Favorite Christmas Present Ever?

[hentzau]

Heard this question posed on a podcast the other day and there was one thing that came to my mind immediately…the Ready Ranger Mobile Field Pack.



This thing was 9 year old me’s ultimate wish. I mean, look at this thing!!! I can viscerally remember the happiness and excitement as I opened up this present. Of course, within a month most of it was broken or lost or didn’t work any more. But man, I loved this thing.



If I think about it, I can certainly remember better Christmases, and better presents. But this one was my favorite. The first thing I thought of. Hell, my daughter was born on December 26th…she’d probably be pissed that I didn’t say her.

[Daehawk]

I got so many great things/ Ill have to think on this.

For me it is a tie between a train set my dad got me and the Atari 2600 my mom got me.

The train set I cant find a pic of . It was early 80s like 1981. It was a circular track on a big pre made land thing. It had mountains and tunnels. The train was a steam train with working lights and smoke, and pistons chugging. It would run around the valley so to speak on its big circular track. I kept it stored under my dad's bed. It was that big. Id just pull it out, plug it in, and go. Fun times. It wasn't a big train..not HO scale. Smaller.

The other of course was the Atari 2600.



Man when I opened it we all played it all day in the basement in the den. What fun that Christmas was too. You just dont get those anymore.

The ones with my wife were also the best. She always got me PC games and hardware. In 1994 the year she got me the PC she got me a 28.8 modem. BIG step up from the 2400 baud it came with. Allowed me to game and started me on my trail of pc gaming I still do today.

[Kraken]

I don't remember what it was called. It was an electric fan in the shape of a radar dish, controlled by a joystick mounted on a cardboard landing pad. The vehicle was a balloon with a plastic undercarriage. You used the fan to fly the balloon, and it was remarkably responsive and controllable, with a longer range than you'd expect. I especially liked to torment my dog with balloon attacks.

I also got an HO racetrack one year that gave me a lot of pleasure. I'm sure it cost far more than that balloon fan thing, but I think I had more fun flying balloons.

[Daehawk]

Lucky for you I just saw a video on this the other day.

I don't remember what it was called. It was an electric fan in the shape of a radar dish, controlled by a joystick mounted on a cardboard landing pad. The vehicle was a balloon with a plastic undercarriage. You used the fan to fly the balloon, and it was remarkably responsive and controllable, with a longer range than you'd expect. I especially liked to torment my dog with balloon attacks.

Johnny Astro?

[em2nought]

Go Kart without a doubt. Wasn't something I'd asked for or was even expecting to get. My nephew and I must have made quite a fuss over them the one time we went to a rental go kart track. I think my father must have asked for forgiveness rather than permission because my mother was basically afraid of everything.



Mine was much like this, but grey with a single seat. Served me well for fun from the end of middle school until college. I only ever tipped it over once. I got a road rash on my buttock which I managed to hide from my mother so she never knew until years later.

[YellowKing]

I have to echo Daehawk. The Atari 2600.

You have to keep in mind that the year I got it, which would have been around 1981, the Atari 2600 cost the equivalent of around $400 today. My mom was raising two kids as a single parent and made minimum wage. So just this one present was worth nearly a month's salary.

While I never understood as a kid that we were living paycheck to paycheck, I knew even at that young age that such extravagances were well beyond our means. So when I opened it, I was in shock. I even remember falling backwards on the couch in surprise. I still consider it the Best. Christmas. Ever. (runner up was the year I got Castle Grayskull).

It's funny because years later when I was a teen my mom married my first stepfather, and he was really well off financially. During those years I had "rich kid" Christmases. Ping pong tables, dirt bikes, trampolines, ski resort trips, Disney World vacations. Fun at the time, sure, but looking back as an adult they aren't nearly as memorable. Those things had no real thought behind them. They were just piles of money. The Christmases my mom put together as a single parent were blood, sweat, and tears.

[LawBeefaroni]

I have to echo Daehawk. The Atari 2600.

Same. My mom got it and shocked my dad and I. Pretty sure it came from Sears.

[Kraken]

Johnny Astro?

That must be it. I don't remember it being called that, and I don't remember the fake gauges on the control board. But 60 years have a way of blurring details. Love the Gemini footage in the advert. Ed White's spacewalk was in 1965, so that ad was probably 1966 or 67, when I would've been 9 or 10 years old and loved all things space-related.

[Blackhawk]

I went around in my mind on this one, but...

I have to echo Daehawk. The Atari 2600.

You have to keep in mind that the year I got it, which would have been around 1981 1980, the Atari 2600 cost the equivalent of around $400 today. My mom was raising two kids as a single parent and made minimum wage. So just this one present was worth nearly a month's salary.

While I never understood as a kid that we were living paycheck to paycheck, I knew even at that young age that such extravagances were well beyond our means. So when I opened it, I was in shock. I even remember falling backwards on the couch in surprise. I still consider it the Best. Christmas. Ever.

I struck out the only two details that were different for me. In my case, my father was working, and my mother had just died three months before. I'm guessing that he got it with money that we received after her death, as spontaneous gestures after that were almost unheard of.

