The biggest holiday gift crazes and fads of the past century

The holidays are coming, and just like every year before this one, there’s sure to be a new gift craze or fad taking the country by storm. To celebrate, Stacker researched the crazes and fads of years past, from 1919 until today.

The information comes from lists of the hardest-to-find and the most popular Christmas gifts; the National Toy Hall of Fame‘s toy list and Toy of the Year awards; inventions that became immediately popular; and lists of the 100 all-time greatest toys. The recommended age range for these gifts is mostly for toddlers, but a few are specifically for adults. This list reveals a unique snapshot of trends from each year in the past century, from building bricks to electronics.

You may know the little green army men and Mr. Potato Head from the “Toy Story” movies, but did you know that the miniature soldiers were first produced in the 1930s and that the spud-inspired plaything was the first toy advertised on TV about 15 years after? What about the 1980s and the debut of Transformers, Koosh ball, and Nintendo? The longevity of many of these gifts speaks volumes: Despite more recent advances in technology and the complexity of designs for holiday crazes like Xbox, iPad, and drones, we still desire the utility and joy from gifts as simple as Legos, Polaroid cameras, and Wiffle balls.

Whether you want to take a trip down memory lane, discover the fads of older generations, or brush up on the hottest trends for the youngest in your family, you may want to scroll through the list to find some inspiration.

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