Best Christmas Gifts Received as a Kid

[WotAGuy]

I mentioned the Tudor vibrating football game in another thread and it got my reminiscing about toys I got for Christmas as a kid in the 60s. 
 

That football game got a lot of use; I would listen to Bills games on the radio and line the players up according to the Bills game progress. 
 

Another was the Johnny 7 OMA. That thing had every kind of gun you could imagine - rifle, handgun, grenade launcher….it only took about a month to lose all the ammo. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Seven_OMA

 

The rod hockey game was a blast too.  You could develop the coordination to run some specific plays and they would be hard to stop. 
 

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1988448/franklin-rod-hockey.jsp?prdPV=2

 

My wife bought a vintage Rebound game a few years ago, and my grandkids love to play it. 
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256053364130?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=irvPI7KdQ5O&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[US Egg]

Circa ‘74, they couldn’t keep them in stores.

 

…..but don’t call me Larry

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Lasted about a week before the cable snapped.

These two are fondly remembered.  Probably were many more that were more expensive, but absolutely loved these two.  There were working lifts and miniature quart oil cans.

[jayg]

17 minutes ago, US Egg said:

Circa ‘74, they couldn’t keep them in stores.

 

…..but don’t call me Larry

I got one from my Aunt that was still in Hamburg back in the late 70s after we moved to VA. I still have the matching scarf somehow. 

[Logic]

You could actually take a panel off the top and put the action figures inside at the little chess table. And you could open the cockpit and put two figures in there as well.

Receiving this toy was the peak of life. All downhill from there.

Edited November 26 by Logic

[Ned Flanders]

1964, the original GI Joe with WWII accessories. Seem to recall in later years, I also had the British, German, and Japanese Joes.  Also, the Green Beret guy.

 

Electric football, 1968,  Browns vs. Giants.  Sent away for the Bills and Raiders and they took months to arrive.  Same Christmas, Hot Wheels set that included the turbo blaster that shot them out on to the track.

 

1971 table hockey game that we played into the wee hours of the night...metal players that we bent the sticks to give them a curve. 

 

1973ish-Talking Football from Mattel where you put the little records in a player...you choose the offense and your opponent chooses the defense.  Also around that time, Monday Night Football from Aurora, with Roger Staubach on the box.

 

[Sweats]

This one might actually bring a tear to my eye (yes, ole Sweats DOES have a heart).......

 

I grew up poor.......like, i'm talking poor as poor can be and i always knew at Christmas time, my parents slugged hard to earn a little extra cash for Christmas presents for us kids.

The one year when i was a kid, i got an 8-track radio/stereo. Now this is around the time where 8 tracks were being phased out as cassette tapes were flooding the market, so stores couldn't even give their 8 track players away, however, my old man got me this 8-track radio/stereo for Christmas.....and as much as i wanted to tell him that 8 tracks just weren't really a "thing" anymore, i didn't have the heart to tell him cause i know he worked hard to get me a decent present......albeit, an outdated present, but a present nonetheless.

 

I'll never forget it.

[US Egg]

4 minutes ago, Sweats said:

The one year when i was a kid, i got an 8-track radio/stereo. Now this is around the time where 8 tracks were being phased out as cassette tapes were flooding the market, so stores couldn't even give their 8 track players away, however, my old man got me this 8-track radio/stereo for Christmas.....and as much as i wanted to tell him that 8 tracks just weren't really a "thing" anymore, i didn't have the heart to tell him cause i know he worked hard to get me a decent present......albeit, an outdated present, but a present nonetheless.

Talk about irony....

 

 

[LeviF]

My first drum set blew everything else away. I was 9. 

[PastaJoe]

 

Mid 60’s I got the GI Joe Rat Patrol jeep, a few 12” soldiers, and a stack of uniforms.  Also got Captain Action and his Superman and Batman costumes.

 

I still have the jeep and some soldiers, but of course some of the pieces are missing. My son doesn’t want them, so I hope to find a collector who will appreciate them.

 

[Irv]

This thing was awesome.  And dangerous!

 

 

[Johnnycage46]

I got this guy for xmas '85...a definite highlight of my childhood

 

 

 

[Mark80]

Nintendo 64, first release year.

[Ned Flanders]

2 hours ago, US Egg said:

Circa ‘74, they couldn’t keep them in stores.

 

…..but don’t call me Larry

Dang, the Sabres were so fun in those days...hardest ticket in the NHL.

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Mark80 said:

Nintendo 64, first release year.

 

I remember the year we got Pong, and it was the coolest thing in the world! 

 

I also remember a hockey stick behind the tree somewhere most years, an occasional bike and always clothes. It’s funny that nothing really stands out despite my parents going all out for Christmas. Maybe because of this, one year my sister and her family skipped all gifts for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. They took all the money they saved and paid for about half of what it cost them to go to Paris for Christmas. It didn’t pay for the whole trip, but it was a good chunk, especially because that’s not ideal weather so less expensive. They wouldn’t remember the ugly sweater they got, but they all remember Paris! 

[Irv]

1 hour ago, Ned Flanders said:

Dang, the Sabres were so fun in those days...hardest ticket in the NHL.

Leafs might disagree.  

[DrW]

My Maerklin train set. It started when I was 3 with a simple oval and Lego houses. It was expanded every year in the 2-3 weeks before Christmas, until it reached a double oval with working signals and a working catenary - all assembled by my Mom (RIP, Mom). I then bought yards of rail so that we could run trains into every room of the 1,000 sq ft apartment.

[Augie]

Fred Flintsone castle. 

 

That’s not me, but I’m remembering my uncle the fireman coming to visit while I was building mine. That is one of my earliest memories. 

 

.

Edited November 26 by Augie

[BringBackFergy]

https://atari.com/products/atari-2600-plus?srsltid=AfmBOorjclxkLS9RQbnK67L6wBkltYT2me3b6-ZuYCLYjRegruwatzLF

[Augie]

15 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

https://atari.com/products/atari-2600-plus?srsltid=AfmBOorjclxkLS9RQbnK67L6wBkltYT2me3b6-ZuYCLYjRegruwatzLF

 

Cutting edge, I like it. You left my Pong behind.