Reposted from 12/23/12 by Matt W.

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I would come up with a list of the top ten toys from childhood. Here it is.

10.  Slinky – They walk down stairs, alone or in pairs and make a slinkity sound. Never. They sucked. I only put it on my list to mock them. Next.

9.  Ping-Pong Paddle – One of my favorite gifts growing up, mine had a leather grip.

8.  Electronic Train Set – I brought mine out around Christmas time every year with the intent of setting it up but because my little sister thought it was fun to play with, and because as a kid I never looked for reasons to hang out with her I would put it back in the box. I’d be happy to set up my train set and play with you now, Sis.

7.  Hot Wheels (Slot cars, Matchbox Cars) – I had miles of hot wheels track and liked to set it up through the house until my Mom tripped on it and my Dad made me put it away. In about 3 months I would pull it out again and start the process over again. They were cool. Slot track racecars and match box cars were also fun.

6.  Magic-8-Ball – I was never allowed to have one when I was a kid, because my parents thought they were satanic, which is exactly why they seemed so cool.

5.  Etch-A-Sketch – I always liked my etch-a-sketch and thought I was pretty good, until I met Joe A; he’s like freakin Buddy the Elf.

4.  Bike – Men of my generation grew up in the ”parents should buy a slightly too big bike so that you can grow into it” years. Every few years I got a new bike, and every few years I got a new scar to prove it. The one behind my ankle (I got it stuck in the chain when I wrecked) is the best, although I will say flipping over my handlebars into a tree hurt the most. Bikes are awesome.

3.  Visible V-8 – I got mine to work, enough said.

2.  Sports Equipment – I actually played baseball with a bat and glove and not a computer when I was a kid, go figure. Any sports equipment I received was always deeply cherished.

1.  The boxes that everything else came in – Growing up there was always a box to play in, on, around, cut up with your new knife, color with felt pens, put the dog in, store stuff in, put your sister in, or make a fort out of. Boxes were the best toy of childhood.

Have a great Christmas!