Toys you remember from your childhood Christmas

I had a gorgeous black doll with thick long hair and I called her Jonty. I wonder where on earth she went to. I since discovered Jonty was a boy's name but my Grandmother had suggested it to me. She'd lived in Tripoli many years earlier and had liked the name.

I also had a large family of koala bears of varying size. Of course I now understand their fur was real so not great looking back.

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I managed to hold onto one of my favourite dolls from 60 odd years ago. I thought I’d lost her when we moved to this house 30 years ago. I often thought about her and felt bad I’d inadvertently thrown her out.

Then just a few months ago I opened a box in the attic containing my Mum’s china tea sets and other bits and bobs. And my lovely doll and her twin babies were in the box. I was transported right back to my childhood !

One of my earliest memories is of a Teddy almost as big as me and it was a patchwork of pastel colours.
He was known affectionately as (very originally) Big Ted.
I am enjoying this thread too, thank you for starting it Shinamae.

I remember a toy typewriter (Mettoy Supertype) and a weaving loom. I still have the loom. One year we each got a hula hoop. I can remember waking up one year and seeing something shiny which was a budgie cage with a budgie in it (that was for my sister not me). My brother got lots of Meccano. Most years I had a book from my godmother and I still have some of them. I also have Mary, the doll I got when I was five, with clothes made by my mother. I have enjoyed reading these posts and remembering childhood Christmases. Sister and I always had new dresses and mine was usually torn or stained before the end of the day.

And clackers.
The two balls on a string that you made clack together really fast, if you were good at them.
If not, you got bruised wrists!

You’ve just reminded me misadventure, spirograph, we absolutely loved that ?

And a Wendy house.
I loved that!

I liked the thing that spun around, and you dropped blobs of paint into it, so it made patterns. (And a mess!)

Sacha dolls! I have quite a few of those still. Gorgeous dolls which luckily I didn't play with often so they're in great condition. Not that I'm selling any.

I too loved Pippa dolls. So petite!

And Patch, Sindy's sister. My sister had a party and one of the guests walked out of my house with my beloved Patch. I tried to get my Mum to intervene but she failed to act. A moment in my childhood that caused massive trauma. That I can remember as if it was yesterday.

Also has anyone mentioned the gorgeous Britain's miniature gardens? I loved my set.

And of course my doll's house which is still upstairs, on display.

I also had a puppet, with strings.
A Tressie doll whose hair grew, and a dolls house.
A blue go-cart that my dad made me, all made of metal and welded together, and a dolls pram.

I had a toy farm, which I loved.
A till, Tiny Tears, and a pogo pony.
I lived my Pippa doll (the pocket sized friend)
I had a Chatty Cathy doll - you pulled a string in the at the back of her neck, and she said things like "Let's play!"

I didn’t have many toys but I the first presents I opened at Christmas were the annuals from my grandma,

Blossoming

Zoejory

I was an incredibly lucky child. My father was the director of a massive department store in London. We'd go along on a Sunday and play real shops.

As for toys I tended to get everything I wanted. The only thing ever denied me was a real tiger cub.

I took that quite badly

Gosh, that must have been horrible! I hope you reported them to Social Services for abuse and neglect.

I was tempted! ;-)

I've just remembered Katie Kopycat. What a disappointment. The advert was amazing. I was so looking forward to getting her. Absolute rubbish. She was totally illiterate no matter how hard I tried

Don't know if this has already been mentioned.
Anyone remember the plastic Projector that came with a set of slides that lit up a set of scenes shown on a wall in the dark?

Elless - I had Tippy Tumbles too. It's interest didn't last long though. I also had Action girl one year with her horse. I liked books too.

I'm so enjoying this thread. It's reminding me of other presents I had. My parents had some hard times financially and one year my mum took an old doll of mine to the Dolls' Hospital and had a new head put on her. She was given to me on Christmas morning with a trunk (made by my dad) filled with a whole wardrobe of clothes which my mum had sewn and knitted from things she'd unpicked.

My brother had a toy farm our grampy had made which was filled with animals including little yellow ducklings swimming on a pond made from a little mirror.

The work and trouble they went to so us little ones would have a happy time. I'm so grateful to them.

My best friend had a microscope one Christmas. We put all sorts on the slides...if you can imagine. It was amazing.

He also had a Magic Robot game, which we loved. He also had a Davy Crockett hat [which I wore a lot]...and a feather Red Indian headdress, cap pistols and a rifle for our Cowboys and Indians games.

Like many of the above, I routinely received the Bunty & Judy annuals, chocolate in various guises, satsumas wrapped in silver paper, paints and also each year a new fountain pen in my stocking / on my armchair. Main presents I remember were the big trike, the first two- wheeler, roller skates, a sledge, and a chemistry set. I used to stand at the kitchen table, mixing my chemicals, heating them up on my little paraffin burner ( the pharmacy had no problem selling me, a 9 year old girl) methylated spirits by the pint!!), making invisible ink et al.

Zoejory

I was an incredibly lucky child. My father was the director of a massive department store in London. We'd go along on a Sunday and play real shops.

As for toys I tended to get everything I wanted. The only thing ever denied me was a real tiger cub.

I took that quite badly

Gosh, that must have been horrible! I hope you reported them to Social Services for abuse and neglect.

Magic painting books available from'The Works' too.
My aunt always bought me a matching little nylon, lacy half slip n knickers set. Once I reached 12 I should add.

I would always have something like paints, crayons, paint by numbers, colouring and tracing books.
Then an annual, Beano, Dandy or Rupert Bear.
I had a couple of weaving looms and a French knitting set [not my favourite]. I preferred matchbox cars.
Sometimes I'd have a plastic Airfix kit to make an aircraft or ship. Doing the 'Mayflower' ship took me months.
One memorable year I had a bus conductors outfit with a punch machine and tickets, and a hat.
A distant relative always sent a 'Cherry Ames' book every year. She was a nurse who nursed in different departments. I did not become a nurse sadly despite relatives efforts.
Roller skates were a great success one year.
Always a selection box or a chocolate smoking kit! And a sickly sugar pig in the bottom of the stocking. I preferred the adults Newberry Fruits and Turkish Delight.

However I always wanted a black doll, a tricycle, a scooter, a Davy Crockett hat...and didn't get any of them so was a bit disappointed at times. So ungrateful! Money was tight though, I didn't realise this at the time.

Zoejory

I was an incredibly lucky child. My father was the director of a massive department store in London. We'd go along on a Sunday and play real shops.

As for toys I tended to get everything I wanted. The only thing ever denied me was a real tiger cub.

I took that quite badly

Zoejory! ?
What a lovely thread. Had forgotten about those paints in real tins.
Once I got a Petite typewriter and was tap tapping all day. Drove mum mad. One year it was Sindy. And oh yes, those tiny twinkly pianos. I'd always wanted to play and wasn't till older and my kids went off to school I could go to lessons and had my own real one. Parents couldn't afford things like piano lessons. Not many working class kids had them anyway.
Bunty Annual. Selection box's. Yum.
And real nuts to crack open where you'd be finding bits all over the carpet for days!

Oh FoghornLeghorn I feel your pain. I bought the very same shoes for my granddaughter a couple of years ago, but, sadly, she wasn't as impressed with them as we obviously were!

Similar to lemongrove - a post office set, a colouring book and crayons, a knitting set in a cardboard “basket”, and was delighted to have a plastic “vending” machine that dispensed miniature bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk when you put pennies in.