'Twas ever thus ! Well, not quite ever,but when we were young the silicon chip had not been invented and no toy ran on batteries. Those changes together have vastly increased the range of toys which are available. And parents are richer than when we were young, so more can afford what, in earlier days, would have been beyond their reach; the rare battery powered model car, in the early '50s, cost a matter of pounds,which was a hefty part of the typical wage
And children have always been indulged at Christmas, even in recessions. My late father started in business in the great pre-war recession. He observed that the best business to have was a toy shop, because parents always thought that, whatever they were suffering, they would make sure their children still had a good time, and they tended to over compensate by buying more toys.