What was your favourite present as a kid?

[Pansypath]

Aged about four I got a toy washing machine that took real water and span etc and some cotton hankies to wash in it and I loved it.

And aged about 12 I got a wonderful too old for me box of v posh make up that I adored.

The Bratz mini mall. I collected all Bratz things and I thought there was nothing I didn’t already have. I was so excited when I opened the mini mall. It had a little escalator as well. Looking back, they were quite ugly dolls but I loved them.

When I was about 7 I got a Disney rug wrapped around a huge stack of books. I always look back and think what a great present that was from my parents ❤️

Barbie airplane. It was amazing!

My cassette recorder - lasted for years
When I was older my Vic20 computer

My Megadrive, I wasn’t expecting it at all, I normally got inexpensive presents. The best thing was, my much older siblings loved it too and spent time playing with me on it.

Barbie caravan. It's was luxurious and I took barbie on many an adventure

A baking set - my mum put real baking equipment together for me, when I was 7. I’ve still got some it! I grew up in the 60s, and the only toy I remember for girls, apart from bog standard board games, wooden toys, etc was Tiny Tears - which was another favourite.

Mine was ice skates too, * Beautiful white ones. I wouldn’t have to hire the grim brown ones at the rink any more.
I slept with them on a chair next to my bed for ages.
I’ve not long chucked them away.

As a child I loved Strawberry Shortcake
As a teen I got given a hair crimped and I thought it was the best present ever

A teddy when I was 2. It was love at first sight. He still sleeps on my pillow

Silver cross Pram and tiny tears.

Sony Walkman brought back from America when my dad lived and worked there in the 80’s.

Flicker and flash rollerblading barbie. Literally had lighter flints that sparked when you rolled the skates across the floor. Wouldn’t get that past safety standards nowadays.

Gameboy.

A fisher price tape player. I used to spend hours listening to my little pony tapes on it. I found the same one at a second hand shop awhile ago, but my kids don’t have the same appreciation for it

I really like this thread. I was worrying today about how much to get my kids for Christmas this year, and this has put things back in perspective. I didn’t have a huge amount of toys as a kid, but I loved everything I had. I think kids now have so much stuff and it’s not really appreciated as much.

I think the one that excited me most was at 3 year old I got a wendy house (just a plastic sheet and pipe one but I loved it) it was my own little house to decorate and 'live' in (I felt so grown up)

worst present was the living one - I desperately wanted a pet for years and begged my mam for a cat or dog so for my 8th birthday my mam got me one, however I got no say in it... no idea where my mam found the spawn of satan but it HATED me, it distroyed the house, its kenal and our garden (escape multiple times) I had to clean up after it and feed it etc... but it constantly attacked me - I ended up giving it away, I use to beg for a pet so I wonder if my mam did it on purpose to put me off wanting pets.

Is it weird I can't remember any of them?

Flower press

Oh Penny house - was HUUUGE from memory.... probably means it was actually tiny!

Apologies if this sounds familiar, I have answered a previous thread similarly, a year or two ago.

When I was a child, we, as was fairly common then, had a live in mother’s help, though she was always called our maid.

One December Ivy started knitting a wonderful array of doll’s clothes, a complete outfit in pink wool; coat, dress, vest, pants, socks, bonnet, mittens.

She kept trying them on my doll for size, and told me they were for another little girl who had the same doll.

I completely believed her.

On Christmas morning I opened a parcel and there were the clothes!

I shall never forget that wonderful moment. Such joy and excitement!

I went to my home town last autumn for a family funeral, and dear Ivy was there. We had many memories of those days to talk about, including the doll’s clothes.

We are hoping to go to her 90th birthday party in October, but I fear Covid will prevent it.

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Ooh it’s a toss up between The Big Yellow Teapot or, when I was a bit older, Tomytronic. I loved them both.

I remember a doll's House that I got one year, it was amazing, I found out years later my dad had made it, wish I still had it

Art stuff, not the cheap children's version, proper stuff.

The longest packet of felt tipped pens I had ever seen, must have been 24 in the pack or thereabouts, which was amazing to wee me in 1982!

anyoldname76, the Doll’s House is my other favourite Christmas memory.

I would have been about four years old, my elder brother was doing his National Service, and that year his leave started a few days after Christmas.

My parents kept the doll’s house under wraps until he came home so he could enjoy my reaction.

I was told It was a present from Tony and he had stored it under his bed in the Barracks and brought it home on the long distance bus.

As I got older, common sense started edging in and I realised the doll’s house under his army bed story was a bit unlikely. Apart from anything else it was quite big and would not fit under a normal bed.

However I still happily believed he had brought it with him on the bus, until a couple of years ago when he told me that actually Mum and Dad dad had obtained it and it was hidden at home all the time.

Nevertheless, in my mind’s eye I still see my lovely doll’s house in the barracks, with his admiring fellow soldiers not taking the piss but helping him carry it to the bus stop.

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My dog (who was born at Christmas but I didn't get him til end of January)

Sindy House with the lift.

Sounds absolutely terrible but I can't rent any presents I got that I loved - my mum always choose what she would of liked and didn't really consider what we liked. I had dolls for various years for Xmas but I really didn't like or play with them and as I got older it was jewellery which I spent all year worrying about losing

My auntie however had an older daughter and every birthday and Xmas would give me a new dress (that I thought was fashionable) usually from C&A my mum never bought us fashionable stuff usually just practical stuff or we had lots of hand me downs from our cousins.

I absolutely loved these dresses and would wear them for every party all year

The a la carte kitchen! 1980 something. Oh I loved it!