Every year, millions of people brave the crowds (especially on Black Friday) in search of the perfect Christmas presents for their loved ones.
While we all have different ideas of what the ideal gift is, if we’re going by what people vote for with their wallets, there are a number of products that really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the Yuletide season. Get ready to take a walk down memory lane and relive your childhood as we take a look at 20 of the most popular Christmas gifts of all time.
1. 1936:
Monopoly, the real-estate board game centered around buying and trading properties, with players aiming to force their opponents into bankruptcy. Don’t lie, you’ve thrown the board across the room at least once during a fit of mid-game rage.
2. 1943:
The Slinky, a spring toy invented by Richard James that can do all kinds of tricks, one of the most notable being “walking” itself down a set of stairs.
3. 1952:
Mr. Potato Head, the first toy to be advertised on television. Invented and developed by George Lerner, over one million kits for the customizable toy were sold in its first year.
4. 1959:
The one and only Barbara Millicent Roberts, created by Ruth Handler. Becoming Mattel’s largest and most profitable line, over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold.
5. 1975:
The Pet Rock. These came packaged in cardboard boxes with straw and breathing holes as if they were live pets. The appeal was that, well, you didn’t really need to do anything for them, making them the “perfect” pets.
6. 1978:
Hungry Hungry Hippos, the game produced by Hasbro that pitted players against each other in a race to see whose hippo could eat the most marbles.
7. 1980:
Rubik’s Cube, the 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. It’s considered to be the world’s best-selling toy, puzzling (pun intended) millions of people in the years since its release.
8. 1983:
Cabbage Patch Kids, the soft-bodied dolls created by Xavier Roberts and originally called “Little People”. They became so popular that they inspired the “Cabbage Patch Riots,” a series of violent customer outbursts at several U.S. retail stores that year.
