With their rich array of characters, the films offer a myriad of choices for fantastic toy creation. The original films offered toys for children as well as the young at heart such as character figurines of almost the entire cast, star ship models, lightsabers, stuffed Chewbacca dolls and even an entire Ewok Village. These toys were not only crossed the generation gap, but also appealed to both genders. Princess Leah appealed to the female population along with the seemingly huggable teddy-bear-like Ewoks, while the weapons and soldiers were particularly liked by the boys.

With the release of the prequels beginning in 2003, the franchise was introduced to a whole new generation of movie-goers and ignited renewed interest in the first viewers. In addition to the original toy collection, figurines of the newly introduced characters were made available featuring popular Padme Amidala and Jar-Jar Binks and the star ship models and light sabers were updated for the new viewers. The new films also brought renewed interest to the original cast of toys making them even more collectible.

Now, as in 1977, the characters, ships and weapons of the Star Wars franchise appeal to both boys and girls and young and old alike. And although board games may have been replaced by video games, the films and their associated toys are here to stay for many generations to come and are a sure bet for collectors everywhere.

Fisher-Price (one of the biggest toy companies in the world) created the “Play Family” in the 1960’s. They consisted of 5 wooden painted figures. In 1985, they became the “Little People”. Today, with the development of technology, the Little People wooden parts have been replaced by electronic circuitry. Fisher-Price has also developed other popular toys such as “Power Wheels”, “Barney”, and “Dora the Explorer”.

In 1923, the “Hassenfeld Brothers”, company was born. The name was shortened to “Hasbro” in 1968. From Hasbro came the famous “GI Joe” action figures in 1984, as well as the “Transformers” action figures. Boys loved the Transformers toys because they had never seen toys that actually transformed into another toy. Today Transformers toys are more popular then ever because of the two successful movies. Hasbro also produced the “Star Wars” action figures in the 80’s. Star Wars toys have only grown in popularity and are the highest selling action figures of all time.

Tyco is the third largest toy company in the United States. In the 80’s it produced the famous LEGO wood and plastic blocks. In 1995 Tyco became the exclusive provide of Sesame Street toys.

Whether we are young or old, toys will always have a place in our life. They represent the innocent child in us that will never go away.

So what are the toys that never get old? In my experience these are the toys I would suggest for both girls and boys.
First is an easel. The hours of fun that kids get from creating masterpieces lasts from as soon as they can dip their fingers into paints until well after they are beginning to take art classes. As a parent, I still like to paint using the easel sometimes.

Second is block puzzles. In the beginning kids chew on the blocks, then stack them, and then later discover the ways to put them together to create the scene. Afterwards, they get joy from making funny disjointed pictures. My block puzzles lasted from age 9 months until 10 years old for fun.

Third is a parachute and some bean bags or bouncy balls. When kids are young, you can make it work for them. Blowing bubbles or bouncing balls and letting them crawl through the billows on top. Then you can make it fly like a tent and let them run under, and when they are older they can do it themselves and try to balance the balls or bean bags on it by themselves. They can also be used to make forts.

The word creepy, crawlers, and gross are a few words to describe a new line of toys from the 1980s. Creepy Crawlers Bug Maker allowed children to melt their very own “real” plastic toy bugs. The Garbage Pail Kids were the new collector’s items. They came in the forms of movies, dolls, and trading cards. Mad Balls were the hit for the most disgusting toy of the time. They were gross looking, squishing balls to throw to your friends. Many of these balls had floating eyeballs, fingers, or bugs inside of them.

On a sweeter side of toys you would find the Cabbage Patch dolls in 1983. The Cabbage Patch Dolls came with their very own special birth certificate. The Care Bears joined the scene in 1981 and we got Funshine Bear, Birthday Bear, and then who can forget the pink Love-a-Lot Bear with two hearts on her belly. Every little girl’s dream of having their very special pony were answered when My Little Pony joined us in 1981.

The world’s greatest minds enjoyed the Rubik Cubes challenge. The fastest record in unscrambling the cube was just 22.95 seconds. If you preferred a different kind of challenge, then the Simon Says game may just be your speed. Both of these mind challenging games made their appearances in the 80s and both are still very popular today. Beware these games may be eaten by the Hungary Hungary Hippos if your aren’t careful.

Who could resist the Rubik’s Cube? No matter how many times you tried to match up all the colors together, there was frustration because another color would would no longer match up. This surely kept those children in 1974 busy, and even today you are able to buy a Rubik’s Cube. Another challenging game that came out in the 1970’s was Simon, which allowed children to attempt to match the pattern that the computer made. If you missed or hit the wrong color you had to start all over again.

