 250 million sold over seven decades.
1965
The price this next item sold for was $.79 each and it started with
New England college students in the 19th century when they would
toss pie plates to one another outside the Frisbie Baking Company.
By the mid-60’s these frisbees were in all the backyards and on
college campuses.
1974
This year’s most popular Christmas toy was the skateboard that
ranged in price between $20.00 and $60.00 and had the popular
urethane wheels which made for a much smoother ride than the earlier
metal wheels from 1958 when people attached roller skate wheels to a
board and called it ‘sidewalk surfing’.
Another interesting event that happened in 1974 was with the film
industry. Many adults and parents like to reserve the holiday season
for more heartwarming oriented films and television programs that
concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas, the art of giving and
how to give back to others. However, back in 74’ many best remember
this year as the first slasher classic ‘Black Christmas’ that
debuted and altered the horror genre culture.
1995
Although not quite as popular, the craze is still around for these
small bead-filled animals with the mid nineties leading to a huge
collector’s frenzy! Beanie Babies could be seen everywhere from
trading at school to large weekend conventions and garage sales.
Even today, some of the most popular Beanies still can go for
thousands of dollars to collectors.
2015
Shopkins are cute, collectible plastic figurines that have grown to
include books, cards, and videos. This line of toys was so popular
that copycat counterfeits were massed produced where police seized
150,000 from an overseas factory. Shopkins Toys were priced anywhere
from $5.00 and up.
2024
If asked, most will say that the holidays are about family, friends,
eating, and gift giving, but secretly or more importantly, gift
receiving! Last year the holiday spending reached $955.6 billion
according to the National Retail Federation’s holiday forecast. And
you guessed it, this year’s forecast is going to surpass that number
by 2.5 to 3.5-percent, putting the retails sales between $979.5 and
$989 billion for 2024.
So with the holiday getting closer every day, and it is expected
that people will be shopping and spending even more this year, you
better get started, because the window is shorter this year. The
time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be a whopping
five days shorter this year, giving only 26 days of shopping!! And
if you need a little extra money for gifts, it is predicted that
retailers will hire between 400,000 and 500,000 seasonal workers
this year, which is down a tad bit from last year’s approximate
509,000 seasonal workers.
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Christmas has definitely evolved over the years. Not
too long ago, it was that one gift that your child wanted and waited
all year for from Santa. It was prized, treasured and taken care of.
Nowadays, adults and parents find themselves having to purchase
gifts for all sorts of reasons. The kids need a gift for the Girl
Scout/Boy Scout party, church Sunday School or youth group party,
Athletic club parties, not to mention the parents’ work gatherings
or secret Santa’s or corporate giving trees in which they receive
gifts for other programs like Angel Trees, or local gift giving
programs like fruit baskets for the elderly. All kids want to take
and get the best present at these parties, and it can put a real
strain on parents, especially if the family is large or have
suffered recent financial setbacks.
All this giving, giving, giving, might start to get to you where you
might get a little ‘Grinchy,’ but just remember, you do not have to
let this get you down. If the cost of all these parties is straining
your budget, talk with your family and set goals for the year such
as a portion of their allowance goes toward the giving fund for
these expected or unexpected parties. Or start early by talking to
teachers or employers and making suggestions on how to give your
time as a group instead of spending money on gifts, or plan ahead
and make homemade gifts such as cookies, brownies and hot chocolate
for kids and jams, candles, or ornaments for adults.
We all know that it’s not the price of the gift that matters, that
it should be the thought that counts. Right or wrong, we all know
that realistically, people do pay attention to the price of gifts
and there are those that judge because of it. Therefore, it is even
more important to take yourself (and your children) out of that kind
of situation and make those suggestions for giving your time and
effort to help others rather than just buying gifts to be buying
gifts. This will truly be the best present ever.
In searching for the most popular gift of 2024, there
wasn’t a simple list. There isn’t just one popular gift of the year
anymore for kids, there are the favorite toddler gifts, the best
outdoor play for kids, the educational value for kids, the
cooperative play for kids, the best solo play for kids, the best
sensory stimulation for kids, the best techy gifts for every age and
even ones for adults and generic adults. Maybe this is why for some
people it is just easier to give a gift card or money.
Regardless of what gift you choose to give, how, when or to whom you
decide to give a gift to, the hope is and always will be to remember
those less fortunate, spread joy and kindness and remember the
reason we are celebrating this year’s season.
[JA Hodgdon-Ruppel]
Sources
A 1960s Christmas, Then and Now -- The Henry Ford Blog - Blog - The
Henry Ford
Christmas in the United States (1946–1964) Facts for Kids
A Glimpse of Christmas 100 Years Ago | MyMerryChristmas
Holiday Gift Crazes and Fads of the Past Century | Stacker
NRF | Steady Sales Growth Expected for 2024 Holiday Season,
According to NRF
Hottest Christmas toys of 2024: Toy expert shares 23 top gift picks
Top Holiday Toys From the Year You Were Born | Stacker
The 36 Most Popular Gifts of 2024
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