After all the runaway successes of 1980 toys, 1987 was seemingly uneventful. No fighting in the malls over toys, no upset children because what they wanted was sold out. That is not to say there were not popular items, it is just that there was no must have item.

Did you know that the Nintendo Entertainment System was expected to fail in a declining console market? The personal computer was the future and consoles were on their way out. Only due to some ingenious marketing and sales strategy did the NES console go on to make record sales and become the cultural icon it is today

Teddy Ruxpin was the hot toy of 1985 that was featured on every wishlist. This animatronic fuzzy bear would take a cassette tape that would have the bear move it's eyes and mouth in time to the story.

While the snow has not fallen yet, the weather is certainly cooling. The holidays will be on us in no time. In fact it is fewer than 3 months until Christmas is here. In order to avoid some of the holiday stresses here are a few things you can do now to make things easier come December.

Which came first the toy or the show? In this case the toy. In 1983 representatives from Hasbro discovered that the manufacturer Takara was producing several transforming robot toy lines. Hasbro bought the North American licensing rights and decided to release them under the single brand name of Transformers. 

The Cabbage Patch Kids were insanely popular and topped children's wish lists like no other toy. These strangely proportioned dolls, complete with their own adoption certificate, had some magic to them and they flew off the shelves. First year sales were a record breaking 2.5 million units!

In 1982 Hasbro launched the Glo Worm. This cute plush larva wearing green pajamas and a matching sleeping cap was a hit with kids and parent alike.

With the release of the 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back, a new line of Star Wars toys was introduced. This was one of the first times that a multipart launch occurred. Coinciding with the launch of the movie was the line of toys as well as TV spots advertising the toy. Something that is commonplace now.

One of the most iconic toys (and sources of frustration for many) is the. The Rubik's cube did not have its origins as a toy but was created by Ernő Rubik to solve the structural issues of moving parts without the object falling apart. He did not realize it was a puzzle until he scrambled the pieces and then took more than a month to restore it.

Thanks to the great feedback from our testers last year, our site has launched for this years holiday season