The Best Selling Toys of All-Time... What was your favorite?

Here's the list of the top selling toys over the past five decades...

Which one of these was your favorite and do you remember when you got it or who you got it for?

1960s

Grand Champion: The Barbie Doll

Honorable Mentions to:
Scalextric
Twister
Etch-A-Sketch
Spirograph
Action Man
Sindy
Hot Wheels
Thunderbirds
Dr Who and the Daleks figures
Corgi’s James Bond Aston Martin

1970s

Grand Champion: Legos

Honorable Mentions:
The Space Hopper
Klackers
Airfix’s Weebles
Movie spinoff action figures from Star Wars, Jaws, Superman and The Six Million Dollar Man.
Dungeon and Dragons board games
Atari’s Pong, the first-ever video game

1980s

Grand Champion: Atari Console

Honorable Mentions:
Fantasy toys like Sylvanian Families, My Little Pony, Care Bears and the Smurfs
Cabbage Patch Kids
Action Figures from Masters of the Universe and Transformers
Rubik's Cube
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Mattel’s Big Yellow Teapot

1990s

Grand Champion: The Gameboy

Honorable Mentions:
Buzz Lightyear action figures from the Toy Story movie
Thunderbirds’ reissued and revamped Tracy Island
Beanie Babies and Polly Pocket
Teletubbies
K'nex construction kits
Pokemon trading cards
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

2000s

Grand Champion: Wii

Honorable Mentions:
Bratz dolls
Ultra-lifelike dolls like Baby Annabell
Animatronic toys like Robosapien and Roboraptor
Hi-tech remote control toys like the Flytech Dragonfly
The ever-popular Top Trumps
Geomag
Kiddie computers like the Dora the Explorer Laptop
Electronic puzzle games like 20Q
Old-favourite board games like Scrabble and Monopoly
Merchandise from the Harry Potter films

What was your favorite?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Richard Lockyer on December 4, 2008 at 6:43am: Scalextric with out doubt. I can remember waking up to find this huge box at the bottom of my bed.
It was fantastic, loads of track and 4 formula one cars. Nothing has every kept me as quiet as that toy!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Donald Bricker on December 4, 2008 at 9:22am: I had a GI Joe as well. When my brothers and I were young we lived in Idaho and had 600 square miles of desert behind our house. You can imagine what three young boys did with all that space, firecrackers, bottle rockets and our GI Joes.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Carole Nantel on December 4, 2008 at 9:27am: I would have to say mine was Barbie which was given to me by my parents.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SERGE J. A. BOURASSA-LACOMBE on December 4, 2008 at 9:47am: none; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lisa Granger on December 4, 2008 at 10:00am: Lego was my favorite. My parents gave it to me (can't remember if it was birthday or christmas). I could build anything with them. I remember builidng a boat and tried getting it to float in a tub of water. It didn't. I cried because I was so upset.

Ohh to be a child again.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vallin on December 5, 2008 at 10:58am: I started watching The Partridge Family in October 1970. After the first season I HAD to have a guitar, so my parents got me a $21 'Cameo' acoustic from Belk-Tyler. It took 4 years and MANY 'Black Diamond' strings before I debuted at my 8th grade talent show. I could only get through John Denver's "Country Roads". (I really prefer "Rocky Mountain High"). I ended up playing bass guitar and string bass in the band(s) (our school system had several). My band directors liked the fact that I can sing (I was an honors choral student). After decades of indoctrination into ELP and The Beatles, it was natural for me to learn to sing and play bass. I figure like this: 'Keith' got all the girls, and 'Danny' had the best lines/jokes. Can't lose right? I still remember the scent of that first guitar. I even tried to orchestrate Yes's "Perpetual Change" on it 15 years later (it was unplayable!).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vallin on December 5, 2008 at 11:00am: GEEEEEEEN ROOOOOOLZZZ! 7' tall fire-breathing bass player/singers can't be beat!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by New Beginnings on December 6, 2008 at 5:45pm: My favorite toy was a doll called loving touch a real life looking doll with cutest face , electronical jacks and K 2-8 a speak and spell but with more to it.I always got barbies since I was 3 so they where never a real suprise.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Keith Davey on December 14, 2008 at 2:18am: Etch a Sketch was the coolest thing in it's time. I would spend hours making the entire screen all black by creating a square spiral LOL had plenty of time on my hands as a kid.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Hector Guzman on December 15, 2008 at 5:53pm: LEGO from my childhood was the best toy out there. You could make anything with a little 10-15 box and it was always hours of fun.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ryley Hoffman on December 17, 2008 at 8:29am: Rubik's cube all the way, could never solve it, still can't, but i tried as hard as I could anyway.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by nicole on December 17, 2008 at 8:39pm: etch-a-sketch without a doubt...still have a pink travel size one in my car;)
lite-brite was another favorite as well as paint-by-numbers and any coloring book and the classic 64 box of crayola crayons:)
happy holidays!
xo,
nicole; ▶ Reply to This