What Christmas present did you get as a child that you'll never forget?

[GunpowderGelatine]

For me it was a cabbage patch doll when everyone was going mad for them in the 80's. My mum swore blind for months that they'd sold out and it was gonna happen for me. I remember unwrapping her and being overjoyed, and my mum having that smug look on her face . 20-odd years later I inadvertently named my DD after the CP doll's middle name nothing ever beat that present! She's still in my attic (the doll. Not my mum)

HalfBloodPrincess

😝😝😝

It was a cold Christmas morning. My granpa took me to the window - we both huhhed on it as there were ice fans (fire not lit yet) and there it was ....my swing.

I loved that swing, spent hours and hours, too and fro. In my own world.

Nearly 50 years ago and I remember the moment as clear as if it was five minutes ago.

Can't swing now, makes me feel sick although I have to try every year to make sure!

A care bear, I still have it and have passed it down to each of my children

Hair crimpers and a Bauhaus album. Finally I got to be a little bit cool.

And, much younger, a Pippa doll. I still have my Pippas. :)

A John Bull Printing Set at about aged 9..

Mum used to hide our presents away behind a wardrobe, which I'd home in on like an Exocet Missile, so when she asked me what I'd like, I had my answer ready....JOHN BULL PRINTING OUTFIT

So my brother, who didn't get it, and wouldnt even have appreciated it either,got something else,dunno what it was, and I got that.

And that was the start of my writing career.

Thanks, mum

A doll’s pram, which was covered in a huge (to me) white sheet. I think it was secondhand but I didn’t realise or care at the time. It was magical pulling back the sheet to see John, my favourite doll sitting in it.

A pony for my Pippa dolls.

Peaches n’ cream Barbie. She was so beautiful 😍

Rainbowbright doll. I could not believe she was mine

A makeup set. I was only interested in horses. I realised what kind of daughter my mother had wanted.

The bikes. Bike Christmases were always special, though I don't know why because I wasn't an especially keen cyclist then and didn't become one.

My Little Pony nursery, I loved it and played with it for years and years.

A beautiful blue tricycle from my Grandparents when I was 4. I was the envy of all the other kids in the neighbourhood. Loke this but plain royal blue: www.google.com/search?q=Raleigh+tricycles+1950s&rlz=1C1AOHY_enGB708GB708&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=MFEhw3owZ9wNfM%253A%252C_jSv-nlBlAS9iM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQMh2MUKFJwcatV38YMJZPtgia9bQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvgq_q5aTfAhWrsKQKHVUhApoQ9QEwBXoECAUQCg#imgrc=qerWT03omG-rIM:

Cabbage patch kid also. I'd still play with it now if had it lol!

A Rolf Harris (OMG!) Styrophone circa 1974. It was a mini keyboard with a pen (styro) you ran over the keys to make shit electronic noise. It can on black or white.

I also lusted after a high necked winciette marks and Spencer nightie. Whilst fingering the quality of said nightie in M&S we had to evacuate because of an IRA bomb scare. I was in bits, not because of fear of death but because my nightie would be shot to pieces. Imagine my delight on Christmas morning when I unwrapped the ankle length flowery number ❤️

A garage set with cars, petrol pumps and a workshop section that even had a ramp that wound up and down so you could put the little model mechanics underneath like they were really fixing the car. I waited 3 years for that garage as my parents couldn't get their heads around a girl wanting a garage.

A (proper, full sized) silver cross pram for my dolls.
I spent a large part of my childhood wheeling dolls, cats, friends, etc around in that pram, and then when the body fell apart the man next door made a bogey from it. It was awesome.

I had a scooter with blown up tyres (they were the in thing at the time, about 55 years ago)
I loved that scooter
I remember it well as we lived at the bottom of a steep hill and you could scoot to the top of the hill and freewheel down at the speed of light
My sister is 7 years younger than me and it was passed in to her, still in fairly good condition
One day she was freewheeling down the hill and ran a neighbours child over, grazing the child’s knees badly( child was same age as my sister and was running backwards and forwards across the road on purpose)
Sister came home, we were all unaware of what had happened
Heard screaming and crying as child and parent came to the door ranting and raving
My dad smashed the scooter and threw it away...never to be seen again

In about 1965 a child size folding chair with a padded seat and back designed to look like a teddy bear with googly eyes and bells inside the ears that rang when you moved the chair. Looking back it was a very practical gift as we only had a small kitchen/dining table and a lot of adults living in the house. The gift to all 4 children of the little chairs meant we could have our own little table in the corner.

And thinking about it - what we called the children’s table was just a wide shelf in an alcove at the right height for children to eat/colour etc. My dad was ingenious.

I came on to say a cabbage patch kid! Mine had red woolly hair and a red tracksuit. I also got a dolls pram like a Silver Cross one year and I absolutely loved it.

My dog. I know, I know but this was the 80s and anway, I had yearned for one for ages. My folks had decided to get one and it just so happened my dad's mate's labrador pregnant and due near Christmas.
DDog was born on Christmas Eve and dad produced a blurry Polaroid as my pressie. Took me about 30 seconds to realise what it was, I was overjoyed.
DDog lived for 14 spoilt-rotten, happy years.

A 4 floor Sindy House, I couldn't believe it when I walked into our living room that morning and I played with it every single day for years and years!

I can only remember a few presents, have loads of happy memories though.
Presents I remember because I loved them: wooden toy kitchen, purple pop-swatch,

Presents I can remember because they were awful (all from same relative): ghastly hats, a barbie when I was 15, a crazy waistcoat when I was 13

Sindy multi storey house.
My little pony stables and castle.
Fisher price treehouse
Fisher price garage

A Tomy Lights Alive, a Sindy oven and hob with accessories, and a Sindy car and horse!