[Pyperkub]

This one is WAY up on the list - I wanted it SO bad (think Ralphie), and my mom pulled the old man stunt and took it out of the package and managed to stuff it in my stocking so I had no idea it was there:



Another gift was one which I had never heard of, but it was fantastic for years until I left for college:

[Daehawk]

Man we really had some times didn't we? The generations today just wont understand it..the way we felt and loved the things we got.

Also Id rank high on the list the Vertibird I got..Id sit in the floor for hours flying that thing around and around vroom vroooom vroooom.

Spoiler:

I also got a lot of AFX electric slot car race sets too. I think it was AFX anyways.Dad used to buy them at the local hobby store.

[Kraken]

You kids and your electronics.

One of my childhood xmas presents was an electric football game. You know the sort -- plastic figurines that mill about on a vibrating metal field. I never cared much about football and the gameplay left a lot to be desired, based as it was on semi-random movement, but I did like painting the men.

Dark Tower was one of my earliest splurges; I wasn't someone who buys himself unnecessary things, especially something so extravagant. I think I paid $60 for it, which was like a couple hundred of today's dollars. It was billed as the first computer game because the tower had a computer chip in it. I sold it on ebay about 10 years ago.

[Holman]

LOVED getting Dark Tower for Christmas, which I did.

But I think maybe the most significant favorite Christmas present I got was Temple of Apshai for our TRS-80 in 1980.

This was my first realization that a computer game could be involved in the same kind of thing I was just then learning to do with D&D.

I spent this evening playing Baldur's Gate 3. That wouldn't have been possible without Apshai pointing the way.

[hentzau]

Dark Tower was another great present for me as well.

And there was an amazing Christmas where I got nothing but model kits. And my mom and dad set up a work table in my bedroom for me to build them for then next few months. But they had to make sure that I kept my door open while working on them…I started getting light headed one evening from the model glue fumes.

[Jolor]

I have to echo Daehawk. The Atari 2600.

Same.

I bought this while on a business trip to Chicago. It was (much) cheaper there than in Canada and I had the receipt clearly spell out how it was bought at below the declaration threshold. I brought it back to my parents' place so we could play Pong and some tank battle game. Favourite memory was my mom just getting blown up continuously and laughing, and laughing, and laughing.

[hepcat]

[Smoove_B]

I've been thinking about this for a few hours now, and I honestly can't remember a single Xmas present as a kid. I mean, I know there were things, but nothing is jumping into my brain as being the best Xmas ever because of a specific thing.

That's weird, right?

I wanted Dark Tower. I wanted that electronic football game thing. I wanted a 2600. But I didn't get any of them.

[Kraken]

Once I got the Mercury space capsule for my GI Joe. It came with a silver space suit, naturally. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that it would not survive my reentry testing.

[Daehawk]

One of my childhood xmas presents was an electric football game. You know the sort -- plastic figurines that mill about on a vibrating metal field. I never cared much about football and the gameplay left a lot to be desired, based as it was on semi-random movement, but I did like painting the men.

I had that too. I actually think it was called Electric Football. Between the box and what was in the box I was sorely disappointed but I didn't let on. I called it the buzzing board. Loud too. No matter how I weighted my players they just seemed to do their own thing. Im surprised that thing got past the board room.
Lemme see if I can find it online.

EDIT: Got it..

https://starrcards.com/super-small-supe ... ing-chess/

Spoiler:

[Daehawk]

I collected Micronauts from K-Mart in the very early 80s. I guess I was 11 or 12. had a bunch of them. Dad had me on the weekends then and he'd stop at K-Mart after picking me up and let me pick one to add to my collection.

Huh I thought I was the only one around who even remembered Micronauts as a thing.

[hepcat]

I also had a Rom the Space Knight.

[Anonymous Bosch]

This:



…along with this:

[Daehawk]

I also had a Rom the Space Knight.

Aww I only had the comics.

[Zarathud]

This:



…along with this:

Bought the C64 myself and pirated Elite.

I remember getting Dark Tower for Christmas. Also the Quiz Whiz where the rom kept the multiple choice answers for trivia books.

[LordMortis]

C3POs? Never had them but I vaguely remember that they existed. What a strange Christmas gift.

I honestly don't remember my favorite. Maybe a pair of albums Against the Wind and Back in Black which began my listening to music more than just what was on the radio. Maybe the Kenner Millennium Falcon a couple of years earlier than that? Maybe the Led Zeppelin T Shirts I got every year for a few years beginning a year after? As a child, I was greedy and little was truly special. As I grew, I didn't want anything, as gift reception breeds a feeling reciprocity and I'm a horrible gift giver.

[Zenn7]

Probably a tie between a bike (i had one old used bike, and got this brand new bike for xmas - and there was just a few spots of snow, no new snow, so I was able to go out and ride it xmas day - which in Michigan, is not something you can count on) and my C64 (I'd had a Vic 20 as my first computer, brother got it cheap at a garage sale, enjoyed it quite a bit for what it was; but the C64 was WAY better!)

