With all the commercials lately for Christmas and all the recalls for toys, I started thinking about the toys that were around when I was a kid.
Aside from your usual crayons and Etch-a-Sketch, I think my favorites were Fashion Plates and Spirograph – anything that allowed me to be creative. Remember Fashion Plates? Where you’d make etchings of different outfits based on the templates you chose. You could mix and match and put this sweater with that skirt and those boots and that woman’s Dorothy Hammill haircut. Then, using colored pencils, you could create your new line as a budding fashion designer. A quick search tells me they don’t make them anymore, but Leah from Journey to Couture has some photos on this entry, as does Michelle Brusegaard.
I loved my Spirograph and SuperSpirograph, too. It wasn’t really anything except a bunch of spirals, but I had pages and pages and pages of those sun-like spiraly shapes in all different colors. Apparently, they still make it, but I guess it’s not as good as it used to be.
Of course, there were other toys and games I liked as a kid, most of them requiring some kind of art interest: Magic Sand (I recall very creative toilet art I made with this that my mom was not too pleased about), Play-Doh, Plastacene… and oh, how I coveted the Crayola Caddy with the lazy susan and built in sharpener. *swoon* You know, I still kind of want that… it’s no wonder I have a Sharpie obsession. I outgrew most toys relatively early, but I have fond memories of these things.
In honor of children everywhere (and some adults) tearing paper off toys in complete and utter mania in just a few days, what are some of your favorite toys from childhood?
One year, my parents let me out of the basement and into the backyard for a whole half and hour!
I keed.
Um, gotta be Lego. Lego is the ultimate kid’s toy, still. Oh, and, my first computer. Yep, I started early. First was an early model 8-bit Atari, and a Commodore-64.
I remember playing with Merlin, but I don’t remember if I liked it (must not have). I had that giant decapitated Barbie head that you put makeup on and styled her hair. That one was great.
How weird – I was JUST thinking about Fashion Plates the other night, wondering if everyone loved them like I did. I remember the weird textures and patterns they had for those funky clothes, too! My kids were coloring and I was remembering the little handle thing you could use to wedge your crayon into to do the rubbing. I kept thinking, I wish I still had THAT thing, the kids would love it!
A Big Wheel!
Roller skates, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, Barbies, Rubiks Cube, and I wanted a Cabbage Patch doll sooooo bad, but never owned one. Mom made me a homemade one which was NOT the same, so later on, she took it apart and now I’m really wishing I had that homemade Cabbage Patch doll. It’s amazing how differently things look in hindsight.
Oh… and of course, my brothers’ John Deere tractors, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, and Legos.
@Kara: I had that Barbie head!!
@lani: Baby Apricot was my fave.
Pogo stick, key skates and hula hoop.
They might sound lame right now, but back in the day, they were cool in my hood!
A friend of mine once told me about his Christmases:
“We didn’t have much, but each Christmas, Dad would give us each a feather, and put molasses on one hand. We would spend all day, just sticking that feather back and forth from hand to hand.
We had to wash it off before bedtime though.
Dad didn’t want to spoil us”
@lasvegasles: I just ordered a hula hoop!
I’ve been wanting one for a while now…
@witchypoo: Reminds me of my dad talking about walking 10 miles to school in the snow with nothing but a can of beans or some nonsense…
I forgot to mention – I bought my kids the big ol’ canister of Tinker Toys for Christmas this year – that sucker was $24.95! I LOOOOVED Tinker Toys when I was a kid.
@Laura: I looooooooved Tinker Toys. I was never much for Legos or Lincoln Logs, but Tinker Toys not only sounded cute, but had all those colors. I would create these giant “sculptures” (that’s what I called them. lol) that would practically span my bedroom. And I’d try to see how Iong I could get around in there before 1) I would trip and bust my face open or 2) I’d get bored and start again.
Dolly Pops. I liked them because I could make noises popping their clothes on and off. They were jippers on the hair though.
One of the great disappointments of my childhood was that I never got the Easybake Oven. We used to get those giant 5000 page catalogs from Sears once a year and I would would go to the page with the Easybake Oven on it and circle it over and over hoping my Mom would take the hint. But I never got it. So sad. I almost got it “for my son” but he wasn’t interested. Crazy kid.
