As a child, nothing felt as magical as a toy shop at Christmastime, and the displays in some Aberdeen stores were a sight to behold.
And as a parent, there’s nothing more wonderful than seeing a child’s face light up with delight on Christmas morning when the parcels under the tree are ripped open.
In the days before online shopping and Amazon deliveries, Aberdeen city centre would be packed with shoppers hunting down the must-have toy that year.
Many Aberdonians will have childhood memories of peering into enchanting festive window displays of popular shops like the Toy Bazaar on Schoolhill or Charles Michie’s chemist on Union Street.
Join us on a trip down memory lane as we step into the city’s independent toy shops of the past and remember the toy crazes of the 1990s.
The long-gone ‘Once Upon a Time’ shop at 22 Mount Street is a veritable Aladdin’s Cave in this photo from Christmas 1981.
The much-loved boutique in Rosemount was billed as “a children’s dreamland for toys, unusual gifts, games, and children’s clothes”.
These two ladies were perusing the shelves for stocking fillers, but the most popular gifts that year remained very traditional in their gender stereotypes.
Boys were after action figures and model trains, while girls were hoping to find new dollies under the Christmas tree.
Fred White, right, founder of Aberdeen’s Toy Bazaar and his son Eric at their store in Correction Wynd at Christmas 1981.
Showing off some of the toys flying off the shelves, Fred was considered Aberdeen’s foremost expert on toys back in the day.
His business started as a joke and trick shop in the 1950s before he expanded into toys and games.
Speaking in 1981, he said Lego would always be his favourite toy: “It never goes wrong or breaks; it’s so clean and works on a child’s imagination.”
In 1985, cuddly Care Bears were the coveted Christmas toy as seen here in this Aberdeen toy shop.
The American-Canadian import proved popular with youngsters across the world, but this little girl seems more engrossed in a festive storybook than the shelves piled high with toys around her.
Little Leanne Jones of Bridge of Don knew exactly what she wanted for Christmas in 1986 – an expandable bouncing car.
The three-year-old is pictured with the brightly-coloured car, above, at Charles Michie’s store on Union Street in the run-up to the festive season.
It’s easy to see why the bouncy car was so appealing to tots – it had a steering wheel that turned and squeaked when jumped upon, and at only £4.99 was a pleasing purchase for parents too.
Ailsa McHardy was wide-eyed at the Christmas tree and lights at Charles Michie’s Union Street branch in 1989.
The 15-month-old toddler was very taken with the teddy bear display and quickly found a favourite.
Christmas came early for the lucky tot, as she was gifted the bear by Mr Michie for being such a good girl while her mum started her Christmas shopping.
Beattie’s Toy Shop on Market Street was the place to be in 1990 when the latest toy craze was Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.
More than 100 hero-worshippers of all ages queued for more than two hours to snap up a scarce new figurine of the popular cartoon character.
Unfortunately not everyone got their hands on the precious toy as it they were issued on a first-come, first-served basis and there were only 85 to go round.
There was a monster invasion as dinosaur mania hit the Toy Bazaar on Schoolhill in 1993.
Three-year-old Gregor Connolly wasn’t scared of the toothy toys though, and happily posed among the must-have gifts.
It was the year classic blockbuster Jurassic Park debuted in cinemas and the dinosaur toys proved so popular they were almost as extinct as the real thing.
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