10 of the most popular Santa pressies through the years

Brought to you by Bank of Ireland. 

Kids want some strange things.

The Christmas shopping season is upon us. Shop windows are decorated, catalogues are being perused, letters to Santa are being written. What weird and wonderful requests will your kids come up with this time? Or will they stick with the year's crowd pleaser? One thing that has remained the same every year is children's enthusiasm for Christmas and their excitement to receive their presents from Santa. However, the actual presents that they go crazy for every year has most decidedly NOT stayed the same. Whatever your children's requests are this year, Bank of Ireland has teamed up with Visa to help you out with buying those pressies. Any Bank of Ireland Visa Debit cardholder can sign up to Live Life Rewards and get cashback from well-known brands when doing their Christmas shopping, including that necessary visit to Smyths Toys for the kids. To take a look at just how much present-buying has changed over the decades, here are a few of the most popular Christmas presents through the years. Some are a bit, well, unusual.

1. 1934: The Shirley Temple Doll

This was the very first celebrity-inspired doll. Shirley Temple herself was six years old when this doll was created, featuring her signature curls. The Ideal Toy sold $45 million worth of Shirley Temple dolls in seven years. Who knew a six year old could cause such a craze?

2. 1964: G.I. Joe

These dolls action figures came in after the phenomenon that is barbie. Boys, of course, could not be seen playing with girly dolls. They needed a manly action figure of their own. So the G.I. Joe figurine was born.

3. 1975: Pet Rock

And here we have the weirdest Christmas present on our list. It's literally just a rock on a bit of straw in a box. Merry Christmas, kids. The creator of this became a millionaire, if you can believe.

4. 1966: Twister

An absolute classic.

5. 1982: BMX Bike

When biking became more than just a mode of transport.

6. 1989: The Game boy

This was THE handheld device to have until iPods came along. Though Nintendo still managed to stay relevant when they made the switch from Game Boy to Nintendo DS. Still can't beat the Game Boy in our opinion though. I mean, if you didn't have a Game Boy and at least one Pokémon game did you even live through the nineties?

7. 1998: Furby

These were just creepy.

8. 2001: The pogo stick

Ah yes, that short time when kids' favourite thing to do was bounce up and down on a stick. It was so fun though.

9. 2005: The Xbox 360

EVERYONE wanted one. And pretty much everyone got one.

10. 2010: iPad

The rest is history, really. It just goes to show that kids do really change with the times. Though there are some old reliables that always stay the same. For example, you don't see kids sending emails to Santa - not yet at least. Brought to you by Bank of Ireland.  Simply register your Bank of Ireland Visa Debit card for Live Life Rewards, check out the weekly offers, including deals on lots of winter essentials, and shop using your card. Then sit back and wait for the Christmas cash to be paid into your account, typically within five business days. It's so easy. Register now.