I loved our Sit n’ Spin. I was so sad when I outgrew that thing!
But I have to say the Legos run a close second. And Little People and their little world that they lived in. (Here’s the Wiki link in case anyone is wondering what the hell I’m talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_People)
Ooo Ooo!! Weebl Wobbles!
Dude. I rediscovered our Magic Sand last summer and that shit is STILL fun. We loved the spirograph too, but I think LEGOs saw more playing action in our house than any other toy.
First thing I think of is PogoBalls!!! Omg, I obsessed over those with my allowance money and when they popped from rocks…I begged for another one (and got it). But then I was a jump roping, bogo ball queen. hehe
I wanted the Fashion Plates and Crayola Cady, never got em, but I loved my Knight Rider Big Wheals (tomboy, much?), then there was my Strawberry Shortcake bike. I totally relive my My Little Pony days with my daughter now (just bought her the unicorn one, weeee!)
I used Legos a lot but mostly just made vehicles. Considering we didn’t have a car and I rode the bus all the time, there’s no wonder I was constantly making busses, but my favorite were the double-decker ones.
Oh, the days!
a chalkboard with a huge bucket of chalk…i kept that thing until i was 16! i think it was a big part of my “playing teacher” obsession i had going on…i remember teaching my dolls math problems using that chalkboard.
I totally still have my Fashion Plates somewhere at my parent’s house! Hmm, I’ll have to find those. I really loved my Easy Bake Oven, and my big wheel! Man I tore up the neighborhood on that thing. My favorite of all the toys was the Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop. I created colorful masterpieces of hair design with that thing. HA. Awesome post, it brings back good memories. Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
This was truly what changed my life. And, I had so much fun going through that Flickrstream a few weeks ago!
This should bring back memories for everyone!
http://www.wishbookweb.com/
Sorry for the segue here but you should all check out the wish book web site and check out the 1955 Spiegel catalogue. On pages 279-281, you used to be able to not only buy pets, but actual monkeys! At at bargain prices—even for 1955! How cool (scary) would that be?!?
Rock’em Sock’em robots. ‘Nuff said.
#1 Fave: Lemon Meringue/Frappe the Frog – I used to comb her yellow curls all day long.
#2 Fave: Your #1, Apricot/Hopsalot Bunny
#3 Fave: A tie between Butter Cookie/Jelly Bear and Orange Blossom/Marmalade the butterfly
They all smelled so yummy! I was pretty devastated when my little brother got ahold of my Strawberry Shortcake doll and gave her a haircut.
And because I had brothers… does anyone remember the Stompers truck craze? I think that’s what they were called.
I loved my Fashion Plates and my Easy Bake Oven. My brother and I used to spend hours on end with the Legos and the erector sets too.
I loved my spirograph! My other faves were etch-a-sketch, legos, lincoln logs, play-doh and lite-brite!
Have a great holiday – I hope Santa brings you everything you want!
Ooooh, DEFINITELY the Spirograph—that fit in really well with the cosmic 70s—and two ones you didn’t mention, that I always associate with my dad, since he was a graphic designer who was all about color. Play Plax—sounds like something dentists would invent—like transparent legos that the light would shine through—and Colorforms—the Movado watch of kiddie art stuff. Really nice. Two links: Play Plax:
and Colorforms. Yum. Thanks for the artsy memories.
My favorite presents, when I was a kid, came from my sister who got me fabulous things like a microscope (a real, working one with a light in the bottom of it) with pre-made slides of different things, a chemistry set that I used to mix stuff together and feel like a mad scientist, and a complete private detective kit – fingerprint dust and everything.
@Lily: I’d completely forgotten about Play Plax, but not Colorforms! I loved those so much…
@DJ: I can’t wait until Kathy’s son gets old enough so I can get him cool stuff like that. Except Kathy said that the fingerprint dust stuff now has asbestos or something in it. LOL. Lovely.
Tinker Toys, Hot Wheels, Legos, Big Wheel and bikes. That would be a short list of my favorites that come to mind.