I've had numerous other very cool gifts and was somewhat spoiled, but those were probably my 2 favorites.

[Lassr]

I collected Micronauts from K-Mart in the very early 80s. I guess I was 11 or 12. had a bunch of them. Dad had me on the weekends then and he'd stop at K-Mart after picking me up and let me pick one to add to my collection.

Huh I thought I was the only one around who even remembered Micronauts as a thing.

I still have my Force Commander and Baron Karza in the attic. All the other stuff disappeared, got tossed, over the years...


Micronauts were probably my favorite toys but I didn't get them for Christmas as I used my allowance to buy it all.

I still have the full collection of the Comic from issue 1 to the end.

[Lassr]

I vividly remember this one that I played with all the time



and of course the Atari 2600 will also be my all time favorite (Space Invaders and Chess) were the games I got with it.

[Unagi]

Dark Tower. What a blast to the past.

I'm not sure if you will get this reference... but any time I hear Peter Gabriel's song, Games Without Frontiers... I think of Black Tower.

The game had (IIRC) four different realms (red, blue, green, and yellow) surrounding the black tower in a circle... There was a strip of land that was between each realm and that strip of land was marked as "Frontier"
I imagine I might have even truly learned the word "Frontier" from this game.


So, when I hear the line "Games without frontiers, war without tears"... I think "Actually, I think Black Tower is the only game I can think of that has Frontiers"

Spoiler:

[Daehawk]

This one is WAY up on the list - I wanted it SO bad (think Ralphie), and my mom pulled the old man stunt and took it out of the package and managed to stuff it in my stocking so I had no idea it was there:

I wanted one of those for a couple years. I finally got Football II. It was better yes but not in my eyes at the time. I was a kid lol

[coopasonic]

I've been thinking about this for a few hours now, and I honestly can't remember a single Xmas present as a kid. I mean, I know there were things, but nothing is jumping into my brain as being the best Xmas ever because of a specific thing.

That's weird, right?

I wanted Dark Tower. I wanted that electronic football game thing. I wanted a 2600. But I didn't get any of them.

Just so you don't feel so alone, I am also in the camp of not remembering any specific Christmas gifts. I mean I got most of the same things people are talking about here, but I couldn't say for certain if it was christmas, birthday or anything else, not sure what else would be an option.

There was a lot of He-man, GI Joe, Lego, Star Wars figures, etc.

I guess I'd say Stratego stood out to me, not that I know it was a christmas present, but compared to the games we usually played it was amazing.

[Default]

I asked for 1/72 scale model kits for years, because they were $.79-$.99.
We were poor ( something that took until a couple of years ago to admit), and that was something they could afford. Everything else was socks, underwear, a shirt or two, a pair of pants.
As an adult, Christmas has been meaningless, except for gifts to others.

[Zarathud]

I also remember getting a Millennium Falcon for Christmas that served hard duty for years. Also a slot car racing. Mom’s family always made Christmas big.

My grandfather would remember things said throughout the year for his gag gifts. My mom complained about how my preteen brother had no idea of time. So my brother got the Playmate Calendar the next few years, much to my mother’s frustration. He never missed knowing the month afterwards.

[Daehawk]

lol!

I distinctly remember my 12 year old self Christmas. I got that train set and a .410 shotgun. Theres a pic to prove it somewhere. Wish I knew where all of dad's photo albums went when he passed. I used to love looking through them.

Theres one pic of a Christmas a very LONG time back when I was 4 years old of me and him in the floor and a train set running around us he got me. Man, the times.

[em2nought]

Wish I knew where all of dad's photo albums went when he passed. I used to love looking through them.

My sister had ALL of our family 8mm films and the one VCR tape. I think it's the one box she lost in a move as she's still looking for them several years later.

Worst Christmas gift ever, but best story. Santa brought me a vroom motor when I was 4 or 5. Apparently, it scared me to death and I would scream and cry. My sister had the time of her life wrapping it up and repeatedly giving it to gullible me over and over and over.

[Daehawk]

Never heard of those. Looks like they've sold them on Ebay for like $500.

[Sudy]

Being one of the forum kiddies, I'd have to say the SNES with the Mario All-Stars + Mario World combo pack-in. It was toward the end of the console's lifecycle (1995, so I would have been eleven), but it was my first non-handheld system so I was very excited. I also received Donkey Kong Country 2.

I'd received a Game Gear for Christmas a couple years earlier which I was grateful for, but I was also a bit disappointed as I'd asked for a Game Boy which I knew was the superior system.

[Sudy]

There's also this I remember being pretty excited for in '93. I ran into it in my parents' storage a few weeks ago.

[em2nought]

Never heard of those. Looks like they've sold them on Ebay for like $500.

My sister might just be the reason I've never been married.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Y'know, on second thought, mine would have to be a toss-up between my trusty Commodore 64, or the eighties Pole Position Scalextric slot car racing set I received, which came in a huge box (and provided innumerable sentimental memories and experiences with my dad):