Most popular Christmas toys through the decades

It's no big secret that the cost of Christmas presents have risen tremendously over the years.

And now, it's been revealed that parents are spending eight times as much to get 2019's must-have gifts as they were in 1970 (adjusted for inflation).

The cheapest year was 1987 when the cost of the top five Christmas presents for children came to £35.48 - £96.70 in today's money.

The cost of this year's top five Christmas presents is £1,465.98, according to the research compiled by musicMagpie.

In 1970, the most popular toy was a Nerfball, which cost £1.25, with Sindy, Apollo Moon Rocket, Risk Board Game and a Talking Viewmaster also on the list.

1971 saw the humble Spacehopper take the prize (cost £2.25), with the Mastermind Board Game, Weebles, Clackers and Etch a Sketch (!) on the list as well.

1972 saw the skateboard top the polls, with Uno, Talking Chrissy Dolls and Easy Bake Oven also very popular.

The top spot for the years 1974-1980 were as follows:

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Pet Rock Miconauts Atari 2600

Hungry Hippos

Strawberry Shortcake

Rubik's Cube

1981 also saw some classics from Star Wars AT-AT (priced then at £28.75 and in real terms now £107.05)

He-Man Castle Grayskull, Lite Brite and Donkey Kong.

A favourite of the 1980s - the BMX bike - was on the top five list in 1982 as was a Commodore 64. And in 1983, Care Bears was number one, followed by Cabbage Patch Kids, GI Joe APC, My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite.

In 1984 Optimus Prime was top dog, followed by Pound Puppies, A-Team Van, R2-D2 Toy Box and Tonka GoBots.

1985's top toy was Teddy Ruxpin, with classic board game (who hasn't got a version?) Trivial Pursuit and the Care Bear Desk also making the top five.

Laser Tag, Sylvanian Families, Ghost Busters Proton Pack and Batmobile topped the tables in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.

From 1990 to 2000, these were the top toys:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures

Sega Game Gear

WWF Action Figures

Talkboy Power Rangers Action Figures

PlayStation

Tickle Me Elmo

Nintendo 64

Furby

Pokemon Red & Pokemon Blue

Teksta Robotic Dog

And in 2001, Bob the Builder (try not to get the song stuck in your head) was the most popular with iPod Classic also on the list.

Nintendo Wii was most in demand in 2006, followed by a PlayStation 3 in 2007, High School Musical Dance Mat in 2008 and Go Go Pet Hamster in 2009.

The Toy Story 3 DVD topped the list in 2010, with Nintendo 3DS in 2011, Skylanders Giants in 2012, Xbox One 2013, Frozen Snow Glow Elsa in 2014.

From 2015 to 2019, the top toys were:

Bladebuilder

Jedi Master Lightsaber

Pie Face

Fingerlings

Red Dead Redemption 2

Nintendo Switch Lite