Toys of yesteryear

[eclectic]

. I hated stepping on those jax, though (and my brother's little green army men that were everywhere on the floor)

Ditto on that one!

My children's former elementary school and other local schools still hold Jacks contests to this day.
A nice, fun, innocent past time which is great for coordination.

[GLC1968]

I hated my brothers little army men...those things ended up everywhere and they hurt when you stepped on them!

We were big fans of anything that would allow us to build. Lincoln logs, legos, etc. We had this cool toy called Riviton that was an erector set from Parker Brothers where you had these rubber rivits that stretched into holes to attach things. It was cool because you could take it all apart and build something else without wasting anything. My dad worked for Parker Brothers, so we had all the different sets and my brother and I LOVED them. Then some stupid kid shoved the rivits up his nose and choked to death...so they recalled the entire line. We begged my dad to let us keep them if we promised never to put them in our nose, but he wouldn't let us...some liablility issue due to his position at Parker Brothers. Bah.

I found this pic of an ad from 1978 for Riviton (on ebay):


We were also big fans of the 'little people' line from Fisher Price (when we were younger). Those all got recalled as well (and redsigned) because kids choked on those, too.

[emily_in_nc]

We were also big fans of the 'little people' line from Fisher Price (when we were younger). Those all got recalled as well (and redsigned) because kids choked on those, too.

YESSSSSSSSSS! Little people, little people, little people! I just LOVED me some little people! Had no idea they eventually got recalled.

[Zen]

Some of the toys I don't know, the old standbys (Lincoln logs, Legos) I do.

i have my Matchbox car collection in it's carrying case and a Spirograph but I actually bought the Spirograph on ebay

[solobiker]

I use to play with my Dad's old army men he had when he was growing up.. He used to buy them on his way home from school back in the late 30s and early 40. They are definately not the plastic kind. He ended up giving me them which is pretty cool. I also had a Spirograph which was way too much fun, and of course legos. Other then that I used to spend most of my time playing outside.

[GLC1968]

Oh yeah...loved the Spirograph! My mom even used it to 'decorate' her holiday newsletter one year. And there was another creative 'toy' that we had where you put a blank white card into this spinning thing and squirted paint onto it while it was going around. Then you had these psychadelic designs on the cards when it dried. Anyone remember those and what it was called? Man - that thing made a mess (maybe that's why we loved it so much!).

Emily - I don't know that the little people were actually recalled, but they did stop making them in favor of a much larger version (that a child couldn't possibly swallow). My dad eventually worked for Fisher Price for a few years and was telling me about the end of the little people. Now, I believe they are just called "People". Original, huh? I loved the little school bus where the little people moved up and down as the bus wheels turned! And I was also a big fan of the farm set - go figure.

[Tuckervill]

SpinArt! You can actually pay money to do that at State Fairs these days.

I had Spirograph, and my sons had never heard of it. But one day I was at a garage sale and I saw a Spirograph from the same era as mine...the kids on the box were exactly the same. The pens were still in it, too! (They were dry of course.) I still bought it, for only 25 cents!

Karen

[emily_in_nc]

Emily - I don't know that the little people were actually recalled, but they did stop making them in favor of a much larger version (that a child couldn't possibly swallow). My dad eventually worked for Fisher Price for a few years and was telling me about the end of the little people. Now, I believe they are just called "People". Original, huh? I loved the little school bus where the little people moved up and down as the bus wheels turned! And I was also a big fan of the farm set - go figure.

My favorite "little people" item piece was that garage thing the cars and trucks for them to ride in and the curved ramp to drive up to the top level. My friend had most of the little people stuff, so I just played at her house.

I also loved Barbies, Spirograph, Legos, Lincoln Logs, classic games like Candyland and Clue and many, many other old toys and games. All that stuff was so cool! I guess kids today start with video games so early they never get to experience all the neat toys we had.

Did anyone happen to have this really cheesy "Mystery Date" game? You opened the door, and a "date" was behind it -- either a "cute" guy in a tux, or a bum, or a policeman, or whatever. I just loved that silly thing!

Oh, the memories. I am suddenly feeling very old.