Christmas Presents Every Child Got That Year
Every year had one. The one that sold out, the one that was in the paper, the one you either got or spent the whole of Boxing Day pretending not to mind about.
Here they are, roughly in order.
Cards drawn and printed by us
Funny, rude and warm greeting cards for every occasion, blank inside, printed in the UK with kraft envelopes. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
The eighties
- Rubik's Cube, at the start of the decade, in every stocking in the country.
- Cabbage Patch Kids in the mid-eighties, with genuine scenes in shops and international shortages.
- Transformers and He-Man, bought as a single figure because the playsets were out of reach.
- My Little Pony and Care Bears on the other side of the toy aisle.
- Teddy Ruxpin, the bear with the cassette in its back.
- The ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad, given as a family present and monopolised by one child.
- Sylvanian Families, arriving in the UK in 1985 and immediately a Christmas fixture.
The nineties
- The Game Boy, from 1990, which is possibly the most-given Christmas present of the decade.
- Sega Mega Drive versus Super Nintendo, and the Christmas that decided which side of the playground you were on.
- Buzz Lightyear in 1995 - a genuine, widely reported shortage after Toy Story.
- Tamagotchi in 1996 and 1997.
- Teletubbies merchandise in 1997, with Tinky Winky in particular selling out.
- Furby in 1998, which sold in enormous numbers and was resold at inflated prices.
- Pokemon everything in 1999.
- The Sony PlayStation from 1995, which brought a lot of adults into gaming for the first time.
The stocking, which never changed
- A satsuma in the toe. Every year. Nobody has ever explained why to a child's satisfaction.
- A selection box, eaten before breakfast.
- A tube of Smarties, a chocolate coin net, and a sugar mouse.
- Socks, which you pretended to be pleased about from about age nine.
- A puzzle book, a pack of felt tips, and a small annual.
- An annual - Beano, Dandy, Shoot!, Smash Hits or whatever team you supported.
- A pound coin from a grandparent, pressed into your hand separately.
Why the shortages happened
- Manufacturers set production months ahead and could not respond to a Christmas spike.
- One television advert reached almost the whole country at once, so demand arrived in a single wave.
- There was no way to compare stock between shops without physically ringing them.
- Resellers bought up stock and sold it on at a mark-up, which was reported as a scandal every single year.
- Modern supply chains and online stock checking have made genuine sell-outs much rarer, which is part of why Christmas feels flatter.
How to write it so it lands
- The satsuma is traditional and nobody has ever justified it properly.
- Shortages happened because production was locked months ahead.
- Online stock checking is why sell-outs are rarer now.
You might also be interested in...
We make cards, pin badges, prints and party bits in house. These are from other shops we rate, and buying through the link costs you nothing extra.
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Where to shop next
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- Photo booth prop ideas
- Birthday cards for kids
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What was the must-have Christmas toy each year?
Rubik's Cube at the start of the eighties, Cabbage Patch Kids mid-decade, the Game Boy from 1990, Buzz Lightyear in 1995, Tamagotchi in 1996 and 97, Furby in 1998 and Pokemon in 1999.
Why was there a Buzz Lightyear shortage in 1995?
Toy Story's success was far beyond what the toy production had been planned for, and manufacturing lead times meant the shortfall could not be made up before Christmas.
Why is there a satsuma in the stocking?
It's usually traced to a time when citrus fruit was genuinely a winter luxury, and to older traditions of gold coins or oranges in the stocking. Mostly it survives because it always has.
Do you sell toys?
No - we make greeting cards, prints and pin badges. This page is purely for the memory of it.