Part Two: Popular Toys by Decade, from 1960-2010, with Buildings from Dept. 56 and Lemax

(If you haven't seen Part One:  Popular Toys, please scroll down to the Archive.  Click on September.  A new screen will come up, and you have to scroll down to the archive again.  There is a list of articles from September, including Part One on toys.  It chronicles some of the favorite toys from Victoria Times through 1950.)

This blog continues, with popular toys from the 1960's through 2010.  Enjoy!

Dept. 56, North Pole Series,
"North Pole Board Games Factory," p. 389

1960's  This decade sees a continuation of board games and dolls, with just the beginnings of some electronic toys, some manufactured at the "North Pole Board Games Factory!"

1.  Easy Bake Oven-a happy homemaker   image for girls!, 1963
2.  Operation, a board game with a simple     electronic buzzer, 1965
3.  Etch-a-Sketch, 1960
4.  Twister, 1966
5.  GI Joe, dealing with the Vietnam War,  1964
6.  Life, the board game, 1960.  This actually was a game based on a similar one produced exactly 100 years earlier, called The Checkered Game of Life.  It spawned a book called The Game of life:  How to succeed in Real Life No Matter Where You Land.

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Hot Wheels Custom Car Shop,"  #56784

7.  Hot Wheels, 1967.  Introduced by Mattel in 1968 as a competitor to Matchbox, until Mattel acquired Matchbox in 1996.  The original die-cast cars were about 1:64 scale.  Roughly 10,000 or more different models of Hot Wheel Cars have been produced over the years.  Car makers such as GM, Ford, Chrysler, Ferrari, Mazda, and Toyota have al authorizedHot Wheels to make scale models of their cars.
8.  Ray Guns  Inspired by 1960's science fiction, these guns beeped, whizzed and banged.  They were given in love by parents who wanted to inspire the imagination of their children, then hidden when the kids actually used them to torment their sibs.
(http://santamail.com/1960s/toy4-Ray-Gun.htm and
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/toys.html)

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Marie's Doll Museum," #56408

1970's
1.  Cabbage Patch Kids, first created by art student Xavier Roberts, that was introduced in 1978, but became a craze in the 1980's. Parents scrambled to find them in time for Christmas, year after year, unfathomably.  Some found them at the shop at Marie's Doll Museum.
2.  Rubik's Cube, 1974
3.  Pong, from Atari, introduced into arcades in 1972 and homes in 1975.
4.  Star Wars Action Figures, first sold in 1977, inspired by the Star Wars franchise.
5. Battlestar Galactica Figures, based on the 1970's TV show.

Dept. 56, New England Village,
"Anne Shaw Toys," #59390

6. My Baby Beth, topped many Christmas wish-lists, 1978. Parents loved browsing at Anne Shaw Toys for dolls.
7.  Slime, 1976.
8.  Skateboards, 1972, an orthopedist's dream.
9.  Nerf toys, 1990, finally, kids could have a ball indoors.
10.  Pet Rock, 1975.
(http://yellowmagpie.com/about-1970s-toys-still-popular-to-this-day/ & http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/toys.html)

Lemax Collectibles,
"Toy Emportium," #95825

1980's
1.  Care Bears, 1983.  Originally Care Bears was introduced by American Greetings for greeting cards, based on the original artwork by Elena Kucharik. The Toy Emporium had a good selection.
2.  Masters of the Universe, 1981.  The franchise has launched 6 lines of action figures, 4 animated tv series, comic series, and a film. (Source: Wikipedia.)
3.  My Little Pony, 1982 and 3, including Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus, Sea, Rainbow, So-Soft, and Brush n'Glow Ponies, Pony Friends, and Baby Ponies.  Oh, I loved these, and bought so many for my girls.
4. Pound Puppies, released in 1985 in the US by Tonka.  One poll found that 98% of mothers were aware of the brand! Over 5 years the toys generated $300 million in 35 countries. (Source:  Wikipedia and http://askville.amazon.com/pound-puppies/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=12259934)

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Arctic Game Station," #56779

5.  Nintendo Game Boy, 1989.  Upon its release, it sold its entire shipment of one million units within weeks. (Source:  Wikipedia.) Parents saved money because their kids didn't spend so much time in arcades, like the Arctic Game Station
6. She-Ra, 1985, a Mattel toy line that was marketed through the animated tv series, a spinoff of Filmatron's popular He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series. She-Rah-Rah?)
7.  Teddy Ruxpin, 1985, best--selling toy in 1985 and '86.  It was animated, story-telling bear that featured a cassette deck in his back.
8. Atari's Space Invaders
9.  Teen-age Mutant Ninja Turtles, 1980's  "Heroes in a half shell, Turtle Power!"
(Source:  http://www.liketotally80s.com/80s-toys.html)

