Most Memorable Xmas Gift

What was your most memorable Christmas gift and what age were you? 

Mine was Christmas1962 (age 8) and a Mattel toy called Vac-U-Form (you can buy it now on vintagetoys.com for $850).  Vac-U-Form was a small plastic extruder like machine that enabled you to heat to a soft state a sheet of styrene plastic that when flipped over a vacuum like device, you could mold small toys and parts. 

Vacuform-front-of-box

My memory is that it was a very expensive toy (too much for my parents
to pay for) and unlikely to be found under the Christmas Tree.  That
feature, my age, and the hours and hours of use could be why it is
etched into my memory banks - and qualifies for the most memorable
Christmas gift.

The hours and hours of use probably relate to the fact that we were not
just showered with many toys.  I observed Ellen (10 this year) and her
after Christmas activities.  On the day she dutifully tried out each of
her gifts for 10-15 minutes each (even played with some of the adult
gadgets received by Jenna, Susan and myself).  I wonder if she will
really spend hours and hours with one of the gifts received - will any
of these 2009 gifts be memorable?

So what makes it memorable - your age, the giver, the cost, the expectation, the surprise, the longevity of use, the volume of gifts, the popularity, the advertising, or some other feature? 

 When all the gift attributes align --- memories get defined.
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