Do you all remember some of the popular toys that would come out at Christmas....and would literally be the cause of mobs of brutal shoppers?  I remember when I was younger and "Cabbage Patch Kids" dolls came out....OMG, you would have thought that they were giving away free money. I heard stories about people actually being trampled over, punched, and other forms of physical abuse...just in order for one shopper to obtain a doll over another shopper.  I didn't get a Cabbage Patch Doll the first season that they came out, mainly because they were sold out EVERYWHERE...you couldn't find one in stock at all.  I just waited awhile...and ended up getting a few of them when the big phase wore off a bit.

Can you think of any other times when a certain toy was SO popular that it caused a sort of trauma?

I remember Rambo Action Figures were flying off the shelves.  If I remember, there was a Rambo cartoon called "Rambo: The Force of Freedom" that was popular with kids, and featured less violence than that of the films.  All the kids were just screaming to have the action figures.  I never had one myself, but always wanted one

Furbys. ;D

Furbys. ;D



I never understood why those things were so popular...but then again, how can Elmo be that popular either? It seems like every Christmastime...they end up coming out with a different kind of Elmo doll. ::)

Ohhh...another popular trend (and this one wasn't even during the Christmas season)....were the "Garbage Pail Kids" trading cards. OMG....they became SO popular when I was in elementary school....you couldn't find them anywhere!!  Then there was always the spoiled kid who would come into class with the entire collection of cards, organized in a binder....geez ::)  I did end up collecting a bunch of them, only to have them thrown away by my parents, after they realized how gross they really were. ;D  However, I did end up buying a collection of them a few years ago from someone on Ebay....brings back so many memories! ;)

Do you all remember some of the popular toys that would come out at Christmas....and would literally be the cause of mobs of brutal shoppers?  I remember when I was younger and "Cabbage Patch Kids" dolls came out....OMG, you would have thought that they were giving away free money. I heard stories about people actually being trampled over, punched, and other forms of physical abuse...just in order for one shopper to obtain a doll over another shopper.  I didn't get a Cabbage Patch Doll the first season that they came out, mainly because they were sold out EVERYWHERE...you couldn't find one in stock at all.  I just waited awhile...and ended up getting a few of them when the big phase wore off a bit.



  I figured the Cabbage Patch Kid craze was pretty much year round, and especially when a new doll was introduced...

 

I remember Rambo Action Figures were flying off the shelves.

When I read the first post for some weird reason I thought of Rambo too, and then I saw your post! I got one Rambo action figure for Christmas. He was the best! The thing is I only ever got him out of the figures, so he was always a bit lonely.

The cartoon I LOVED!!! It's out on dvd now with 4 eps on each release.

Christmas 1985...

http://www.toysheik.com/images/Rambo.jpg

I thought this was going to be about frisbees and other beach toys!

In terms of Christmas present crazes one I remember was for Thunderbirds stuff, in particular Tracy Island

And on a Cabbage Patch note, Punky Brewster even did an episode of the craze that swept the world but on Punky they were called Butter Lettuce Babies for obvious legal reasons.

And on a Cabbage Patch note, Punky Brewster even did an episode of the craze that swept the world but on Punky they were called Butter Lettuce Babies for obvious legal reasons.



General Hospital did the same thing with the Power Rangers craze. They used to call them "Power Strangers".  ;D ;D ;D




Cat

Weren't Power Rangers another action figure that people lined up for?

Nevermind, just read Cats post  :D

When I read the first post for some weird reason I thought of Rambo too, and then I saw your post! I got one Rambo action figure for Christmas. He was the best! The thing is I only ever got him out of the figures, so he was always a bit lonely.

The cartoon I LOVED!!! It's out on dvd now with 4 eps on each release.

Christmas 1985...



To everybody's surprise, Stallone objected to the Rambo line of war toys and refused to endorse them.  It's true!


   I figured the Cabbage Patch Kid craze was pretty much year round, and especially when a new doll was introduced...


Competion so fierce among consumers there was mayhem at K-Mart!

