Retro Gifts for Kids

They say every little boy wants a train set for Christmas. I'll tell you, though -- this little girl had one, as well. I had two older brothers and most of my really neat toys were hand-me-downs from them.

Train travel has certainly improved in the last 50 years, though. This model runs on batteries -- a vast improvement over those electric transformers that kept shorting out the house circuits and always smelled like something burning.

Pictured: Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer Freight Train Set with Diorama

Raggedy Ann is probably the most beloved doll in American history. She was created in 1915 by Johnny Gruelle for his daughter. In 1918 the public met her in the book, Raggedy Ann Stories. The rest, as they say, is history.

Pictured: 12" Raggedy Ann and Andy Collectors Set

I always wanted an erector set, but never got one. What I got instead was a set of Lincoln Logs. Let me tell you something about Lincoln Logs. They come jammed into a skinny little cylinder, and when you're done playing, you have to fit them all back in. You've got to be kidding me!

Pictured: Erector Multi Model Construction Set

Did you have a tea set when you were little? Mine was china, in the Blue Willow pattern. Oh, I had a bunch of lovely tea parties with that set!

Pictured: Saddlebrook Pink Roses Mini Teaset

I had a little red wagon, but mine wasn't an authentic Radio Flyer. Mine was a hand-me-down from my two older brothers. It was heavy, and pulled to the right, and was pretty rusty. I do remember dragging my best inanimate friends, Dicky Doll and Sally, around for adventures in it, though.

Get your kid a real Radio Flyer. Trust me.

Pictured: Radio Flyer Little Red Wagon

It's really hard for me to look at these without thinking about the South Park episode.

Pictured: Schylling Sea Monkeys Magicquarium

You could make your own, of course, but it's getting pretty close to Christmas, isn't it?

My mother made me a sock monkey once, but I was about 35 years old at the time. (I'd asked for it.) You're never too old for sock monkeys

Pictured: Schylling Sock Monkey

"Knock it down and it bounces back up."

I did not have one of these punching bags -- I suspect my parents didn't want to encourage my aggressive tendencies. My brother did have one at one time, which he won in a contest by saying that his mother "wouldn't let him hit his younger brother." It had perished long before I was born.

Pictured: 3-D Shark Bop Bag

All right, I know this is going to be controversial, and I'm a little undecided myself as to whether it's a good idea to get kids guns or not. Obviously, you're not going to get this for anyone except an extremely responsible child who is going to use it only with parental supervision.

I actually had, not one, but two bb guns when I was a kid. (One hand-me-down from each brother.) No one would buy me any ammunition, though.

Pictured: Daisy Red Ryder BB Air Gun

When you're getting a starter baton, you'll want something fairly sturdy, and with a decent heft to it. This model looks just perfect.

Pictured: Star Line Baton Co. Starlet Twirling Baton- 7/16 in Shaft

Of course it's not genuine raccoon fur!

Pictured: Daniel Boone Coonskin Cap

These are still pretty neat. They're sodium silicate and metallic salts, so don't give them to children young enough to put them in their mouths.

Pictured: Magic Rocks: Ship Wreck

I had a doctor's kit once. Or maybe it was a nurse's kit -- those weren't enlightened times I grew up in. Anyway it was a gift (bribe) to me for being good at the doctor's office during a check-up. Ha! I'll never fall for that again!

Pictured: Learning Resources Pretend & Play Doctor Set