Going back 20 years, I was 16 years old and the Greeter at Venture (remember that store?). I think the hot toy that year was an airbrush paint gun for kids. I couldn't believe the line when I showed up for work (this was my first experience with Black Friday)! Before the store opened, every time I let in an employee, people tried to sneak by me. When I finally opened the store, the very first door I opened I was shoved aside by a guy who literally sprinted to the toy section! After that, the stream of people coming in wouldn't let me through, so for the first couple of minutes, only on entrance door was open. How crazy!
Interesting side note: Another hot toy that year was a teddy bear that you could program to say whatever you wanted. When the child hugged or squeezed the bear, it would say whatever was programmed in. One of my friends at the time worked the overnight shift the day before Black Friday. He programmed all the bears to say, "Hug me again kid, and I'll punch you in the nose!" We got quite a few complaints.
