Must-have Christmas gifts through the ages

Hundreds of Christmas gifts compete each December to be the item that shoppers must get their hands on, often reducing parents to fighting in the aisles. These crazes sometimes get out of hand and are regularly just passing fads, but the must-have gift becomes something you'll always remember fondly, especially if you were a kid when it came out.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of Christmas must-haves through the ages. Working our way back through more than 80 years of Christmas, you are sure to find a few familiar entries on your Christmas wishlists of yesteryear.

So take a stroll down memory lane with the Spirit of Christmas Past and see how many must-have gifts you ended up with and how many Santa simply forgot.

PS3 - 2006

Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the PS3 had people camping out for days at a time to get their hands on the latest in game console technology. Having realised there were too few PS3s in the store for the amount of people camping outside, one desperate dad bought coffee for everyone ahead of him in the queue and spiked it with laxatives, to make sure he got hold of one of these beauties.

Furby - 1998

Looking like the unfortunate offspring of a hamster and an owl, Furbies took over Christmas 1998 with their peculiar Furbish language and intriguing ability to learn English. The same festive season saw Furbies re-selling on the internet for up to a staggering 8 times their retail value as people scrambled to get hold of one in time for the big day. Kah dah boh-bay!

Tamagotchi - 1997

Who would have thought that mucking out digital poo could be such fun? So popular were they indeed, that many schools had to ban them in order to bring pupils’ attention back from feeding a virtual pet and onto their work in class. Sounds obvious now but for many kids back then, that was akin to petricide.

Tickle me Elmo - 1996

The Christmas launch of the Tickle-Me-Elmo is now the stuff of Christmas must-have legend. On December 14th, 1996, a Wal-Mart shop assistant in New Brunswick, Canada, was attacked by a mob of 300 people, determined to get their hands on one of these toys. The poor shop assistant suffered a pulled hamstring, injuries to his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib and concussion in the afray. So much for Christmas spirit!

Buzz Lightyear - 1995

Trying to buy an action figure of Toy Story hero Buzz Lightyear in the last few days before Christmas 1995 was like trying to find the Holy Grail. Parents everywhere returned to a more primal state as civility went out the window, just so that Buzz could go into their shopping cart.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990

Dude, Christmas in 1990 was all about the pizza eating, ninja fighting awesomeness of the Turtles. Action figures of these guys sold in their millions as did every kind of merchandise and memorabilia you could put a Turtles sticker on. So popular were they, in fact, that the movie bearing their name swiftly became the highest grossing independent film ever (at the time).

Gameboy - 1989

If you didn’t have a Gameboy back in the early 90s, chances are you wanted one. The 8-bit might of the Gameboy, with it’s colourless display, may seem rather paltry in comparison to the PSPs of today. But the simple addictiveness of Tetris still stands the test of time.

Transformers - 1984

Not impressed by a heavy goods vehicle toy? Fine. With a few twists here and there it soon becomes a gun-toting robot overlord from another planet. Now a series of multi-million dollar films by Michael Mann, the original transformers were simply the coolest toys around at Christmas ‘84.

Cabbage Patch Kids - 1983

These bizarre looking dolls, that are both cute and ugly at the same time, were the first toys to create a media-frenzied Christmas rush and are therefore responsible in many ways for the attempts of all toy manufacturers ever since to copy their success. Love them or hate them, they are the first mega Christmas must-have.

Rubik’s Cube - 1980

Widely considered to be the world’s best selling toy, the Rubik’s Cube is the Lord on High of all puzzle games and gives rise to a potential of more than 43 quintillion permutations. You try saying that after a few too many sherries, let alone solving the puzzle!

Barbie - 1959

Now 52 years old, Barbie is as popular as ever. A true icon of Toyland, she’s been causing a fuss at Christmas for decades. With countless little girls the world over still wanting to dress her up in all the latest accessories you can be sure to see more Barbies under the Christmas tree for many years to come.

Mr Potato Head - 1952

Mr Potato Head was the first toy ever to be advertised on television and has been in production consistently for almost 60 years. Now friends with Buzz Lightyear, Mr Potato Head is a fully fledged movie star with roles in all three of the Toy Story films. Not bad for a vegetable with an amusing face.

The Slinky - 1943

For a toy that really only does one thing, the Slinky has been incredibly versatile in its almost 70 year career. It has appeared in the classroom as a teaching tool, in the Vietnam War as a radio antenna, and in physics experiments with NASA into zero-gravity. When it launched in 1943 it was simply the Christmas gift that every kid wanted.

The Yo-yo - 1929

Capable of producing far more fun than its inceredibly simple design suggests, the Yo-Yo was the PS3 of its day and has spawned an entire sub-culture of Yo-Yo fanatics and tricksters that are still going strong. If you woke up on Christmas morning 1929 with one of these in your stocking, chances are you were one of the luckiest kids around.

For excellent ideas for Christmas presents this year, see what DotComGiftShop are piling on the sleigh now by visiting the website.

If there are any of your favourite Christmas must-haves that we have missed out (which I know we have!) please let us know by posting in the comments below.