Who can forget the thrill we experienced of getting a new toy? Whether it was the trendy toy that year and really big deal or whether it was a dime store cheapie, there was nothing quite like it. Kids always love to play, but toys have changed quite a bit over the years. Here are 50 years of the most popular toys from 1930 to 1980.
1930 CHARLOTTE CLARK MICKEY MOUSE DOLL
The small stuffed dolls were designed and produced by Charlotte Clark and her staff after the Walt Disney short “Steamboat Willie” was released to great accord. In true 1930s fashion, when demand exceeded production, patterns for mothers to make a Mickey for their children were released by Clark! What followed in the years after was a slew of merchandise on everything from notepads to watches to socks and everything in between.
1931 FINGER PAINT
Look at those wonderful polka dot smocks to keep the paint off their dresses. Before 1931, the concept of finger-painting was not well-known.
1932 ROCKFORD SOCK MONKEY
1936 BALSA WOOD MODEL SETS
Balsa wood model kits were cheap to produce and this was a bonus for many families. Models continued to be popular, but in later years were often made of plastic or metal. This kit contains a mixture of metal and balsa pieces.
1937 PEDAL CARS
A pedal car in 1937 would have cost a family about $15, which in today’s money would have been about $250. An extravagant gift even by today’s standards, pedal cars were most popular during the interwar period and were prominently featured in Sears catalogs every year during the Great Depression. The shortage of metal during WWII did more to harm sales than did the overall poverty of the Dust Bowl years.
1938 RED RYDER BB GUN
1939 BEACH BALL
New innovations during the ’30s and during WWII meant that many new designs were being applied to children’s toys. However, in many cases the materials simply weren’t there. Metals and plastics were being used in the war effort and many new toys created during this time did not begin production until well after the war. It was a simpler time of pastel books, bright red fire engines, and a return to the homemade toys of the Great Depression.
1959 BARBIE
One of the most popular toys ever designed, Barbie changed the game for doll manufacturers and gave little girls a chance to experiment with fashion.
The ’60s were an exciting time for kids. New toys were being developed all the time and TV showed us what was on offer like never before. We had new electronic devices, brighter colors, and a huge number of characters to choose from. The kinds of toys available were becoming more diverse, as evidenced by the pocket-sized Hot Wheels and the plug-in Lite Brite.