Holiday Toys: Then and Now

HOLIDAY TOYS then nol & Everyone loves new toys for the holidays, but some popular toys today are toys from way back when, with cool new technologies and upgrades! 1930s p VIEWMASTER then now VIEWMASTER Long before all the 3D movies and TVs, there was the View-Master®. Although the beloved original version would be considered low-tech in today's standards, its newest adaptation brings it all together with its clever integration with an iPhone/ iPod Touch and promises to deliver a whole new experience to this classic. 1940s SCRABBLE CRASSLE now then SCRABBLE In a dictionary it means "to grope frantically," but to over 150 million households worldwide, the word Scrabble can mean hours of educational fun. This simple board game continues to bring entertainment to all ages, but the fun doesn't stop on the board with their new card game versions (Slam! and Turbo Slam!) and the iPhone/iPad app! 1950s now then MR. POTATO HEAD Who doesn't play with their food every now and then? The famous Mr. Potato Head was just a set of plastic parts that could be stuck into a real potato, until the now familiar potato shape was introduced in response to parents finding moldy potatoes under children's beds everywhere! After almost 50 years of bottomless pop culture costuming and movie appearances, the popular spud (and his wife) are going to be wearing pants with their slimmer bodies in 2011. Who wouldn't want THAT for the holidays? 1960s LEGO then now LEGO Nothing stirs creativity and imagination like a good set of Lego blocks. It all started with a few simple plastic blocks, and now with 2,200 different piece types and many licensed versions, Lego continues to inspire builders of all ages to create anything from a police car, to the Taj Mahal, to programmable robots, to recreating a scene from a movie, and much more. Feeling extra creative? You can go online and design your very own Lego set! Sounds like an awesome holiday gift idea (hint hint). 1970s now then VIDEO GAMES Kids these days probably have no idea how the video game industry got its first break. Long before classics like Pac-Man and Space Invaders, and the latest hits like Madden and Gears of War, there was Pong. The first commercially successful video game was a simple 2D table tennis simulation that started it all. Now with the use of high-tech innovations like motion capture, and development budgets that rival Hollywood movies, video games are almost as good as the real thing. 1980s now then RUBIK'S CUBE Invented as a 3D teaching tool, the original cubic mechanical puzzle was ALL the rage in the 1980s. This simple yet challenging 3x3x3 puzzle has maintained its core concept but continues to stimulate the minds of adults (even the really smart ones) and kids alike-with their new TouchCube, we're bound to fall in love all over again! 1990s then now TICKLE ME ELMO He was already a huge favorite on the TV show Sesame Street, but with the release of his Tickle Me Elmo toy in 1996 he skyrocketed to become the most wildly successful doll since Cabbage Patch Kids. The successive versions like TMX were also popular but not as explosive, but the newest interactive Let's Rock Elmo that recognizes each instrument is sure to rock kids' hearts! 2000s Plaulsts Smas Centart Settian then now IPOD It is simply one of the biggest inventions of our time-in 2001, Steve Jobs forever changed the course of media and entertainment distribution with the release of the original iPod. With every new iPod version thereafter, innovative features were added, and more and more people clamored to get their hands on it. iPod Touch is their newest addition, and has crushed everyone's expectation of what a "digital media player" was meant to do by leaps and bounds. 2010 2011 ZHU ZHU PETS Released in 2009, these collectible critters were S0 popular they instantly sold out everywhere. This lack of supply seemed to add fuel to their popularity well into 2010 and beyond. With their brand-new 3D movie, it seems SING-A-MA-JIGS! The 2011 winners of "Toy of the Year" are certainly a special crew! These kooky multicolored creatures are interesting on their own, but even more compelling as a group and harmonize perfectly. How do you resist the temptation to collect them all? that these Pets are going to be something way more than just pets. prontocom Information on this infographic is based on an independent study conducted by Pronto, LLC. Pronto is not responsible for any errors or misrepresentation of a product.