“Tickle Me Elmo is a study in mob mentality,” toy buyer Stephen Sandberg told The Wall Street Journal in 1996. “I couldn’t get my retailers to buy Elmo in October.

1996: Tickle Me Elmo Two-year-old Nicholas Barrientos of Culver City and his mother, Kristine, check out large Elmos sitting on toy store counter while the clerk rings up their Tickle Me Elmo.

A look back at Tickle Me Elmo Tickle Me Elmo drove kids crazy and their parents crazier. From store mobs to scalpers, here’s how WNYW covered the fad back on December 18 and 24 of 1996.

Tickle Me Elmo: The 1996 Christmas must-have gave the favorite "Sesame Street" character technology to laugh and move when poked.

Tickle Me Elmo’s sweet voice and vibrating laugh had parents fighting in the aisles.

Tickle Me Elmo’s sweet voice and vibrating laugh had parents fighting in the aisles.

There are certain Christmas toys in America that families and hobbyists may remember as cult classics: G.I. Joe, Little Tikes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Star Wars, Beanie Babies are among them.

Living Tickle Me Elmo, Furby, Ninja Turtles: Here are the must-have, top-selling Christmas toys each year in the 90s Published: Dec. 19, 2022, 7:00 a.m.

Furby, Tickle Me Elmo and Hatchimals: The must-have holiday toys of yesteryear Check out the media player below for archival news coverage of the Tickle-Me-Elmo craze, the furor over Furbies and more.