I drove my mom crazy with always taking things apart to see how they worked (I ruined a radio, and a toaster doing that), so one of the best gifts I ever got was a see-through robot that you could completely take apart and reassemble (I think it was called Mr Mechanic, or something similar). If I was growing up in today's times, I'd probably be headed for a career in construction (which was NOT a female-friendly field back in the early 60's).
I don't remember one, really, because every year I got a barbie, and a pair of slippers. I would always cut barbies hair off, and lost my slippers somehow, but not intentionally.
I loved Fisher Price Little People. When I was 5 I got the Little People house AND airport. That was totally excellent.
My parents never did Santa, but I think some of my favorites were my teady bear chair and my Lincoln log set.
When i got my first lagos!!!
When I got a duel disk from yu-gi-oh.