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Polar Roller Rink," #56764

1990's
1.  Tamagotchi, 1996, a handheld digital pet. ??? One must ask why??? You hatch an egg (on the digital screen,) give the toy a name, feed it, and raise it, put it to bed, and if it is uncared for, it will die.  Not soon enough.
2.  Rollerblades, late 1980's.  They were originally developed for use by a Russian ice skater who was training on solid ground.  Because the rollers were all in a row, rather than in front and back sets, as in roller skates, rollerblades are also called inline skates.  Rollerblades could be used on sidewalks or in rinks, like the Polar Roller Rink.
3. Beanie Babies, 1993, first introduced 9 animals, a dog, a platypus, a mosse, a bear, a dophin, a frog, a lobster, and whale, and a pig. Only when they retired 11 Beanie Babies in 1996 did they become a collector's item.

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Sesame Street Building," #56799

4.  Tickle Me Elmo, 1996.  Based on the Sesame Street character Elmo, our red friend at least made you smile.  If you squeezed him once, he chortled.  Squeezed him three times, he shook and laughed hysterically.  And parents lined up in droves for the short supplies!  Fortunately the Sesame Street Building had adequate inventory.
5.  Power Rangers, 1993  This is a whole franchise built around a live action children's tv series featuring costumed heroes.  It has succeeded beyond belief:  19 tv seasons with 16 different series and two films.  Wow.
6.  Teletubbies, 1997.  Again, why?  Why?  A chubby creature with a tv in its stomach? With the names Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po? No.

Lemax Collection,
"Christmas Wonderland Toy Store," # 05070

7.  Magic Eye, 1993-Remember these books, first released in the US by Andrews and McMeel, which spent a total of 73 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List?  They feature patterns that are two dimensional that have a three-dimensional image hidden within.   You have to stare at it, slightly blur your eyes, and hope that your mind takes over and lets you see the 3-d image.  If you would like to see some of these images, try this website: http://www.magiceye.com/samples.html  The Christmas Wonderland Toy Store carried a large, dizzying selection!
8.  POGs, 1991. Game discs I didn't understand then, don't understand now, and don't want to.
9.  Furby, 1998
10.  Bob the Builder, 1998.  If I had a grandkid, boy or girl, this is what I would buy!

(Sources: http://www.drtoy.com/toy_history/toy_history_timeline.html and Wikipedia.)

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Robbie's Robot Factory," #799998

2000's-The Decade of Toy Technology.  Sadly, I could find virtually no Christmas Village pieces that reflect this huge part of our lives.
1.  Teksta (Tekno), 2000.  One of the first popular automated robotic dogs, Teksta Puppy walked, barked, talked, and could even learn a few tricks.  He also attracted a lot of buyers....(maybe at Robbie's Robot Factory, to the left!)
2. iPod, 2001.  The iPod fueled a toy revolution, a music revolution, and a stock price explosion.  By 2009, over 220 million iPods had been sold.
3.  Nintendo Wii, 2006.  The Nintendo video game console competes head-on with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, and in 2009 broke the record for the best-selling console in a single month.

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Santa's Toy Company," #56893

4.  20Q  I listed it in the 200's, because in this decade it was named the top "Electronic Entertainment Toy of the Year," the "Oppenheim Platinum Toy Award," and the Canadian Toy Testing Council's "Energizer Toy of the Year."  20Q asks the player to think of something.  The game then poses a series of 20 questions before making a guess about what the player is thinking, and 98% of the time 20Q is correct!  Santa's Toy Company was the only source for many popular electronic toys.
5.  Zu Zhu Pets, 2009.  More robotic animals, but this time a hamster that coos and purrs and explores and runs.  The Pets, with names like Chunk, PipSqueak, Mr. Squiggles, and Num Nums, were also sold with sets of customized habitats.

6.  Leapfrog Leapster, 2003.  A best-selling education hand-held device aimed at 4-10 year olds that teaches basic educational subjects like the alphabet, phonics, and basic math.

7.  Robosapien, 2004. A sophisticated robot that fuses technology and personality, who can walk, run, turn, grip, motion, kick, belch, rap, and more, in response to remote control.  They have even held Robosapien soccer contests!

8.  Bratz, 2001.  A series of 4 original dolls called Bratz were issued in 2001, named Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin, and by 2006 Bratz held 40% of the fashion doll market.
9.  Thunderbirds Tracy Island--Try as I could, I could not find a release date for this popular toy where children can pretend to use advanced technological toys to thwart evil and do good.