Toys of yesteryear

[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.

[Deborajen]

I used to play "Mystery Date" at my friend's house all the time - totally cheesy, but we loved it.

We also had an old electric football set. It had some bubbles in the field that would make the players just stop and spin in the middle of the field or suddenly take off and go out of bounds. The "kicker" was the best part. It was a springboard of sorts. If you pressed down on it much at all it would shoot the tiny football all the way across the living room and down the hall past both bedrooms. Quite a change from the precise video games nowadays!

Deb

[Tuckervill]

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.

Then what explains the garage full of every imaginable toy, PLUS all the game systems left over from 26 years of raising kids?

Karen

[tulip]

I loved Spirograph, as well as making potholders--remember the loops and the toothed frame?

I did not like Operation. I hated that buzz, not to mention the thought of operating on someone!

[Zen]

those potholders always shrunk to about the size of a coaster. If they could just stay the same size they'd be good quality potholders.

I may just look for one of those and go into business

[Aggie_Ama]

My Mammaw was constantly going out to her shed and bringing toys from her kids, I was in heaven. She never bought anything modern except a swing set and beads or yarn to make crafts for us grandkids. My aunt was born in 1944, my uncle 1950, my mom is the baby from 1955. Their toys were great! She had an old Chinese checkers board no one new how to play but she had a ton of marbles, we would just arrange them on the board.

[tulip]

You could make a bigger one...but the loops would have to be bigger, too. We had lots of potholders. I actually found one in the back of my folk's drawer in the kitchen a while back. It must be 30 years old! Yes, it is coaster-size, and more of a parallelogram.

[Aggie_Ama]

We would make multiple potholders and then Mammaw would help us join them together.

[tulip]

Aggie, I love your Mammaw!

[Crankin]

I loved the old Lincoln logs, that were actually made of wood. The ones my kids had were plastic (from the 80s).
I used to play incessant rounds of jacks up through 5th grade. Tons of sleepovers with my Barbie and my 3 suitcases of Barbie clothes. That was an addiction! I put them away in fifth grade and wonder what happened to them.
Re: the little people. I have a friend who used to say that they mysteriously multiplied overnight. She would get up in the morning and they would be all over her house, causing everyone to trip and hurt their feet.
When we moved to MA, we gave the Little People house, or maybe it was a garage, to our kid's preschool. Scott never forgave me.
Aggie, your mom is younger than me....

[Aggie_Ama]

You know Tulip, I took me a long time to realize how much I do too. That sounds harsh but she is a very cold woman. My mom said she isn't sure she can count how many times she said "I love you" on more than one hand. If I say "I love you Mammaw" she will reply "Uh-huh. Be careful going home". She was born to a woman that didn't know how to show love in 1918 (according to my mom).

I think now all those crafts and keeping the toys was her way of showing love. She is a bit crazy but the world needs more people like her I think. And they need more pot holders, Logstix, Lincoln Logs, craft time, Spirographs and sandboxes full of old pots and pans.

Did you know that an old flour sifter is one of the greatest sandbox toys ever? Hers was so rusty but was great at breaking up the sand when it got all clumpy after a rain or getting the leaves off the pecan tree out of the sand. Oh look, you can get a rusty one on ebay! http://cgi.ebay.com/Neat-old-Very-pr...QQcmdZViewItem

[Aggie_Ama]

Crankin- But my brother had wood Lincoln Logs! He was born in 1976. My mom said her Barbies had they heads you removed to change them around, Mammaw still had a couple of them when I was a kid. I thought they were gross.

[Crankin]

Maybe they didn't sell the wooden ones in AZ? Or maybe your brother had hand me downs.
I don't remember seeing a Barbie with a removable head!

[Aggie_Ama]

You know the wooden ones may have been my dad's from when my grandparents adopted him in 1960-61. I remember my Dad saying he treasured them (and Cootie!) because they were the first toys ever received. It is very likely the Lincoln Logs I remember were my brother's that were at my Nanny and Pawppaw's house because they still had Cootie so I bet they were dad's Lincoln Logs and not the ones that could be bought when my brother was a kid?

[DebW]

I loved Tinker Toys. My grandmother had a wooden set for us. When I bought Tinker Toys for my kids, they were all plastic. My favorite modern building toy is K'nex.