Do you all remember some of the popular toys that would come out at Christmas....and would literally be the cause of mobs of brutal shoppers?  I remember when I was younger and "Cabbage Patch Kids" dolls came out....OMG, you would have thought that they were giving away free money. I heard stories about people actually being trampled over, punched, and other forms of physical abuse...just in order for one shopper to obtain a doll over another shopper.  I didn't get a Cabbage Patch Doll the first season that they came out, mainly because they were sold out EVERYWHERE...you couldn't find one in stock at all.  I just waited awhile...and ended up getting a few of them when the big phase wore off a bit.

Can you think of any other times when a certain toy was SO popular that it caused a sort of trauma?



I didn't get a Cabbage Patch doll the first season they came out; my dad stood in line at a Toys R Us for 15 hours just to get in the store, only to find out that they were sold out by the time he got there.  He joked that it was the last time he'd stand in line at a store for a toy.  I didn't get them until they came back around again, right around the time my sister was born in 1987.  After that, I had about 5 of them, I think.  That was the only real "toy craze" to happen when I was of the age to get use out of the toy.  I do remember when the Furbys and the Tickle Me Elmos and the Talking Wishbones were popular, but by then, I was too old for them and so was my sister. 

In the 80's the Pac-Man cartridge for the Atari 2600 was a hot item when it was first released.  It was hard to find in stores as it sold out pretty quick.  It was hot alright...a hot piece of crap.  The designers did such a rush job in order to get it into stores ASAP.  Part of the reason for the Video Game Crash of 1983.

In the 80's the Pac-Man cartridge for the Atari 2600 was a hot item when it was first released.  It was hard to find in stores as it sold out pretty quick.  It was hot alright...a hot piece of crap.  The designers did such a rush job in order to get it into stores ASAP.  Part of the reason for the Video Game Crash of 1983.



but what about Boulder Dash?  how do you explain that?

When I read the first post for some weird reason I thought of Rambo too, and then I saw your post! I got one Rambo action figure for Christmas. He was the best! The thing is I only ever got him out of the figures, so he was always a bit lonely.

The cartoon I LOVED!!! It's out on dvd now with 4 eps on each release.

Christmas 1985...

http://www.toysheik.com/images/Rambo.jpg


Now there's a blast from the past.  If i could go back in time, I'd buy the complete Rambo action figure set 8)

My Buddy Dolls
Pound Puppies
Nintendo Game Boys (these were more in the 90's I guess)
here in the twin cities they had "Santa Bears"  that were available through Daytons (aka Marshall Fields, aka Macy's now)
Smurf Dolls
Minature video arcade games (Pac Man, Frogger, Donkey Kong, etc)
Teddy Ruxpin
Barbie with the super long hair.. (I forget her name)
Rubik's Cubes
Simon
Walkman

I can remember wanting E.T. stuff. (I still have those damn bedsheets)  I remember the Cabbage Patch Kid craze.  (People were acually getting injured in stores)  Rubixcube.

I wonder if the kids ever appreciate the toy as much as the parents think they should after all the efforts to get it before everyone else.

This new tickle me elmo, while it might be cute, how much time until it is thrown on the floor. It just does the same thing over and over. It gets old.

I wonder if the kids ever appreciate the toy as much as the parents think they should after all the efforts to get it before everyone else.

This new tickle me elmo, while it might be cute, how much time until it is thrown on the floor. It just does the same thing over and over. It gets old.



that's a really good point. As anything...something is much more appreciated if earned by yourself (that's what I always thought). When I would save up my allowance and THEN buy the thing I was wanting...it meant so much more to me.  You are right...most of these toys probably get thrown aside while the Christmas season is still fresh in everyone's mind.

Some parents go out and brawl for the latest fad toy, and the little kid ends up enjoying the box more than the toy.

Whenever I see people posting questions like "what to get for 2 year old birthday" (and yes I frequent a forum with questions like that), I think "empty shoe box" but I don't say that of course.  ;D

Some parents go out and brawl for the latest fad toy, and the little kid ends up enjoying the box more than the toy.

