Christmas Toy of the Day

[packerbacker180]

I never knew that existed either until many years later. The cartoon ended in 1985 and stuff like GI Joe and Transformers were more at the forefront with the Transformers Movie and such. Plus, Thundercats was also around then, I think He-Man was just losing ground to other toys by then.

Speaking of 1986, that's the year I got another one of the more popular Christmas toys of the 1980s. I can still recall the commercial, "My name is Teddy Ruxpin, can you and I be friends?"



I don't know because I was 7 or 8 when I got him, but I must've been extra good that year. Heck, even the Mets won the World Series in 1986 so I was living large! Teddy retailed for a hefty $59.99 in 1986, the equivalent of roughly $169 today. That's one expensive talking cassette player! Speaking of cassettes, there was no WiFi back then so Teddy used good ol' fashion cassette tapes to simulate interaction. And those cassettes alone ran about $20 back then or the relative cost of a video game these days ($56).



So, Teddy was one pricey talking teddy in the 80s, but his popularity cannot be understated. A former Disney Imagineer named Ken Forsse created the cuddly, animatronic teddy bear using the same technology that Disney used for animatronic theme park attractions. Even with the somewhat hefty price tag, Teddy Ruxpin was the bestselling toy of 1985 and 1986.



Since it was the 80s, Teddy even got his own short-lived Saturday Morning cartoon that ran from 1986-1987 that may've even helped crash the Iron Curtain as it was one of the first Western cartoons to air in Bulgaria of all places in the late 80s, so it's very possible a young Rusev watched the show.



But not only was Teddy Ruxpin that stay at home friend for latchkey kids whose parents didn't get home from work until hours after the kids got home from school, but shortly after his debut, Teddy Ruxpin was dubbed the "Official Spokesbear for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children" in 1985. The cartoon would always have a PSA called Protect Yourself, to help protect kids from the dangers of the world, this one below sadly and ironically done by Corey Feldman.




And if it weren't for the popularity of this anthropomorphic furry the rebirth of the modern video game system may've never gotten off the ground and two plumbers may still be working their 8-bit day job. But that's a story for another time.

THE END

[BrandonDaCollector]

Yep. You could be be right, as great as MOTU is, it sure has it's drawbacks & debacles

Another great entry PB. Teddy Ruxpin was fantastic. Maybe about Rusev Amazing that Corey Feldman did that in 1987 then again, knowing his history, it's not a surprise This special from the 80s reminds Me of the ads We get in the mail with coupons a couple times a month of the "Have You Seen Me" about the missing kids....it's just not in Mo, it's all over the Nations, so many kids go missing each year, the number gets higher & higher

No Toy of the Day from Me however, here's this video of the craze & madness that We spoke about before



It's something that the Nintendo Wii is a part of this...I was/am very happy with the Nintendo Wii U but of course people were not

[OneNineSix]

Great post. Love Teddy Ruxpin. You guys see those crazy videos with the damaged fur where they all look super creepy?

[BrandonDaCollector]

We posted much more than that ONS, there's so much more to talk about Your welcome to post stuff to Nope and I never intend too, I hate seeing damaged toys

Okay, today's Toy of the Day may not be considered to be a toy but one Ralphie from 1983's A Christmas Story wanted it real, real bad



If somehow your not familiar with this classic Christmas movie then here's Ralph letting it be known as to what he wants for Christmas...



this is what he dreams...



this was his super hilarious visit to Santa...



this is what he get's for Christmas



REAL LIFE

Is this a "A REAL Christmas Story" in 2012 12 years ago this years



The reviews of the Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun





Now, here's My little story.I loved guns when I was a youngster and I still have some but I never wanted one for Christmas but i don't find it a bad gift. However, I have spoke of it before a while back. In 1991 at Our local Sports Authority on Watson near Crestwood, Me & Parents would be looking for Golf Clubs & Bowling Balls...the store had a decent gun section there. I spotted a beautiful Silver, Sawed-off Pump-Shotgun there...now that was a beauty...I saw that for years over there until things sadly changed and the store was gone I don't think they ever sold it which is such a darn shame This is similar what it looked like



Now if I could have had it, I wouldn't want that for dangerous purposes, I would want that as a Christmas gift and a keep sake. Especially since I look back on that store & times...those times are kinda precious now. I love Silver and that baby was perfect for Me..too bad the Planets & Stars didn't align for Me during those great times of the 90s but who knows, maybe there's still a chance for Me

[packerbacker180]

You'll shoot your eye out, Brandon.

I really wanted to do one of these a day but just been so busy I haven't had the time to do them properly, so here's a quick one.

God may've given Rock n Roll to you, Gene, but in 2007 the best selling toy let you rock out with your schlock out since you could shred naked in the comfort of your own home...



