Cool Toys. Were They Invented In The 80s?

[DioneTheDiabolist]

DP and I were talking about toy advertisements and he said that as a child he never wanted the "cool" toys. I tried to remember what the cool toys were when I was young. I'm slightly older than him but in look so much younger.

I couldn't remember any "cool" toys. The coolest thing where I lived was having a rope swing on the lamppost outside your house. We had a lamppost outside our house and I remember asking for bits of rope for Christmases and birthdays so I could have a swing.

The second coolest toy was 2 balls. DP had no idea what I was talking about. Even after I explained the wall and the songs and the tricks. And he's a fucking juggler.

((I would like to take this opportunity to thank and apologise to all the people who lived in end houses in my area.))

I grew up in the 70s, him in the 80s. So were Cool Toys invented in the 80s?

Well the 70s had Pippa and Sindy. The 60s also had cool toys....things like Tressie dolls and roller skates.

I think it was probably since the 1920s that toys have been subject to fashion.

Then it was Felix the cat....and Mickey Mouse toys. Prior to the 20s' children just had dolls, dolls houses, boats, toy kitchens....wooden tops, balls etc. Oh and board and card games.

It's interesting that you mention Mickey Mouse AjasLipstick. I think merchandising has played a massive part in what is a "cool" toy. I don't think that was a big thing in the 70s.

It was as big as it was in the preceding years. More innocent sure...but the 70s had tonnes of merch available. Tom and Jerry lunchboxes, I had a Tweetie Pie one...there was action man stuff, my brother had T shirts with characters too.

I think the 80s did explode somewhat and it matched up with the start of the digital or tech revolution. More tv channels too...that made more opportunities for advertisers.

Yes, just think of Mr Frosty - there are still loads of frustrated adults that wanted one and didn't get one. There was also a thing called the loloball in the 80s that you would balance your feet on and jump. And the Star Wars toys. I think there was some kind of doll that was meant to be a pop star as well, as well as Sindy or Barbie.

Those two balls were clackers. I've still got some in an attic somewhere.

70s had chopper bikes, skateboards (the banana boards), clackers.

BMX in the 80s, Sindy, Barbie, Care Bears, My Little Pony, Weebles.

I remember collecting stickers and rubbers.

The first time I remember a shortage of a toy at Christmas was for the Cabbage Patch Kids and that was the 80s. Can't remember anyone wanting or having one but they were on the news.

I think there was less money to get cool toys, so greater acceptance if you didn’t. But definitely there were toys and games advertised during December that people would put on their Christmas lists during the 70s.
I had a bit of a puritanical childhood and wasn’t allowed to watch the Third Channel, never had a Sindy or a Tiny Tears but didn’t feel particularly aggrieved- just liked playing with them at other people’s houses

The Woolworth's Xmas adverts were famous in the 70s and they always used to cover that year's must-have toy.

Oh ther were clackers but they got banned in most schools, hooplaskip balls attached to plastic rings that went on your ankle, Cindy, Action man, walky talky dolls, CB radio for teenagers. Lots.

SunnySomer 'the Third Channel' made me laugh! Thinking back we also had a Puritanical childhood, it's the perfect description. But, like you, we didn't mind as we knew no different. If we wanted to play Mousetrap, we went to Jane's house; if Jane wanted to play meccano, she came to ours; if we both wanted to play with the Playmobil pirate ship, we went to Claire's house.

I had:
Sindy x 1
My Little Pony x 9 (including the first baby)*
Robin Hood Playmobil + horses*
Meccano
Weebles playground*
Fisher Price school bus *
Homepride Fred cooking set*
Pound Puppy*
Awesome plastic kitchen set, plates had toes, milk jug looked like a granny etc*

• still got these and 7yo DS plays with them.

My 2 balls weren't clackers. They were just 2 rubber balls played against a wall. I'm beginning to think that my parents were evil geniuses, hiding all the cool toys from me, making me want balls and bits of rope instead.

Wjhere your balls placed in a pair of tights tjat you used to swing ovet and under your legs op? I was an 70,s-80,s child Obviously Rubix cube and all the variations were a massive hit and i loved my tiny tears, i also had a "baby alive" doll that you fed some kind of paste and it pooed it out 😌

Of course there were cool toys in the 1970s. A classmate of mine had the entire set of Sindy furniture and we were all green.

They are advertising Mr Frosty again!

DS (3) asked for one, and it broke my heart to have to sit him down and give him "The Talk". The one where you explain the Mr Frosty is shit and doesn't work, and it's all LIES.

I had Sindy, with the bed and wardrobe. The bedding was sort of turquoise with little frills. I thought it was the coolest thing EVER.

My brother had the eagle eyes Action Man. That was also Really Cool.

Games wise we had a few. We played marbles, jacks and ball games against the wall (onesies, twosies etc).

I was born late 60's so my toys were 70's. We didn't have much money so I never had the spirograph or the Etch-a-sketch that all my friends had
I had a Pippa doll rather than Cindy or Barbie
I did have Meccano and Lego (although that was a box of bricks to use your imagination on rather than 100 page booklets of instructions).

I remember everyone desperately wanting Mr Frosty, Cabbage Patch dolls, Mousetrap, Major Morgan (remember those? I literally prayed to god for one just before my birthday one year ), Rubix Cubes and those toy kitchens with millions of pots, pans and fake food. And the short lived fad for TrimBalls (still have scars from the blisters on my feet!). All were heavily advertised so that's probably why we wanted them so much.

My mate at uni once got really drunk and was doing the thing where you sob because no one loves you and everything is terrible... She wept because her parents didn't love her enough to buy her a Fisher Price toy kitchen when she was little, despite her being desperate for one, bless her After we all stopped laughing, we clubbed together and bought her one for Christmas - she was the happiest person ever and we spent all afternoon playing with it .

Oo, does anyone remember the Reflect-a-Sketch? It was basically a piece of clear perspex on a stand - you'd put it next to a picture and it reflected the picture onto a blank piece of paper on the other side, so you could trace the outline. As I was crap at drawing (stil am) I thought it was brilliant. I recently rigged up a homemade version for DS2 and he thinks it is genius!

I got a horse riding Sindy one year when I asked for a horse. I didn't think that was cool. Putting balls into tights is ringing bells AamdC.