I am just a little bit obsessed over old toys. There is a sweetness about them. A mystery too. When I go to the flea market and see a worn doll I always wonder who, what where did that doll come from? Same thing goes for the bucket of hot wheels cars or that toy train, or the rocking horse or the Little People Farmhouse. Yes, in spite of my house being filled with toys, and the fact that I {and sometimes the kids} are continually picking them up....I do have a fondness for those well-loved toys.
I am always preaching to my kids to take care of their toys...because when I was a child, I of course, took the utmost care of mine. In fact they are in pristine condition {or so I thought}. I, of course, ultimately hope this is teaching them something about responsibility and respect.
I have been very anxious to share my childhood toys with my children. Every time my Mom says "Dad is going into the top of the garage (or the attic)," I ask if he could look for one of my treasures. Well, my parents are all for this - they are cleaning house - time for my brother and I to store our own stuff. So, now, every time they come to visit I can expect at least one new find to come with them. And I am so excited about it! Just giddy, in fact!
I so wanted my own purple corvette and Ken!
My son looks at me like I am crazy {maybe he knows something the rest of the world can only assume?...hmmm...} when I tell him that I used to "use my imagination" when we played with Legos. When I suggest he can mix pieces from different boxes, he just about passes out {he likes order} - he cannot even fathom it "But Mom they come in sets. You cannot mix up the pieces!" Of course, we had sets with were houses, police stations, fire stations, etc., but nothing like the $150 sets they sell now {seriously, I am so tired of paying $5 in shipping for a teeny-tiny 45 cent piece, which is necessary to finish building the battleship}.
Over the last couple of years, Puzzle Town, Legos, Barbies, Nerf Ping Pong, and an my Cabbage Patch Dolls have found a new home at my "big-girl" house. Most of them have remained boxed in a closet or garage, but recently we have started pulling them out to play with. Boy was I in for a shocker! These toys that I thought I had left in perfect condition look a little tattered and bruised...all because they were loved of course!
We have unearthed my Barbies - most of who have had a haircut and some even without heads, a purple Barbie Corvette, a Mrs. Beasley with "false" eyelashes - most likely drawn on with a marker, a stained but oh-so lovable Raggedy Ann, a beat-up musical bunny, two Cabbage Patch dolls - one of which is a boy named Carol Lennie that at the time, I insisted could be just be a tomboy...he/she was part of the first run of Cabbage Patch dolls and my mom {try as she might} could not get a girl doll. I now can see he was clearly a boy.
I love these toys and love watching my kids play with them. I am wondering what toy brings back wonderful memories for you? Or what toy have you passed on to your children?
Hi Holly! I just gave you two awards on my blog...so come over and get them:) Love thinking about those toys. I remember a doll I had that could tell the whole story of Little Red Riding Hood...because it was the wolf, and then you flip it over and pull down the gown and it became Little Red. Does that make sense? I loved that doll. Tanning Barbie was awesome too!
ReplyDeleteI coveted LiteBrite, which our next door neighbors owned and my mother would never allow into her home (think about it -- all those teeny-tiny little light bulbs!).
ReplyDeleteI used to get all cozy feeling inside when my kids played with ColorForms because I loved them so much when I was little.
But -- !!! Mystery Date! Am I telling you how old I am when I say how much I loved this game?!
Oh if I saved my kids toys. The Cabbage Patch in the 80's. I had a barbie in the 60's. Thanks Kathy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was around 3 years old I had a the smallest size of Knickerbocker Raggedy Ann. I took her everywhere. One day I lost her. My parents called everywhere that we had been that day. Finally, they had a promising lead at the grocery store. We drove down to the store and talked to the store manager. He had my doll. He explained that the doll had become quite popular with the store employees; that they had been taking good care of her, and had even nicknamed her "Little Suzy". Well, little Suzy is still with me today. My daughters love her just as much as I did even though she's partially bald and pretty grungy.