Guitar Hero was a pretty big thing by 2007 Middle-aged men everywhere could be Eddie Van Halen with just a little bit of color memorization. I worked overnights at Walmart at this time, and at Christmas they had a demo set up for Rock Band that year garden center of all places. Actually, at Christmas they turned it into a Christmas shopping area, but it was still weird. Anyway, on our 15 minute breaks we'd go over there and play a few chords or drums at midnight and 5 AM. But I'f paid little attention to the music genre video games prior to that I don't think I ever even tried Guitar Hero.





2007 saw the introduction of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock featured the first online competive mode for the series, a staple of games these days, plus the ability to download songs to add to the playlist so you could be your favorite band minus the drug overdoses. Guitar Hero III was reportedly the first video game to reach over $1 billion dollars in sales.



I always preferred Rock Band because I liked the idea of playing drums or singing at home alone where no one would ever hear me try to hit those Axle Rose chords he can no longer hit himself. Plus if you had the drums you could play witha friend and then have the inevitable disagreement about songs and your drummer could leave the band and strike out on their own, But with Guitar Hero III you only needed to buy the game if you already previously owned a guitar, whereas Rock Band required buying a $200 started set to get the drums and stuff, so it's no wonder Guitar Hero III was the better seller out of the gate.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Yes, I've been busy too. I'm so behind on My showcases This was a great one. I never did Guitar hero but I always kinda did a bit. That's a great gif of Rox from Street Sharks

Okay, here's a good Christmas Toy of the Day...Milton Bradley's Lite Brite



My Mom had one when she was a girl, I adopted from her but sadly I don't know where it is I used to have great times with it. Here's some great Vintage Commercials






It was a really hot item back in the day



Here's these various reviews

[packerbacker180]

I had a few of those over the years. The kids did too when they were younger. I never had the patience to do things like that, though. Etch-a-sketch, too.

Today's Christmas Toy of the Day was said to be the most popular toy of Christmas 1987. It's said that Robert Grebler—who's largely responsible for bringing the game to North America—holds the record for the tallest known tower at just over 40 levels. And like us all, he started out by taking a block from the bottom. I don't recall owning this as a kid, but who doesn't remember this earworm...



The best games are timeless. They don't require super-complicated instructions. You roll a dice and they're five of the same, you've got Yahtzee! You get three in a row, go for one more, go for it, Connect Four!



Jenga was created by Leslie Scott, based on a game that evolved within her family in the early 1970s using children's wooden building blocks the family purchased from a sawmill in Takoradi, Ghana. The name Jenga is derived from kujenga, a Swahili word which means "to build". A British national, Scott was born in Tanzania, where she was raised speaking English and Swahili, before moving to live in Ghana, West Africa. Scott launched the game she named and trademarked as "Jenga" at the London Toy Fair in January 1983 and sold it through her own company, Leslie Scott Associates.



In 1984, Robert Grebler, an entrepreneur from California who was the brother of a close friend of Scott, contacted her and expressed interest in importing and distributing Jenga in Canada. In April 1985, Grebler acquired the exclusive rights to Jenga for the United States and Canada. Convinced of Jenga's potential, Grebler had invited two cousins to form Pokonobe Associates with him in 1985 to increase distribution of Jenga. Pokonobe then licensed Irwin Toy to sell Jenga in Canada and to be master licensee worldwide. Irwin Toy licensed Jenga to Schaper in the United States, and when that company was bought by Hasbro, Jenga was launched under the Milton Bradley banner in 1987.



Fun fact: Jenga blocks aren't all identical. While they may look similar, Jenga blocks have subtle differences in dimensions to make their construction less stable. Each brick is a different size and weight so no two games are alike. The beauty of the game is the size of the blocks can vary to really small for a mini set, or really big. Really big!



But no matter the size, the game remains the same.



I've had Jenga games since. The standard size. My kids even had the outdoor version with the really big blocks. It's really a game anyone at any age can play, you just have to start by taking that block from the bottom. But it might be a good idea to make sure the block size is age appropriate.

[BrandonDaCollector]

I see. yeah, stuff like that does take a bit of patience. I thought they were so cool. I never played nor got into Zenga but a great write up there PB

Today's Toy of the Day is K'Nex K'Nex is a construction toy system created by Joel Glickman which was/is a great alternative to Lego. It was first introduced in the USA in 1992. K'Nex is designed & produced by K'Nex Industries Inc. of Hatfield, Pennsylvania.



My Grandparents got Me a lot of them for Christmas. While I did make some creations that was recommended, I did make My own crazy ones as well but unfortunately I didn't take are of'em but maybe one day I can see about showcasing something of them in the future



Here's their first commercials in 1994, 30 years ago this year, listen to that cool 90s music



Here's this one from recently.



They actually still make them though they get no love like Lego does. Here's this review during Christmas of 2018 with this little girl. Watch till the end for the brief Disney too



Here's a Father & his Kids



This here's these absolutely & insanely epic creations



More later