Philadelphia-based Abby Ryan Design came up with this fun infographic of the most popular toys from 50 years of Christmas shopping. If you were a child during any of that time, you’ll doubtless recognise something. Then you’ll scratch your head in bafflement at how damned expensive today’s most-requested gifts are.
This is a complaint that parents will never not make, because popular toys are always expensive and kids never want the cheap crap instead because so-and-so’s way cooler parents would never buy knockoff junk. Still, 1975’s pet rock looks a damn sight more reasonable than 2010’s iPad, and with the exception of 2009’s Zhu Zhu Pets, spendy electronics have been the theme for the past nine years.
We’re not certain if Abby Ryan Design based each year’s toy on sales data, or if they just chose based on cultural relevance. Still, it’s fun to look back and see how toy tastes have changed — as long as you don’t have a kid at home expecting to find 2013’s most popular (and expensive) doodad wrapped up with a bow this year. [Abby Ryan Design via visual.ly]
