Christmas is almost here and the holiday gift buying season is coming to an end. Certain toys every year seem to take off with incredible popularity. Some stand the test of time and post amazing numbers in the long run. Others blow up overnight and sell crazy numbers in just a short time frame. You may have heard the recent buzz about this year’s popular children’s toy, Hatchimals. It is almost impossible to get your hands on one (but Mr. Van Winkle has one!).

Countless shoppers wait in line for hours before stores open to get one. They are being sold online for well over their retail price just because of their rarity. The movie “Jingle All the Way” showcases this type of holiday gift shopping chaos with its Turbo-man doll that shoppers wrestle for in stores. This type of craze over a popular holiday gift isn’t anything new and has in fact been going on for many years. This is a list of some of the hottest holiday gifts of all time.

1. The now well known toy company, Hasbro, first started production of Mr. Potato Head in 1952. Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on TV and was an extremely popular gift around the holidays.
2. Skipping to December of 1979, the somewhat new video game console, Atari, was gaining popularity. It’s first two years of sales had been disappointing. What came to be known as the Atari 2600 was the best selling Christmas gift that year with over 1 million units being sold.
3. The Cabbage Patch Dolls frenzy began in December 1983. The dolls gained popularity when celebrities were seen carrying them around.  The dolls were in high demand and the supplies were limited. This created chaos in stores during December with everyone trying to get their hands on one. Over 2 million dolls were sold in the first six months.
4. Tickle me Elmo was introduced by Rosie O’Donnell on her show in 1996. She gave out 200 dolls to her live studio audience and the doll’s popularity skyrocketed. Similar to the Cabbage Patch dolls, Tickle me Elmo was in low supply during the weeks leading up to Christmas. The chaos was also similar to that of the Cabbage Patch dolls and shoppers went crazy trying to get one. People documented newspaper ads that asked for as much as 1,500 per doll. By the end of December, 1 million dolls had been sold.
5. At the Toy Industry Association’s annual toy fair in 1998, the Furby was unveiled. The toy wasn’t released until October, but Furby caught the attention of many shoppers. Over 14 million Furbies were sold in 1999, but during December of 1998 the toys were scarce and hard to find in stores. Furbies were re-selling for hundreds of dollars more than its original retail price of $35. The year 1998 was also the time when people started shopping on the Internet. Ebay was only 4 years old at the time and about 25% of American households had internet access at the time. This didn’t seem to be an issue as many people made thousands of dollars off the craze for Furbies.
6. This season’s hottest holiday gifts are Hatchimals. Hatchimals are interactive stuffed animals that a child gets to help hatch and then play with. The toys originally sold in stores for about $50 to $60. At this point in time the toy is sold out in practically all stores and major online retailers. Parents that wish to not disappoint their children are frantically trying to find these toys on resale sites including Ebay, Craigslist, and the Amazon Marketplace. Prices on these sites are upwards of $250.

These annual Christmas fads have become a tradition to many consumers as they go out every year seeking the seemingly rare toys that will be collecting dust on the shelves come the next year. And there will always be the people who end up making a fortune re-selling these rare toys. As this holiday shopping season comes to an end we have until next year to prepare for the next big toy.