Christmas Gifts Now And Then – 1992 To 2012

Today, I sat thinking about how much different my kids' Christmas wishes will be from what mine were.  I grew up in the 80's and 90's and while it doesn't seem all that long ago, things have sure changed in the last 20 years.

The one thing I had to have in 1992, was my very own stereo to have in my room and listen to my...wait for it...cassette tapes!  This was the big present in 1992, and I was thrilled.

How crazy does this look to kids today?  I had a hard time even finding one of these online.  I mean do they even make them?  In 2012, all your entertainment fits in the plam of your hand.

Of course, you had to have something to put into the stereo, and it involved rewinding, not downloading.  There was nothing I enjoyed jamming to in 1992 than this tape courtesy of Santa and Billy Ray!

I'm sure it was quite a sight for an 11 year old kid to be boot scootin' along to 'Achy Breaky Heart.'  Who'd have thought that 20 years later, not only would BRC not be cool anymore, but even his daughter is out of style.  The Hannah Montana craze has now been replaced by Taylor!

Here's another item I had to have in my room to stay in tune with what my friends were doing.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent in my room with this sneaker pressed to my face.

It took me until at least '92 if not longer to get my own phone in my room, yet I still had to deal with Mom and Dad jumping on the other line and telling me to do my homework.  These days, there's 8 year olds running around with 4G.

Now, my sister was also down with the latest trends in 1992.  She was a few years younger than me, so the popular little girl gift for Christmas or any time of year was the Troll Doll.

Looking for what's hot in 2012 for girls, it's nice to see that things haven't changed much there.  Introducing Lalaloopsy, aka, 'Also Trolls.'

Now, if you know anything at all about me, you know that I love wrestling.  I always have.  In 1992, even at 11 years old, I was into the WWF action figures.

It was great taking my new Ric Flair and Irwin R. Shyster figures I got for Christmas, putting them in the ring together, using my sister's Barbie table as a special weapon and building an entrance way from shoe boxes and Kleenex.  Boy kids today get it all.  Sigh!