My daughter's birthday is on Wednesday, and tonight we went to Target so she could use some of the birthday money she got from her aunt and uncle to buy some Barbies. (Because she won't get enough Barbie stuff at her party on Saturday, I'm sure.) I must have spent 30 minutes in the toy aisles, mostly with my boy, who is obsessed with "boy toys" that "turn on," i.e. make a bunch of noise. This got me to thinking about some of the toys I remember from my childhood. So tonight I searched some of them out online.One of the most memorable toys I had, which a lot of other kids my age had, is the Tree Tots Family Tree House (pictured). This one probably goes back to when I was my girl's age. I always liked the elevator and the button that would make the canopy pop up, exposing the rooms inside. And I swear I can still remember exactly how that canopy felt. Like every other kid my age, I (or one of my brothers) also had the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle and that little McDonalds restaurant that would ding when you pecked at the cash register (can't find a photo). What a marketing success that was. And man did I love my Six-Million-Dollar Man toy. On the show he could see far away, and to emulate that, the toy had a hole in the back of the head that you could look through to make things that were close actually look far away. I'd go to the top of the twirly slide and watch through his head as the poor Earp boys got pelted by park-lunch apples, thanks to Ed Rigger and other guys who were ten years their senior. I got around town on a Big Wheel, though I ditched the seat and used it like a scooter, which is why I never got into the Green Machine. Stretch Armstrong got all the press, but I had an Incredible Hulk version that I thought was much cooler. I liked the idea of my Lite-Brite, but I never had the patience to really do anything cool with it. I had all of the same board games you had, probably, and a thousand other toys that I still remember like it was yesterday. And to think, my kids will probably feel the same way about some of these toys that I trip over put away on a daily basis. Okay, my wife usually puts them away, but still.
So what did you play with?
STAR WARS and GI Joe figures. Fisher PRice Castle and dominator Tonka Trucks. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteHere, here on the GI Joe (with Kung-Fu grip!). I always liked the electric race cars- the real electric ones, not the battery powered ones- where you had the pistol grip controller and they made that sweet hum as they went around the track. Lincoln logs and Legos were tops, too. The other day I was thinking about my Thumbrestlers. I had The Junkyard Dog and The Iron Shiek. Good times. Good times.
ReplyDeleteI remember Thumb Wrestlers -- that's some weird stuff right there. Can't say I ever had them. As for the G.I. Joe stuff -- I somehow missed that boat. I think I was too busy french-kissing girls by then. But Star Wars? Of course, that's every single boy who was our age, without exception.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you had your priorities straight- girls over G.I. Joe?!?
ReplyDeleteI just found 37- that's right, 37- Thumbwrestlers on eBay for $20. We might have to have a smack down next time I see you.
ReplyDeleteLiea constantly plays with Katrina's Family Tree House I salvaged from her parents house before they sold it. She loves it, and I too am fascinated by the button on the top that opens it up.
ReplyDeleteI was always playing with my Erector set or my Commodore 64 and Vic-20 with a cassette tape drive.
Yeah, I played with my erector, too. Uh, I mean...
ReplyDeleteI always wanted an Erector set, but it probably would have been like the Lite-Brite was for me -- incomplete and ultimately in a box.
ReplyDeleteBut I did have a Vic-20 (no tape drive so it was pretty much worthless) and a Commodore 64. My favorite Commodore 64 game was called Erland. But as far as full-on video-game madness went, it was Colecovision that changed it all for me and my brothers. That was some next-level stuff right there.
I had an Intelevision I. I played Dungeons and Dragons religiously. It is amazing how the technology has progressed from Atari to Wii. I wonder what the next 30 years will bring?
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