THERE’S A SHORTAGE of Furbys and iPad minis this Christmas, and Downton Abbey and Love/Hate boxsets will be flying off the shelves.

What were the hot commodities in days of yore? When you asked for ‘one big present’ or maybe even a surprise? What were you hoping for under the tree?

1. Commodore 64

In the early-mid eighties if you got a Commodore 64 on Christmas morning you almost couldn’t wait for school to start up again in January so you could go in and brag about it.

(Flickr/GrafSpee)

YouTube/MadCommodore

2. Amstrad CPC 464

You were either a Commodore 64 house or an Amstrad 464 house (if you were lucky).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many, many joysticks were broken playing Daley Thompson’s Decathalon, and then you had to wait until the following Christmas to get a new one:

YouTube/MatHowlet

3. Operation

If you could convince your parents to buy something that made so much noise, you were on to a winner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

4. All the Lego

You could have all the lego in the world and still yearn for more. It’s the ultimate present.

(Shutterstock)

5. Nintendo/Super Nintendo/Nintendo 64/Sega Megadrive

Remember when we thought Mario Paint was the pinnacle of cutting edge design software, and even further back when Mario himself only came in 2D? When Sonic the Hedgehog and Echo the Dolphin were like heroes? Good times.

Original NES (Wikimedia Commons)

Nintendo 64 in 1996 (KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AP/Press Association Images)

Sega Mega Drive, 1990 (Wikimedia Commons)

6. Scalextric

(SlotForum)

7. Sylvanian Families

The tiny teacups, the tiny bikes, the tiny EVERYTHING!

(SylvanianFamiliesDirect)

8. Star Wars X Wing

Or anything from the Star Wars collection for that matter…

(SWCA.com)

9. BMX bike

Or any kind of bike really. We just wanted a bike.

(Shutterstock)

Tell us, what do you want for Christmas?

Pictures: The greatest toys of all time, ever>