The Stylist team reveal the toys they most wanted for Christmas as kids, from Mr Frosty to Furby

And so, with those special presents in mind, we asked the Stylist team to share the Christmas toy they wanted most when they were a kid – and, more importantly, whether they found it under their tree.

Lisa Smosarski, Editor-in-Chief

“I wanted a Mr Frosty. I loved Christmas adverts and catalogues and there was always Mr Frosty, looking so damn cute AND serving up delicious iced drinks. It was my dream to have him in my life. When he didn’t arrive it took having kids of my own to have one. At the age of 42, I can happily say I now own Mr Frosty. 

“I also dreamed of Girl’s World, and when my mum said a Girl’s World was trashy and disgusting and I’d never own one, I was furious, so in protest I defaced all of my other dolls’ eyelids and hair with nail varnish. She didn’t relent and I never owned a Girl’s World, I just had loads of trashed dolls. As an adult, I now see giving a child a decapitated woman’s head to practice their make-up on might be a bad idea. Well done mum.”

Susan Riley, Editor

“Mr Frosty because they literally looked cool AF, and the kitchen because the girl wheeled it into her parent’s bedroom, shook her dad’s toe and served him beans on an arctic roll which I always thought looked very fantabulous.”

Meena Alexander, Sub Editor

“The things I daydreamed about unwrapping on Christmas morning as a kid are so horribly off-brand I almost don’t want to admit it. Time and again, I asked Santa to bring me the Little Home set from Toys R Us, complete with mini vacuum cleaner and ironing board. Looking back, I now recognise that what I thought was my mum’s horror at the price of this dross was, in fact, feminist outrage. Tragic.”

Kayleigh Dray, Digital Editor

“I really, really wanted a Tamagotchi. It would be JUST like having an actual dog, I reasoned with Santa in my letter, before pointing out (clearly all too aware of the power of emotional blackmail) that we lived in a flat and couldn’t have a dog really and didn’t he want me to be happy? I’d been good ALL YEAR LONG, damn it!

“Santa delivered the goods come Christmas morning: my main present that year (aside from the obligatory satsuma, chocolate coins and scraps of newspaper) was a 101 Dalmatians Tamagotchi. I loved it. I loved it. I pushed all the relevant buttons to feed it, clean it, love it… for about a week. Then my virtual dalmatian became, just like that, unmanageable. It needed feeding every five minutes, beeping incessantly at me from my bedroom. It ‘pooped’ like crazy and needed ‘cleaning’ every couple of seconds, otherwise the pup’s mood dropped to zero and it started crying.

“The pressure was too much. I removed the batteries come March, placed it carefully on the highest shelf in me and my sister’s shared bedroom, and cut my losses. Fun fact? We got a dog a few years later and the actual real-life hound was easier to care for than that digital demon.”

Lauren Geall, Junior Digital Writer

“When I was six or seven, all I wanted for Christmas was the Polly Pocket Amusement Park. To my little six-year-old brain, it was simply the best thing I could ever imagine (and I still think it looks pretty cool now, to be honest). 

“It came with a set of mini Polly Pockets who could ride around on a tea-cup ride, get on a ferris wheel and go on a mini rollercoaster (which actually had a battery-operated launch thingy that made the carriage go round). All in all, I thought it was the coolest thing - EVER. My parents, who spent the whole month of December searching every toy shop in Sussex, may disagree.”

Scott Nelson, Acting Head of Video

“I once received a remote control rally car for Christmas. I’d wanted it for ages and spent a large part of Christmas day driving it around outside the house. I decided to let my cousin have a go, and it took him all of two minutes to drive it in to something and snap part of the bodywork. I learnt never to share your favourite Christmas present again, and it prevented any more trauma for the years to come.”

Alessia Armenise, Picture Editor

“I remember I wanted a Ken, but I kept on getting Barbies so I cut  off all their hair (what a feminist ah!).  But I think it was just because I wanted a love story, and of course, at the time, I thought I needed a man for that. I still ended up making up lesbian love stories between my short-haired Barbies.”

Hollie Richardson, Digital Writer

“I was a spoilt brat with a mum who always overcompensated for us having a “broken” family by giving us toys, but the one thing I am still bitter about is never receiving the Belle costume from the Disney Store. No idea why she refused me that one. I would still probably wear an adult-sized version.”

Nicole Rixon, Producer/Director

“A Furby!!! No idea why but I remember being borderline obsessed with having one, and then the novelty wearing off sometime during Boxing Day. Sorry parents.”

Images: Getty, Unsplash