The most popular tech gifts from 1950 to today

What does a traditional Christmas look like during the period of reconstruction and the economic miracle? Between 1950 and 1959, Christmas was celebrated in a more modest way. People sat together at a table with their families, and the classic dish was goose or chicken, with apple sauce, red cabbage or potato salad as a side dish. For dessert, there was plum compote with vanilla ice cream and Stollen. The children received simple and mostly handmade gifts, such as warm clothing (jackets, coats, sweaters, scarves and hats), which were often patched together from worn-out textiles. Sometimes there were even wooden building blocks or handmade dolls and books.

The adults gave each other more common items, such as plates or kitchen utensils. True luxury items were technical items such as cameras, electric toasters, mixers or juicers, as well as televisions. The "entertainment program" included making music and singing or listening to Christmas carols on the radio or on records. Classic Christmas carols such as "Silent Night, Holy Night" and "O Christmas Tree" were very popular - as was the song "Softly the snow falls", which became popular in the 1950s.

The 1960s were a little more pompous: of course, the Christmas goose was a must - although some people replaced it with roast pork with potatoes and white cabbage. Large family celebrations were held, and music was a must. In addition to classic songs, bands and artists from America such as "The Supremes", "The Beach Boys" and "Doris Day" were also popular.

Children were able to enjoy dolls, doll kitchens, tricycles and books - toys with mechanisms were also particularly popular, e.g. dolls that made movements and sounds. Gifts among adults also became bigger: a new radio, a color television, electric razors and household items that made work easier were all the rage. There were lots of tech gadgets under the tree, such as microwaves, 8-track cassette recorders and instant cameras.

Christmas in the 1970s means: more tinsel is always better 😉. The garish, kitschy home furnishings were also usually found on the Christmas trees. Straw stars were just as much a thing as the trend for long hair among men. Christmas in the "wild 70s" was a celebration of warmth, sweets and great presents, especially for the little ones - even if advent calendars with chocolate were less popular than those with the great glittery pictures. In addition to doll's kitchens and the new Playmobil and Lego building blocks, there were also some new technical gadgets under the Christmas tree.

Home game consoles in particular (e.g. Atari 2600) with games like "Pong" conquered the market here too. As did pocket cameras (e.g. "Kodak Pocket Instamatic") or the Sony Walkman. Home computers in particular became popular ideas on the wish list - although devices such as the "Apple II" (1977), the IBM 5100 (1975) or the Commodore PET (1977) were simply unaffordable for many.

With so many presents, it was almost impossible to bring yourself to sing songs under the Christmas tree - but for many families it was still an absolute must. Poems were also recited or Christmas stories read out. It was a good thing that some new songs were also played on the radio, which are still a staple of many Christmas playlists today, such as: "Feliz Navidad" (José Feliciano / 1970), "Mary's Boy Child" (Boney M. / 1978) or "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (John Denver / 1979).

Colorful fairy lights were just as hip in the 80s as aerobics and blow-dried hair. But from 1984 onwards, opinions were divided: the most loved or most hated Christmas song "Last Christmas" (Wham!) was now played on the radio over and over again. As were "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" (Neil Diamond / 1980) and "Driving Home for Christmas" (Chris Rea / 1988). Still popular today: the many Christmas films that were shown in cinemas in the 80s, such as "Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol" (1984), "Santa Claus" (1985), "The Ghosts I Called..." (1988) and "Christmas in a Nutshell" (1989).

Technology gifts also went uphill, becoming increasingly popular - for children as well as adults. Above all, video game consoles such as NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), Sega Genesis or the GameBoy. The Sony Walkman II, a new VHS video recorder or the Casio Calculator Watch were particularly popular with young people. Determined and success-oriented adults wanted their own personal computer, such as the IBM PC 5150 (1981). This was considered a groundbreaking invention that set the standard for subsequent PCs.

The best-selling home computer of all time came onto the market in 1982: the Commodore 64. Also popular - especially in Great Britain - was the Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1982). In Europe, from 1984 onwards, people were more likely to want the Amstrad CPC 464 home computer or the first PC with a graphical user interface and mouse, the Apple Macintosh (1984). Unfortunately, laptop fans had to wait a little longer until the computers were made truly portable, although the first commercially successful portable computer, the Osborne 1, came onto the market in 1981.

For many, the 90s are the cult era par excellence - there are constant revivals from these years, be it in fashion, music or games. Television was extremely popular back then anyway, especially cartoons, talk shows and series were shown all the time - even the Christmas film par excellence, Home Alone (and later Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) came to cinemas in 1990 and 1992 respectively. In addition to Disney & fairy tale films and "Santa Claus & Ko KG", we also enjoyed Mariah Carey's Christmas songs.

It was hard to imagine a Christmas without tech gadgets. The wish list now had neither the pony nor the dog at the top - but a pet à la "Furby" or Tamagotchi. In addition, of course, there were game consoles and handhelds such as the Nintendo 64, the GameBoy Color or the PlayStation from Sony.

Young people were keen to have their own mobile phone, which was becoming increasingly popular, such as the Nokia 6110. As households became more prosperous and the hardware industry developed rapidly, the gifts not only became bigger, but also more technical. Desktop PCs, laptops and monitors were now increasingly found under the tree. For example, the Apple PowerBook 100 (1991), an innovative laptop with a compact design, was very popular in the 90s. As were the portable computers, Toshiba Satellite (1994), the IBM ThinkPad 701 with "butterfly display" or the Sony VAIO (1996), which was particularly popular due to its top quality.

