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Few things evoke a sense of nostalgia like toys. From toys that debuted in the early 20th century or before to electronic games and otherwise that came decades later, here are playthings that many of us are likely to remember with a smile — including an iconic toy from Fisher-Price that has gotten a cheeky 21st century update just in time for the holidays.
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This toy — which made Time's list of the 100 greatest of all-time — debuted in the early 1960s but is still sold in an updated version and a retro style. But if you really want to tug on a grown-up's heartstrings after a tough couple of years, you can gift them the working special edition (now sold out but available on resale sites), which connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and will give them the sweet satisfaction of using a rainbow rotary dial to make real calls. It even has speakerphone — so yes, they can totally live their best life and take work calls on the Chatter.
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This photo shows a bar brawl scene constructed for the 1994 G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention using vintage G.I. Joe toys. The Hasbro-owned line of products led to the "action figure" term assigned to so many toys today. Debuted in 1964, the line still exists today and was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Pop Culture Hall of Fame in 2017. Vintage G.I. Joe toys can be found on eBay and Etsy.
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The Tokyo-based Daiya brand made mechanical and battery-operated toys that included "robots, space toys, cars, motorcycles, horses, military vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, and figures like clowns," according to website FabTinToys. Many originals, like this one from the 1950s, can still be found on eBay and Etsy.
This fire truck-themed pedal car was just one version made by now-defunct Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co., which also manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. You can find vintage Murray pedal cars on eBay for around $150 on up to $3,800.
Although you wouldn't want kids to play with them now, lead soldiers like those pictured here are still considered collector's items and many are available on eBay.
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Although it's unclear what manufacturer or year this toy came from, tin vehicles like this are still sold online for around $25-$400.
Tin toys from the German-manufactured CKO brand are still popular collector's items that can be found on Etsy and eBay. They were manufactured from 1910 until 1979 and, according to website FabTinToys, a Chinese manufacturer reissued some of them in the 1990s.
As impressive — and impressively weird — as this toy looks, Fast Company called it "The 1950s Toy Robot Sensation That Time Forgot" in 2016. Though Robert cost about $6 when he debuted, today you can find one on eBay for around $150-$300.
Related: Vintage School Supplies That Take Us Back to Childhood
Though it might seem odd to Generation Z, foldaway record players like this one from the 1950s were one of old-timers' only options for listening to their tunes of choice. There's one similar to this for sale on eBay (for $200), but you can also find modern versions with retro styling for sale online from brands like Wockoder.
These friction-powered motor vintage rockets were made in China and were also eventually recreated by Massachusetts-based toy company Schylling, Inc. Versions of the original and the Schylling design can still be found on eBay at reasonable prices.
This collection of retro Barbies and Kens was photographed at the New York Public Library in the mid-1980s. Today, notes auction and gallery website Invaluable, older mint-condition Barbies can fetch up to $25,000. Not surprisingly, you can find many vintage options on eBay and Etsy for much less.
Related: 11 Barbie Dolls That Could Become Collector's Items
If you grew up in Italy, the U.K., or the U.S. in the late 1960s or early 1970s, you might have bounced around on one of these, which were known by many other names, including the moon hopper, hippity (or hoppity) hop, sit and bounce, and more. There are plenty of modern versions available online, including a wide selection on eBay.
Gen-Xers will remember unwrapping one of these, and Boomers will probably remember buying it for their kids. It debuted in 1978 — at Studio 54 in New York City, no less — and quickly became a favorite toy throughout the 1980s. Though versions are still sold today — including ultra-modern designs like Simon Optix and Simon Air — you can find the version from your childhood online, too.
In 1969, a 5-year-old boy is pictured playing with a Lone Star Flyers Flyway Set, which came with two cars and two looped tracks. While there are a number of Lone Star vintage vehicles for sale on eBay, the only full Flyway set we could find was available from The Toys Time Forgot, "Ohio's #1 Vintage Toy Store," for $350.
A boy holds up an early-model Slinky in 1946. The toy was invented by an American naval engineer named Richard James in the early 1940s. Although anyone who's ever gifted one of these to a kid might find it hard to believe that vintage versions still exist, they do — many are available on eBay and Etsy for less than $10.
Related: You Won't Believe How Much These Collectibles Fetched at Auction
Many a former little kid will remember serving "tea" to their dolls and stuffies growing up. While elaborate modern sets are for sale on Amazon these days, there are vintage sets for sale on eBay that might bring back a memory or two for those who grew up in simpler times.
Elaborate chemistry sets like these, packed in wooden or metal boxes, fueled many a budding mid-20th-century scientist's mind. The toy was invented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert, the same mind behind the 1913 debut of the Erector Set. Today you can find sets like the one pictured above, as well as other vintage science-focused toys, on eBay at varying prices.
In this photo, quadruplets bounce down a London street on their pogo sticks in 1958. If you have fond memories of this toy, you can still find vintage versions online for around $50 or more, and more modern versions are of course available, too.
If you grew up in the 1970s, you might have had one of these massive Mattel toys, which folded into a carrying case when not in use, and fueled many a child's imagination when in play. Perhaps not surprisingly, you can find these and other vintage Big Jim toy products — he was quite the adventurous dude — on eBay.
Copyrighted as "The Little People" in 1978, these were renamed when they went into mass production in 1982. Vintage Cabbage Patch dolls — that's pre-1990 — are sold on online auction sites at varying prices.
This 1969 photo shows a little girl playing — on shag carpet, nonetheless — in an era before the brick-building company flooded the market with movie- and character-themed sets, mini-figures, and more. Named "Toy of the Century" in 200 by Fortune magazine and the British Association of Toy Retailers, vintage sets are sold by the thousands on eBay and other online sites today.
One of the newer toys on this list, the Furby debuted just before the holidays in 1998, and more than 40 million of them sold in the first three years of production. Can you still buy a Furby today? Of course you can — a look-alike on Amazon or a vintage version elsewhere.
Related: Furby and Other Collectibles You Probably Tossed That Are Now Worth a Fortune
Two New York City siblings try out a new game on Atari, one of the first home video game consoles, in 1983. Sure, you can find vintage Atari consoles and games on eBay if you're a hardcore gaming enthusiast, but for the rest of us, one of its more modern Flashback consoles might be enough.
A little boy plays with a Lincoln Logs set in 1950. Vintage sets like this one can be found for sale online, but new sets are still available, too.
Looking like she's living her best life, a young girl plays with other toys while holding her Raggedy Ann Doll at her side in 1955. These dolls — Raggedy Ann and her brother, Raggedy Andy —which were thought to have been introduced in the first quarter of the 20th century, entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002 and 2007, respectively. Today, vintage dolls made by the original licenser, P.F. Volland, can fetch hundreds of dollars.
A young boy tries to control multiple hula hoops at once around 1960. While vintage hula hoops aren't really much of a collectible, Etsy makers offer a large variety of modern hoops that come in different sizes, patterns, materials, weights, and more.