The holiday shopping season is quickly descending upon us, which means this year’s more popular toys and consumer electronics are soon to become in increasingly high-demand. In recent memory, the Sony Playstation III, Beanie Babies, and of course, the Tickle-Me-Elmo have generated a considerable amount of hype – quickly selling out, and then establishing a re-sale market. But have you ever wondered what the “it toys” have been throughout the decades? We have, and as a result, we decided to compile a time-line which illustrates the top toys from the last 50 years. Here they are, the most popular Christmas toys since 1960:

(click image to enlarge)

How many of these do you recognize? All 50? Let us know if you do, and feel free to comment with the names of your favorite Christmas toys, and share some of your favorite memories. We will be sharing this full list (which include the names of all these toys) later in the week, so make sure to check back.

Note: After reviewing the data for this trip down memory lane, and a suggestion by our friends at Kotaku, we decided to replace the Sony PS3 with the Nintendo DS as 2007’s most popular toy