Whenever I see people posting questions like "what to get for 2 year old birthday" (and yes I frequent a forum with questions like that), I think "empty shoe box" but I don't say that of course.  ;D


that's very true. I also hate whenever parents go out and buy EVERYTHING that has to do with one current fad. For example...my sister-in-law bought EVERYTHING Dora the Explorer for her (very spoiled) daughter....now we all know that the Dora phase for her will probably not last very long (she's already talking a lot about Dragon Tales)...and before the whole Dora thing was the Elmo thing....this girl has so much stuff..there's hardly any place for HER in her own room. ::)

Elmo was for a later generation Sesame Streeters.  I didn't have an Elmo.  I had an Ernie.  Whatever happened to Ernie?  I liked Ernie.  He went away in late childhood.  I know not where.  I guess he felt neglected.  Sorry Ernie, wherever you are!
:\'(

Kenner got a heluva lot of mileage out of their Star Wars line.  They kept introducing bigger, flashier, more expensive (oh, yes, dear parents, more expensive...muuahahhaha!) toy lines.  I remember my stepbrother wanted the big Empire Strikes Back AT-AT model (remember the snow walkers from the Hoth scene?)  Anyway, that boy seemed to think it was the Comstock lode.  My stepmother didn't want to get him one...even for xmas!  I remember her grousing to my father about it,
"Fifty-two dollars for a piece of plastic it cost half a cent to make!"
"Well," my father replied, "It certainly didn't cost half a cent to market!"
Both had a point, but my stepbrother never got his AT-AT!
Of course today it costs $52.00 for a f**king plastic Slinky, not even a proper metal one, but in the long-past days of 1982, $52.00 was a considerable sum for any toy!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/14/nono.gif

My sister keeps calling and calling to see if I have found:
The Littlest Pet Shop pony and the Hamster Digital Pet!
Had the hardest time finding them thats for sure!

I remember when Big Wheels came out and everyone went nuts to try and get one!

Kenner got a heluva lot of mileage out of their Star Wars line.  They kept introducing bigger, flashier, more expensive (oh, yes, dear parents, more expensive...muuahahhaha!) toy lines.  I remember my stepbrother wanted the big Empire Strikes Back AT-AT model (remember the snow walkers from the Hoth scene?) 

There's one complete with box for sale in a local charity shop.  D'ya want me to buy it?

that's very true. I also hate whenever parents go out and buy EVERYTHING that has to do with one current fad. For example...my sister-in-law bought EVERYTHING Dora the Explorer for her (very spoiled) daughter....now we all know that the Dora phase for her will probably not last very long (she's already talking a lot about Dragon Tales)...and before the whole Dora thing was the Elmo thing....this girl has so much stuff..there's hardly any place for HER in her own room. ::)

My daughter went through that with the New Kids On The Block stuff. Sheets, lunchbox, dolls, etc.... of course I was the one buying the crap, so . . . . .  :-[

My daughter went through that with the New Kids On The Block stuff. Sheets, lunchbox, dolls, etc.... of course I was the one buying the crap, so . . . . .  :-[



oh me too! I don't think there was anything that I didn't have regarding them! :D

oh me too! I don't think there was anything that I didn't have regarding them! :D

Me and another mother took our girls to go see them. Oh my god, it was torture! The little screaming girls was like no noise I've ever heard in my life!  :o

Me and another mother took our girls to go see them. Oh my god, it was torture! The little screaming girls was like no noise I've ever heard in my life!  :o


ya know...I never could get tickets to their concerts..everytime I would try they would always be sold out...like THAT day they went on sale! ;D :D

ya know...I never could get tickets to their concerts..everytime I would try they would always be sold out...like THAT day they went on sale! ;D :D

They were a hot commodity, that's for sure!

They were a hot commodity, that's for sure!



oh heck ya!  I remember wanting to marry Joe McIntyre, and not knowing what I would do if that wish wouldn't come true!  :D ;D

oh heck ya!  I remember wanting to marry Joe McIntyre, and not knowing what I would do if that wish wouldn't come true!  :D ;D

;D  ;D  :D  Sounds familiar!!!