In the Trobaugh house, the kids aren't the only ones playing with toys. It was dad James, founder of the North Georgia Lego Train Club, who first brought Lego building bricks into the house. "It started out as a hobby but spawned into a fun family activity," he says.

Now his kids, 5-year-old Amy and 11-year-old Ian, are helping him build Lego train sets. With help from a friend, Ian has created a Lego robot that plays tic-tac-toe.

Play Along Coleco (ENLARGE)

The Cabbage Patch Kids celebrate its 25th anniversary with dolls dressed in retro fashions and hairstyles.

Mattel (ENLARGE)

Hot Wheels commemorates its 40th anniversary with its Designer's Challenge line featuring die-cast cars like the Honda Racer designed by automobile manufacturers.

Chris Hunt / AJC (ENLARGE)

This plush version of Barney, celebrating his 20th anniversary, lights up and plays familiar songs from the popular TV program.

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Families like Trobaugh's are the target audience for toy manufacturers releasing anniversary editions of time-honored toys. With equal parts nostalgia and a few newfangled gimmicks, the goal is to elicit excitement in kids and grownups. Throughout 2008, a heaping helping of toys get the anniversary edition treatment. Take a peek at some of the fun that's in store.

My Little Pony

In 2008, the cutesy horse doll line My Little Pony is clocking in at a quarter of a century.

The colorful plastic equines feature flowing locks and tails. Imagine Barbie with hooves.

The dolls have changed in design over the years, but a pair of 25th anniversary sets go retro. Each of the Original 1983 My Little Pony Collection sets include three of the six original ponies just as they looked back in 1983.

Dolls with names like Cotton Candy and Blossom each include their respective color-coordinated combs and ribbons wrapped around their tails.

Events throughout the year include the My Little Pony Fair, an annual collectors conference taking place in June in Providence, R.I. In September, the 25th birthday celebration will culminate in New York City. The My Little Pony Project: 25 Ponies for 25 Years collection featuring one-of-a-kind, artist-designed ponies will be on display. The entire collection will be auctioned, with proceeds benefitting the Give Kids the World Village.

Since 1983, more than 50 million My Little Pony figures have been sold worldwide. Better build a bigger stable.

Who makes it? Hasbro

Price: $14.99

Ages: 3 and older

Availability: Now

Lego bricks

With the Lego brick turning 50, the purveyors of the popular building blocks will release a special set.

The 50th Anniversary Building Set comes packed in a box featuring retro art from Lego sets gone by.

In fact, company owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the grandson of Lego's founder, was one of the child models on the original 1958 Lego set and makes an encore appearance here.

The village-themed set includes 700 bricks of various colors. Among them is a limited- edition gold brick. Instructions and photo inspirations give builders of all ages 18 design ideas.

Who makes it? Lego

Price: $39.99

Ages: 4 and older

Availability: August

Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit, the popular trivia game that tests players' knowledge of history, sports, entertainment and more, turns 25 this year.

Since 1983, the game has had a slew of variations, from a Totally '80s edition to DVD versions. And gamers all over the globe play Trivial Pursuit in 26 languages.

One of its latest makeovers will be Trivial Pursuit: 25th Anniversary Edition. Each of the trivia cards include easy, medium and hard questions for each category making it more accessible to those who don't necessarily store beaucoup information nuggets in their noggins. But players opting for tougher questions reap rewards. Game play is for two to six players.

Who makes it? Hasbro

Price: $34.99

Ages: 12 and older

Availability: fall

Hot Wheels

Forty years and more than 4 billion toy cars later, Hot Wheels keep on rolling. Many of the cars can be grabbed at retailers for under $2 each, which helps keep the brand popular with kids and parents.

For its 40th anniversary, Mattel tapped actual automobile manufacturers to design their own Hot Wheels vehicles. Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Mitsubishi each created a 1:64-scale die-cast car for the Hot Wheels Designer Challenge line.

Look closely at Honda's Racer, and you'll see it's shaped like the "H" in the Honda logo. Ford's Gangster Grin looks like a retro hot rod and the Chevrolet resembles a space-age race car. Hot Wheels also designed its own in the series, a slick, curvy, green and blue model christened the HW40.

As part anniversary celebration, Mattel commissioned celebrity jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills to create a jewel-encrusted Hot Wheels car, which even has gems on the undercarriage. The toy car is valued at $140,000 and had its own security guard when it was unveiled in February at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.

Who makes it? Mattel

Price: $1.99

Ages: 3 and older

Availability: March

Easy-Bake Oven

Mini Paula Deens can rejoice in the 45th birthday of the Easy-Bake Oven & Snack Center.

The original light-bulb-powered oven returns to store shelves this spring to help kids create their own brownies, cookies and tiny cakes.

It comes with three mixes, two utensils, two baking pans, a pan pusher, two warming cups and recipes.

When a budding chef is ready to bake, he or she loads the pan through the side of the oven and lets the warmth of the light bulb do the cooking.

Although a splash of pink adorns the oven, a new teal version will be introduced this fall in honor of the toy's anniversary.

Who makes it? Hasbro

Price: $24.99

Ages: 8 and older

Availability: spring

Cabbage Patch Kids

Georgia artisan Xavier Roberts began creating his handmade Little People Originals baby dolls in 1978 complete with pudgy faces and adoption certificates.

He changed the name to Cabbage Patch Kids and a mass-produced version hit stores in 1983, setting off a holiday shopping frenzy.

Now, 25 years later, the dolls return in their original form. The Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kids line will sport the vintage duds, old-school hairstyles and classic mugs that made them famous.

Each doll will be emblazoned with a copy of Roberts' signature and will include special silver-stamped 25th anniversary birth certificates and adoption papers.

Can't get enough of the Cabbage Patch? Roberts still sells hand-stitched versions of his dolls online and at BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland, the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids.

The devoted will flock to the Cabbage Patch Kids 2008 Renaissance Spring Event May 1-2 in Cleveland.

Who makes it? Play Along Toys

Price: $29.99

Ages: 3 and older

Availability: fall

Barney

You would have had to be extinct not to have noticed Barney, that overly cheery dinosaur bouncing around on public TV. He's been doing his kiddie Jurassic shtick for 20 years.

To commemorate the purple one, Play Along Toys is releasing Sing and Celebrate Barney. With glittery accents on its purple fuzz, this musical toy features light-up stars, hearts and musical notes on Barney's belly. The bottom of Barney's left foot is imprinted with a logo that reads "20 years."

And it plays three classic Barney tunes that we still can't get out of our heads.

Who makes it? Play Along Toys

Price: $19.99

Ages: 18 months and older

Availability: fall