Must-have Christmas toys through the years

Inspired by a political cartoon depicting President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear during a hunting trip, a Brooklyn shopkeeper began selling a stuffed bear toy called "Teddy’s Bear." At the same time, a similar toy produced in Germany was exported in bulk to the US. Soon, every kid in America and beyond wanted what became known as the teddy bear.

It was just what every kid had longed for: a spud with a moveable face. First distributed by the Hasbro toy company in 1952, Mr. Potato Head was originally sold as a set of plastic body parts that could be applied to a real potato. In the 1960s, new regulations meant that Hasbro couldn't produce pieces sharp enough to puncture spuds, so the company began including a plastic potato "body" as well.

American businesswoman Ruth Handler, inspired by a doll she found on a trip to Germany, convinced her husband, the co-founder of the Mattel toy company, to market an adult-sized doll to girls. Named after the couple‘s daughter, Barbie debuted in 1959 and became one of the best-selling toys of all time, as well as a target for critics who said the doll promoted unrealistic standards for women.

Setting out to disprove the idea that boys don’t like playing with dolls too, Hasbro began a line of military-themed "action figures" starting in 1964. In the early 1980s, Hasbro revived the line, updating them as smaller plastic figures that were among the most popular toys of the decade. Books, T-shirts, video games, cartoon shows and movies soon followed.

No one expected 1977’s "Star Wars" to be the hit that it was, least of all Kenner, the company licensed to produce the toy line for the film. From 1978 to 1985, Kenner made more than 100 different action figures based on the film. And while the company discontinued the original line of toys in 1985, "Star Wars" action figures continue to be in high demand around the world.

They might seem innocent, but these bright-eyed baby dolls caused all sorts of havoc when they hit shelves in 1982. As demand increased around the holiday season, camera crews captured scenes of parents practically tackling each other to the ground in an effort to get their hands on one. The toy company even pulled commercials for the dolls in an effort to quell the madness.

Another seemingly innocuous toy that reeked havoc during the holiday season, Tickle Me Elmo – a plush toy based on the Sesame Street character that "laughed" when you tickled it – was introduced by Tyco Preschool in 1996. A short supply of the toy led to another "shopping frenzy" in the US, with reports of some violence breaking out in stores.

One of the last true toy phenomena, Furby, a robotic pet that interacts with its owner, created a stir in 1998. Furbies are able to communicate with each other and require their owners to "feed" them. Nearly 2 million units were sold in 1998 alone; since then, new lines of Furbies have been released throughout the years.