ReplyDeleteAt first I didn't think I saved anything from my childhood, but then realized they weren't the usual things. I too took really good care of my toys and try to instill that lesson in my kids with the response, "Okay mom, sure mom, cool mom" and then drop, break, misplace- damnit! Anyhoo, I was a little nerdy...I still have my mini microscope, first cool calculater (not the big TI one),first big girl digital watch and my sister's harmonica and oh- my baby blanket. Which I passed on to my oldest daughter who loved it to death and now sits in the closet on life support :( That was fun! Thanks for the memories Holly!!
ReplyDeleteI had that Barbie car! My parents saved all of my old toys, too. Before they sold my childhood home and moved to FL, I traveled down Memory Lane via those relics. In the end I didn't keep them though. I gave or threw everything away.
ReplyDeleteI had that barbie car too! And the exact same Raggedy Ann doll, which is in my daughter's room right now. She also has my Drowsy doll, whose hair sticks straight up, and of course the voice box no longer works. I love to see her playing with it though. My oldest daughter never liked baby dolls, so she didn't play with any of my toys. My second daughter is definitely making up for that though.
ReplyDeleteI had 13 barbies and 2 ken dolls, which back then (early/mid 70s) was a lot. Nothing like the 109 blonde barbies that my oldest has, not including the dark haired barbie friends, kellys, and kens. She's 15 now, and too old to play with them, but they're still around here somewhere, and her little sister plays with some of them.
Great post :)
I had tons of Barbie Dolls that I loved. Some were given stylish haircuts (okay, I acually gave them crew cuts). I also loved The Sunshine Family, I'm not sure if anyone will remember them. They were like Barbie and Ken, but a little smaller and they were hippies! Ahhh, to be a kid in the 70's! My daughter has all of my dolls now, but she doesn't like them as much as I did. She'd rather play on her Nintendo DS!
ReplyDeleteOh how lucky that you still have some of those toys! I threw everything away long ago...and now I wish I hadn't. But I had nowhere to store all of it! My mom made a Raggedy Ann doll when I was a kid and I still have it, although it's fairly "ragged" by now!
ReplyDeleteHi there Holly - thanks for visiting my blog - what a lovely surprise. As far as toys go my mum has given most of them away - sadly she just hates having things lie around so I don't have much to pass onto my children, but my favourite toy as a child was probably my bike, not really a toy but it was the thing that used the most, coasting around the neighbourhood visiting friends.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fantastic that your parents saved all your toys. And that you pass them on to your children. I only wish that I had saved things. I did have a favorite stuffed tiger for many years, but I don't know what ever happened to it. The only thing I still have from my childhood is a wooden toy chest I got for Christmas when I was about 8 years old.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad "toy talk" brought up so many memories. I had no idea my parents had saved so much...trust me, there is MORE! Thanks all for stopping by! See you soon at your place.
ReplyDeleteHi, Happy Saturday SITS Sharefest! Wow, I had a cabbage patch doll too but my favourite was a doll called Tiny Tears. I had her for years but my mum, being a tidy, clean freak, decided we were too old for dolls and binned them; mine and my sisters. Yup, binned. Sob. She sounds evil but she isn't...really.....;O) Mums out there, don't ever throw out your kids favourite toys, no matter how much the dirty, smelly lumps offend you; package them in tissue if you must and store in the attic, like Holly's mum and dad....it's a hard one to forgive.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you. x
Oh, what a great idea! I feel like I should go take pictures of all my toys now. I have a dollhouse that's in it's third gen of play, my old toybox with lots of stuff, legos, and on and on it goes. I, too, was surprised by the state of some of them. hahaha!
ReplyDeleteHappy SITS day and thanks for the link!
Oh, I just loved my toys too. Since I moved a lot after High School. I did not keep things through my college years.
ReplyDeleteI had lots of Barbie items. I was a very girlie girl, but my sister was not. I enjoyed my Barbie make up doll the most when I was young.
Books are the only things I had since childhood. When I sold everything I owned to move to California. The only thing I did not sell was my books. I love BOOKS!