The 1970s Hottest Christmas Toys!

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The 1970s was a decade that saw a lot of different toys. Some of the more popular toys were ones that had come out in previous decades like Barbie, Hot Wheels, and the Slinky just to name a few. But the decade also saw a lot of new toys that became some of the most popular gifts for kids at Christmas time. In this video we will take a look back at some of the hottest Christmas toys of the 1970s. The Nerf ball was one of those simple and genius ideas that changed the geography of childhood. Before foam sports toys, throwing a ball inside the house could lead to some serious trouble when it broke anything fragile like vases and lamps. But when Nerf came along in 1970 it suddenly made the hallway a football field or the living room an arena. Nerf was a big hit under the Christmas tree that year and the best part about it for parents is that it did not require assembly. The world could open the gift, throw it at a sibling, and test the limits of this new foam ball before the wrapping paper had been gathered. It was the kind of toy that did not tell you who to be. Nerf represented the decade perfectly. It was physical, social, and repeatable. What could be better than that? Weebles were launched in 1971 and they were built around a toy feature that can be demonstrated in two seconds and remembered forever. Just push one over, let it go, and watch it return. That was the whole trick and it was enough. Kids understood it instantly and parents knew it was good. I bet you still remember that catchy slogan, too. Let's say it together. Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down. A single figure was amusing, but playsets made it into a wobble wonderland. The packaging was colorful and the pieces were chunky enough to feel substantial in small hands. These little weebles encouraged hours of play and they were absolutely unforgettable. The card game UNO was first launched in 1971 and by 1972 it was one of the hottest gift items that anyone could receive. It was not a large gift, but it had appeal to both the young and the old. It was the type of game that was perfect for family fun after Christmas dinner. The rules for the game were quite easy and it encouraged friendly competition. This single little card game became a huge hit and it never faded away. It is still loved by millions of people. The best part about UNO is how it doesn't take up a lot of room and it can be played anywhere. Trinkydinks were released in 1973 and they were different than anything else that had ever come out. They made the household oven part of the toy. That alone gave this activity an edge over the ordinary crafts that kids had available at the time. Basically, you colored the plastic, cut it out, and then watched an adult handle the dangerous part which was putting it in the oven and getting it out. All a kid had to do was stare through the oven door and watch the piece curl, twist, twist, and then shrink itself into a tiny hardened version. The transformation was magical and it was an activity that occupied kids for a whole afternoon rather than just five minutes. The phrase "watch what it does" became one of the biggest sales tools of the decade. "Magnadoodle" came out in 1974 and it brought a subtle shift towards cleaner, faster, and more resettable play. This little toy made the art of drawing seem endless and the best part about it was that there was no mess. No stack of papers, no crayon box to dump, and no evidence left behind once the slider erased the screen. The child could create art, judge the result, destroy it, and then begin again. It was perfect for repeat play and especially on the go. The toy helped little kids to become more independent as they did not need to ask an adult to sharpen anything or locate supplies. The screen was ready and the stylus was attached. The reset mechanism provided a rare thrill of making mistakes disappear without consequences, which is a feature that adulthood has still failed to reproduce. 1975 was sort of a weird year for Christmas gifts. Kids everywhere were asking for rocks. When the pet rock came out, it had adults scratching their heads and wondering what does this thing do. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. However, it was the perfect pet and companion. It was a solid friend and you didn't have to feed it, water it, or pick up the poop. The pet rock became the fad of the year. Other toys were still selling, but this one was at the top of a lot of kids' Christmas list. 1976 proved to be a year that stretched toys to new limits. When Stretch Armstrong came out, every kid wanted to get their hands on one. This was a very physical toy that found its way underneath a lot of Christmas trees that year. It was a little strange at the time, but it was easy to understand after just one view of a commercial. The toy did not need any kind of imaginative play, but it did sort of encourage experimental play. Kids would stretch and twist Armstrong to his limits and then watch him slowly return to his original shape. Eventually, Curiosity got the best of most kids when they decided to cut into Armstrong to see what was on the inside. It really was not much more than corn syrup and at that point it ruined the toy. How many of you ever did that? Christmas in 1977 changed the emotional temperature of the toy aisle. The movie Star Wars created an enormous demand for toys, but there was one problem: there were not any. The full action figure line was just simply not ready. So the company Kenner who was set to make the action figures did something very bold and it had never been done before in toy history. They sold an empty package that promised that the figures would come later. Somehow this empty space war took off. The Star Wars early bird package turned anticipation itself into a Christmas product. Under normal circumstances, kids would have been furious over some gift certificate but that was not the case with Star Wars. It had enough cultural heat to make the promise feel valuable. Not only was the movie big, but so were the toys. The following year, kids couldn't get enough of them. Not only did they want the figures, but they also wanted the vehicles and space ships. It created a demand for the franchise that was like no other and it became a turning point in toy history. Star Wars has mastered the art of packaging and they have made collectors of the toy line ever since. So if you were wondering what the hottest toy of 1978 was, then you could probably guess it. That's right, Star Wars. The Atari 2600 came out in North America on September 11, 1977. It was originally called the Atari Video Computer System, but it was rebranded as the Atari 2600 in 1982, which coincided with the release of their Atari 5200. The Atari originally launched with a sale price of $199, which is over $1,000 in today's money. The Atari came with two joysticks and the game Combat, but there were eight additional games available. They sold somewhere between 350,000 to 400,000 units in 1977. In 1978, they sold 550,000 of the 800,000 units that had been manufactured. In 1979, Atari sold another 600,000 units which brought the installed base to over 1.3 million. It was a big hit for Christmas that year and it sort of set the stage for the following decade. In 1980, Space Invaders became available for the console and Atari sold 1.25 million cartridges of that game. Atari also sold more than 1 million VCS systems that year, which nearly doubled their numbers. Of course, if you were around in 1982, then I'm sure you remember when the Pac-Man game came out on Atari. By that time, Atari definitely had the corner of the market in the video game system world. The 1970s produced a lot of great toys and there are really way too many out there to include every single one in a little video. If you were a kid in the 70s, then what were some of your favorite toys that you received for Christmas? Let us know in the comments below.