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Fondest Christmas Gift Memories
As a kid, I used to love sitting by the lit Christmas tree in the nights leading up to Christmas day. Just dreaming about what treasures lay hidden beneath all that gift wrapping.
Omnibot 2000!
This was the DREAM GIFT of any kid growing up around the mid 80s.
http://www.theoldrobots.com/omni2k.html
It cost around $600. Yes, there was a period of time in the 80s when my family was doing well enough that I could get a $600 robot for Christmas. (Trust me, that bubble eventually popped hard but that's not what this post is about.)
I was way into robots (still fascinated by them) and the idea of owning my own little robot butler was a massive fantasy.
Of course, most fantasies must reckon with the harsh Christmas morning daylight of reality...
Only one arm of the robot actually moved. The other arm could be posed but would not move on its own. (For $600, you only get ONE ARM!)
It used an audio cassette tape to record data. It had tank treading and you could program a path for it to move at a specific time (like an alarm) but it was not precise. No collision detection for $600 back in the 80s. Any slight variances in the floor would set it on a different course, so that path you programmed it to make, from your bedroom to the kitchen, would inevitably lead to it crashing into a wall.
It could... technically pour a drink... very, very poorly. And most of that drink would more likely end up splashed acrossed its motorized tray. This was the worst robot bartender you could ever hope for.
Again... I loved the possibility of this gift more than the reality of it. And spoiled as I may have been to have gotten it at the time, I was incredibly happy that Christmas morning.
Tell us about one of your favorite Christmas gift memories growing up.
Was it a toy? A game? A pair of socks? Bonus points, as always, for pictures.






When I was 8-9 years old, I was obsessed with all things unicorn. I think DD gets it from me. My mother got me this nightlight for Chanukah, and told me not to break it. She still works, but I need to get her a new bulb. She's officially DD's now.
Is this a lamp?
Sorry, posting an image comment on my phone, had to edit to give description. ;) it's there now.
I can't remember, it was a long time ago. But I remember the Christmas I received this https://www.etsy.com/listing/29212162/retro-aqua-toy-electric-iron-really?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=electric%20toy%20iron&ref=sr_gallery_7, and the pop beads.
I may need to buy this.
that's hilarious!
It got warm! It actually got warm, not enough to really iron, but enough to let you know you weren't just some dumb kid, but a Mom!
Now I have to find the pop beads. ..... Here they are! http://tinyurl.com/z8upz4x Mine were flat white, not colors. I thought they were pearls. I think I must have had the 2 beads per inch size, I remember them large enough to handle. But, I don't think they can get away with selling them to little kids now, choking hazard.
edit. Here they are, exactly! https://www.etsy.com/listing/461216740/1960s-vintage-pop-beads-plastic-white?ref=hp_rv
I have a vague recollection of toys like this! It's possible I've encountered this "toy iron". I loved stuff like that.
Loved the Easy Bake Oven. Baking shallow cakes with a lightbulb. So fun.
I had the first Easy Bake Oven, not that plastic streamlined new thing, but the real old one, metal as all get out. (here it is! http://www.toyhalloffame.org/sites/www.toyhalloffame.org/files/toys/square/easy-bake-oven_0.png) I remember baking a cake for my father with the recipe and little envelope of cake mix provided, (mom helped), and being so excited for him to get home from work so I could have him taste it, and ask him to guess the "secret ingredient"! He couldn't. Vinegar! Why would the recipe have included that? I have no idea, what could that have done to the cake recipe. I've never seen it before, or since.