Of course we can not forget a big hit among the toddler/preschool generation when Hungry Hungry Hippos was released. This game included four hippos who we very hungry and needed to be fed little white balls. In order to win you had the be hippo who ate the most white balls. Don’t be fooled though about how easy it was, because as you are trying eat the white balls so are the competitors. The balls would go flying around the board game making it difficult for them to catch. As with other 1970’s popular toys you are still able to purchase this game for your children and watch them be the hungriest hippo.

Many other toys came out in the 1970’s that were very popular, and a majority of them are still on the market today. It seems that even though some of the toys may have changed slightly over the years, parents today are buying them for their children to enjoy. Could it be simply because they miss these toys themselves, or is it because they were made more durable during that time frame than the toys made in today’s market? Only the parents will ever know the answer.

Mattel Yackers Pull String Talkers. They were plush, and when their pull strings were activated, they spoke a phrase. They had several different phrases. Another attraction was that their mouths moved when they talked. They had many different animal characters. Some of them were Larry the Lion, Bernie St. Bernard, Chester O’Chimp, and Crakers the Parrot.

In 1965 Mattel introduced the See ‘N Say. They were an educational toy that developed from the success of the Chatty Cathy dolls. Farmer Says and Bee Says were the first two. The Farmer Says See ‘N Say made animal sounds and the Bee Says See ‘N Say taught letters with words that begin with each letter. Other models of See ‘N Say’s were the Mister Sound which used city sounds, Mister Music which taught musical instruments, Clock Says which taught time, and others.

The Etch A Sketch is made with a flat gray screen, and the 2 knobs in the front move the stylus which “etches” in aluminum powder. The knobs make the stylus go vertically or horizontally. It was invented in France, and when the Ohio Art Company purchased it in the 60’s, they named it the Etch A Sketch.

The game Operation was available in 1965 and created by John Spinello. The board consists of a cartoon man named Cavity Sam. He has a red bulb nose that would light up (with a buzzer) to signify the turn was over. Each player tries to remove elements of the body like the funny bone.

Each of the four models of G.I. Joe represented a branch of the US military. There was a soldier, a pilot, a sailor and a marine. GI Joe represented a pride in the men who served in the Armed Forces of The United States of America.

G.I. is an abbreviation of the term Government Issue. For years, US soldiers have been referred to as G.I.s. The first figures were 12 inches in height but over the years other collections have been released in which the figures were 3 ¾ inches high. An African American G.I. Joe was released in 1965 and sold in selected areas of the country. Later lines have also included figures representing the armed forces of other countries, such as Australia and Great Britain. There was also a female model: GI Jane, for the girls. Many countries around the world have their own version of G.I. Joe. The British model goes by the name of Action Man.

G.I. Joe was a huge hit with boys of all ages, not just in the 1960s, but all the way up to the present day. These popular action figures are still available in stores and online. Kids have enjoyed collecting the various models of GI Joe, as well as the extensive collection of accessories that are available for him, such as: uniforms, communications equipment, boats, backpacks and guns.

A quick trip down memory lane is sufficient to list the popular classic wooden toys.

The most popular classic wooden toy is an icon. Every kid, at some point of time or the other, has wanted to become a soldier. Every kid knew that the best part of being a soldier was that you could ride horses. That is the reason why every kid loved the wooden horse. All he or she needed was an imaginary sword and he or she was a heroic general saving the world. This toy was and still is the most popular classic wooden toy.

Although men do not admit it, they too loved playing with dolls. They loved the whole setup- the wooden dolls, the wooden doll houses, the wooden doll furniture, the wooden kitchen sets, the wooden puppet theater, the wooden carts etc. All children, whether male or female, love playing with dolls. Some grow out of them but nobody forgets them. Wooden dolls are another example of classic wooden toys.

Another popular classic wooden toy is the wooden train on the wooden tracks. You may have memories of fighting with you father and your elder siblings to play with this toy. You never grow out of this classic toy. Boys will always love to play with the wooden trains on its wooden tracks.

Every toy contributes to the development of the children. However, one classic wooden toy that is indispensable for the development of the children is the wooden building block. Wooden blocks introduce the children to the new world where their imagination and their creativity are not fettered by the chains of reality.

The classic wooden toys are very simple and very functional. There are no rules to be remembered and no method to be followed. All that is needed is imagination and the toys help you on the way.

Kids have played with these classic toys for centuries now and yet have not become tired of them. The classic toys have remained true to the basic rule that all toys must comply with. Toys are mere objects. It is the imagination of the children that converts them into objects of entertainment and amusement. They are means to an end, the end being the amusement and the development of the children.