What was the most favorite all-time present you got as a kid on Christmas?  And what's the story behind it?  Mine was a Vertibird helicopter.  

I think I was about eight.  My parents told me I couldn't have one because it'd be too dangerous.  On Christmas morning after I opened all my presents they said, "you still have one more behind the couch".  Low and behold, it was a Vertbird.  

I only had it for three days when my brother and I were fighting over it and it broke.   I was traumatized.  

It's actually sad that I can't really remember getting anything that wasn't electronic. Although, I'm 17, so I was kinda born in the midst of a 'revolution'. That's my excuse, anyway.

1970. My grandparents got me Abbey Road. I was 8 and my Beatles obsession had begun.

My PS2 and a copy of Vice City when I was around 12. I will never forget the look on my mum's face when she first watched me playing the game once my dad had finally set the damn console up. Nothing says Christmas quite like mowing down some unsuspecting pedestrians

Ah the PS2...brings back memories.

I gotta say when I tore off the wrapping paper to that N64 at the tender age of 7, I went nuts!  17 years later and my thumbs have never quite recovered from the insane hours of gaming.

Board games. No specific board game just board games in general. It was always great family time between my older bro and me.

Gabe

Two gifts that stand out for me. The Atari 2600 before it was even called the 2600 I think. All those silly games. Me and my dad would bet quarters playing the baseball game. I made a small fortune!

The other was a set of Lionel trains. There was a coca cola themed model with fanta and sprite cars, and a coca cola engine. That was my first electric set. My dad also gave to me a few trains he had when he was younger, among them a 1950s locomotive. Thing must've weighed five pounds. I still have it.

Steve

My Monster Beetle radio controlled car.  Great days!

My favourite was a .... Conger trot

Not an every day present, probably doesn't translate

Thief: The Dark Project when I was 12. Aside from the Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles on Sega Genesis, I consider Thief to be the greatest video/computer game of all time. It had the richest storyline of any game I'd played up to that point and the gameplay was insanely immersive and at times, so terrifying that I had to will myself to keep playing. The replay value is endless; I've played through the entire game many, many times since.

At the time, I was really into violent FPS games. My mom got me Thief because she thought it'd be less violent (which it was). I'd never heard of it before and didn't know what a good thing I'd received until I started playing it.

My first attempt at a screenplay was a Thief fanfic based directly off the storyline of the first game. I was 13 or 14. It was horrendous, of course, and I didn't get far with it but it was an important step for me. Honestly, video games played a big part in my developing an interest in film since I spent so much time thinking about how cool it would be to see them play out in live action.

When I was 10 I got the Death Star. Seeing that thing set up when I woke up was pretty cool.

Star Wars toys!  Especially the Millennium Falcon.  (Second place goes to my Atari 2600.)  

A Chopper Bike when I was about 10 , so that's 38 years ago booohoooo

8 years old.... Nintendo w/ the Power Pad in '88.... now that was some fun times...

16 years old... my first guitar... my parents got me a black Epiphone/Les Paul electric. I'd been asking for one for months and my parents convinced me I wasn't getting it. My dad went so far as to wrap my sister's new Dollhouse and put my name on it and said "that's your big present"..... little did I know what they had stashed at my grandparents.

clever little swap by my dad... it worked like a charm.... threw my sister and I off completely.