Part One : Popular Toys by Decade, with Lemax and Dept. 56

Toys....Toys....TOYS

Lemax Collection,
"Toy Palace," #45093

Many of us define our best Christmases by the toys we found under the tree when we were children.  I remember my best Christmas.  I must have been about 4 or 5 years old.  Our bedroom was off the living room, and the tree was outside our door and to the left.  It was dark and it was cold and my brother and I were in the room together, whispering, trying to decide if we could go out.  Finally, my parents tapped on the door, and it was time. We ran around the corner, screaming, heading for the tree and the cache of Christmas toys.  I didn't know it at the time, but I know it now.  It was the best Christmas ever.  A red Flyer wagon!  A sled! A small bike with training wheels! A doll in a high chair!  And there were other packages concealing toys I don't even remember.  A haul.  A haul of everything  a 4 year-old could image possible.

Dept. 56, New England Village,
"Christmas Valley Toys and Dolls," #56677

I also remember my worst Christmas, at least in terms of presents.  I was probably old enough to be in junior high or high school.  Maybe the year was bad for my parents, and they didn't have as much money.  Maybe I had reached an age where they no longer understood me and what I wanted. Maybe I had changed and the old thrill was waning and I didn't even know it.  In any event, I remember a terrible letdown after opening my presents.  There were no surprises.  No fun and interesting new things.  Nothing I could call my best friend about.  An hour or so later I thought I must be missing something.  I went through the short pile again, and the best gift was a white slip.  A slip.  A white slip.  No, I still think it was a disappointing Christmas.  I don't know why, but it was, and still is.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"A New Bike for Christmas," #53409

You may think that, after many decades of living and working, much experience raising children, and a masters in humanities, that I should equate Christmas with something other than presents.  Of course I do now.  But my "memories" are of childhood excitement and joy and expectation and fulfillment, not of profound assumptions and concise logic.  My memories are of rushing and shouting and laughing and playing, not discussing the true values of Christmas.  I was a kid then!

Lemax Collection,
"Kringle's Toy Shop," #65395

So I started thinking: what toys were the most popular Christmas presents in decades past?  And when were some of our favorite and historic toys introduced?  I uncovered some surprises, which I enjoyed.  Hope you do too!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Santa Comes to Town-2007," #55428

I have created a list of the most popular toys produced in every decade from the Victorian Age to the present.  The list was really long, so I am splitting it into two blogs.  In this blog, you will find the toys that children might have received for Christmas from Victorian times through the 1950's.  In several days I will put out a second blog, which I think is even more interesting, about popular toys from the 1960's through the present.

Dept. 56, Alpine Village,
"Spielzeug Laden," #56192

Information about the toys discussed in this blog came from two primary sources:   http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/toys.html and http://www.drtoy.com/toy_history/toy_history_timeline.html.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Noah's Stuffed Animals," #799990

Victorian Times  If you were born with a silver spoon in Victorian England, you might have received Christmas presents from a real toy store like  J.D. Nichols, to the right.  Some of the toys offered:
1. A rocking horse dappled gray, with a mane and tail made from real horse hair
2.  A factory-made train set
3.  A factory-made toy soldiers
4.  A factory-made doll
5.  A Doll houses with toy fruit and vegetables, hats, and medicines inside
6.  A soft toy produced by Gund
7.  A set of Noah's Ark.  (Children were not allowed to play with toys on Sundays in Victorian times, unless the toys had something to do with religion.  Hence, the popularity of Noah's Ark figures, because they represented a story from the Bible and could be played with on the Sabbath.)

Lemax Collection,
"Toy Peddler," #62316

If you were a poor child in Victoria England, you might have received the following Christmas present:
1.  A doll made with clothes pegs
2.  A carved wooden boat
3.  A ball made from rags stuffed with dust.
4.  A  cheap factory-made toy, purchased from a market stall, like the ones shown in the Lemax "Toy Peddler," to the left.

Lemax Collection,
"Boys v. Girls," #74677

On the other hand,  poor and rich alike could play outdoor games, including tug-a-war, shown in the Lemax "Boys v Girls," to the right. Other games:
1.  Marbles
2.  Hoops
3.  Ball games, even football (soccer,) using a blown-up pig's bladder for the ball.
4.  Tiddlywinks, which became a craze in the 1890's!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Lionel Electric Train Shop," #54947

Toys in 1900 To 1920  The early 20th century produced an explosion of marvelous popular toys.  The building of Scottie's Toy Shop, pictured left, has the date 1904.  And here is a blockbuster list of toys that would have been available:
1.  Teddy Bears, 1903, approximately
2.  Erector Set, 1913
3.  Lionel Trains,1900, a big event for model train and miniature village collectors!
4.  Lincoln Logs, created by the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lloyd Wright! 1916
5.  Raggedy Ann
6.  Radio Flyer Wagon
7.  Tinker Toys, 1914
8.  Crayons, 1903
9.  Tin Toys (wind-up toys), early 1900's
10. "Sorry," trademarked in 1929

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Topsy's Toys," #799995

Toys 1920 to 1940-Though the US was in the middle of a recession, a few toys were introduced.
1.  Madame Alexander Dolls, 1929
2. Yo-yo's, 1929
3.  Miniature golf, 1926
4.  Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938
5.  Monopoly, 1934, though there were predecedessors dating from the early 1900's
6.  Baby stacking rings, 1930
7. View Master, 1939

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"LEGO Building Creation Station," #56735 

1940's Through the war years, toy production was specialized and profitable.
1.  Chutes and Ladders Board Game, 1943
2.  Silly putty
3.  Tonka Dump Truck, 1949
4.   Little Goldenbooks, 1942
5.  The Slinky, 1945
6.  Candyland, 1949
7.  Legos, 1949 (plastic interlocking bricks first introduced.)

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Barbie Boutique," #56739

1950's  Just look at this list!
1.  Mr. Potato Head, 1952
2.  Hula Hoop (Started as a bamboo exercise ring in Australia, until Sham-O made it in plastic and introduced it in 1958, as the hula hoop!)
3.  Frisbees, 1957
4.  Ant Farms, 1956
5.  Barbie Dolls, 1959









REMEMBER!  Check back in a few days to find lists of the popular toys, listed by decades and years, from the 1960's through 2010!