But alongside notebooks, which were becoming increasingly popular, desktop PCs also continued to advance. Popular devices for home use included the Compaq Deskpro (1990), the Apple Performa (1992), the Compaq Presario 486 (1992) or the Packard Bell Navigator (1994). Even then, professionals were already relying on Dell's new desktop PC line, the Dell OptiPlex (1994). In 1998, Apple succeeded in creating an innovative, powerful and futuristic computer with its iMac - it was also highly sought after as a Christmas present, not just because of its many casing colors.

On New Year's Eve 1999, many people were sure that Christmas 2000 would not be like this. The Y2K problem, also known as the "Millennium Bug", was to cause devastating computer problems, which in turn would lead to system, power and transport failures as well as bank failures. Food and water were hoarded. Today we know that the apocalyptic scenarios did not occur because the systems were updated in time. But the 2000s were all the more shrill and colorful: plastic and glitter on the Christmas tree and our outfits. The "Grinch" came to the cinemas in 2000 and was one of the most popular motifs on socks, pajamas and cups for the next few decades.

For the first time, we also gave each other something "virtual" at Christmas - in the form of e-Christmas cards, new cell phone ringtones (like the Crazy Frog) or Christmas wallpapers. Thanks to casting shows such as "DSDS", "Popstars", "Star Search" and "Das Supertalent", there are countless Christmas albums by newcomer artists who reinterpret old classics.

Under the Christmas tree: technology as far as the eye can see. When it comes to video game consoles, the Nintendo GameCube, the PlayStation 2 and 3 from Sony, Microsoft's XBOX and the Nintendo Wii are the big winners. MP3 players like the Apple iPod and e-book readers (e.g. Kindle) are also among the most sought-after items on the wish lists of young and old.

From the mid-2000s onwards, there was a real technology boom - and our lives revolved more and more around the Internet. Everyone wanted to chat, via ICQ, MSN or AOL. Of course, this was best done with the latest tech gadgets: in 2000, the Dell Inspiron and the HP Pavilion were particularly popular among desktop PCs. Due to its robustness, the Toshiba Satellite is one of the most popular laptops, as are the elegant Sony VAIO, the powerful IBM ThinkPad or the inexpensive Acer Aspire.

Our society has changed dramatically in the last decade: There is practically nothing that doesn't exist - and since smartphones and the like, we are used to being able to access everything from anywhere. Our lives revolve almost exclusively around the small box in our handbags and pockets. From Christmas decorations to outfits, cookies, our Christmas dinner, presents and the Christmas tree - we share our entire lives online with our loved ones, liking, commenting and following as much as we can.

Is it any wonder that almost no one is happy about socks or kitchen utensils at Christmas anymore? Or rather, tablets are now considered popular cooking gadgets - this does not mean the practical transport containers, but rather slim portable computers that we use as a timer, for inspiration or as a recipe book. First and foremost, of course, is the Apple iPad - which, like the Apple MacBook Air (2010), Apple iMac (2011), Apple MacBook Pro (2014) or the Apple iPhone 6 (2014), is one of the most popular tech gifts of the 2010s.

PCs and especially laptops are also becoming more popular, after all, we now have huge amounts of images and data to store. In addition to the Lenovo IdeaPad (2010), the HP Pavilion (2011), the DELL Inspiron (2012), the DELL Latitude (2013) and the Lenovo ThinkPad series (2019) for home and business users, the products of the DELL Alienware series (2016) are particularly popular with gamers. However, there is also entertainment for young and old through video game consoles such as the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo 3DS or the Nintendo Switch.

For fitness fans, there are fitness trackers such as "Fitbit" or the Apple Smartwatch - SmartHome fans can look forward to voice assistants such as Google Home or Amazon Echo.

By the end of 2024, we will already be in the middle of the 2020s - crazy, right? What about gifts this year? As inflation continues to rise, price is very important for many people. Of course, we will continue to give each other tech gadgets, but our society has become more thoughtful. In addition to price, sustainability is also a major purchasing factor for many people. Refurbished hardware therefore continues to enjoy great popularity. Since the performance of laptops, PCs and tablets often far exceeds the requirements of buyers, the service life of the products could also be longer.

Instead of complete devices, there are also upgrades under the Christmas tree for true technology geeks. Powerful computer processors are just as represented as VR headsets or expensive graphics cards. The most popular computer and laptop models of recent years definitely include the following: Apple MacBook Air and DELL XPS 13 (both 2020), HP Spectre x360 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (2021) as well as common refurbished models of the DELL OptiPlex, Fujitsu Esprimo, HP EliteDesk or Lenovo ThinkCentre series for PCs. Sought-after refurbished notebooks can be found primarily in the "DELL Latitude", "DELL Precision", "DELL XPS", "Fujitsu Lifebook", "HP EliteBook" or "Lenovo ThinkPad" series.

In addition to gaming PCs with AMD Ryzen processors and RTX graphics cards, the PlayStation 5 Pro is also high on many people's wish lists. Tech gadgets, where not only function but also appearance play a major role, include fitness trackers and smartwatches - from elegant (vegan) leather straps to real jewelry with stone trim, everything is there.

In addition to the latest smartphones from Samsung, Apple or Xiaomi, small and large household helpers are also very popular: SmartHome voice assistants (e.g. Amazon Echo), robot vacuum cleaners such as the Roborock or intelligent cooking helpers such as the Ninja Foodie create more efficiency and convenience in everyday life.