Almost by definition, Christmas includes feelings of nostalgia, and we have all had that one special toy (mine was moon rocks) that we just had to have. So when I came across an interesting article about the favorite toys of the past century or so and saw some of mine included, I thought it worth sharing.

One might think that the most expensive or most impressive toys or gifts would be the ones kids loved to play with the most. But in looking back at the bestselling toys of the past 105 years, it's just the opposite.

I had to say 105 years rather than a century to include Crayola Crayons. They first hit the market in 1903 and are still going strong today. For 16 years, building and construction types of toys were the rage. Tinker Toys (1914), Lincoln Logs (1924) and LEGOs (1930) gripped the imagination of those children who would later be called the Greatest Generation.

I'm a baby boomer and as a child made the move to high-tech with the Etch A Sketch (1959) and became acquainted with Barbie, also introduced in 1959. In thinking back, the Etch A Sketch was a giant leap forward, going from manually creating by pushing a pencil to having a machine do it for you.

After the ups and downs of the turbulent 1960s, soft, harmless Nerf Balls hit the scene. Nerf Balls quickly found their way to therapy groups, where a person could harmlessly vent frustrations by bouncing them off something. It was a time when it became more permissible to talk about feelings and even have a shrink.

In 1984, Transformers confirmed that, as I had already concluded, we were "living in science fiction," and it wasn't fiction any more, it was "science fact."

All of these toys were inexpensive so families could afford to buy them, and they had to be sturdy to survive. Speaking of inexpensive, in Rochester, N.Y., the Strong National Museum of Play honors the cardboard box as the favorite toy of children everywhere. As frustrating as it seems to parents, we all know kids would rather play with the box the toy comes in than the toy itself.

So it isn't the big price tag that makes a toy fun, it's the creative opportunity it provides.

Some toys have had unusual origins. Jigsaw puzzles came into being in the 1760s when a London map maker had too many unsold maps. He glued the maps to a thin piece of wood and used a jigsaw to cut out small pieces.

A small change in the formula of a wallpaper cleaning compound and, voila, Play-Doh. About 35 tons of Play-Doh has been sold in the past 50 years!

So now everyone can enjoy the new toys and perhaps dig out some of the old favorites. Which reminds me, where did I put those boxes … oh, my granddaughters are playing in them as I speak.

T&D Correspondent Loretta Demko can be reached by e-mail at eeshtenem@yahoo.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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