# Some favourite toys you had as a child



## Treacle (Jul 2, 2020)

How things have changed with technology. Some things can still be bought - Yo Yos and french knitting 'dolls', my grandfather banged four nails into a cotton reel - not a safety issue then !!!!!!!


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## Pinky (Jul 2, 2020)

Etch-a-sketch and Spirograph were fun, and I was very good with a yo-yo (if I do say so, myself  )
We also had home-made french knitting spools which worked extremely well.


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## Barbiegirl (Jul 2, 2020)

Omgoodness SPIROGRAPHS! Haven't thought of that in ages and ages. Thanks for the fun memory! 

My favorite toys were an Easybake Oven (powered by the heat of a lone lightbulb LOL ) and anything Barbie.


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## JaniceM (Jul 2, 2020)

For me it was books, books, and more books!!!!
I also liked Colorforms-  similar to paper dolls, only vinyl material.


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## Pecos (Jul 2, 2020)

I have been cleaning out old photos and came across several of me dragging a brown Teddy Bear around. I don't have any memory of it at all, but I do remember the Springer Spaniel that was always present.

My younger brothers were into all things related to Davy Crockett.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

Legos, Lincoln Logs, Mechanix, yoyo's, hula-hoops, tetherball, Lawn-Darts, Spiro graph, Shrinky-Dinks, Silly Putty, and I remember baby brother having a smoke-gun. Also had a dartboard in our house.


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## Pepper (Jul 2, 2020)

When my son was very little @Pecos, I wanted to give him the Camp Experience, so I invented 'Camp Davy Crockett.'  Every morning, we would sing the theme song.  I had planned activities every day, and sometimes we would have 'guest' campers (friends) over, who would participate.  At the end of the day, we would sing the theme song again.  Loved Fess Parker as D.C.  One of my very best shows to watch as a kid.


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## JaniceM (Jul 2, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> Legos, Lincoln Logs, Mechanix, yoyo's, hula-hoops, tetherball, Lawn-Darts, Spiro graph, Shrinky-Dinks, Silly Putty, and I remember baby brother having a smoke-gun. Also had a dartboard in our house.


Oh I forgot yoyos..  liked them, too!!


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## Pecos (Jul 2, 2020)

JaniceM said:


> Oh I forgot yoyos..  liked them, too!!


I was a little older before I mastered the yoyo, and I still have one. The last time I used it was about a year ago, so I still have some little boy in me yet.


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## Gaer (Jul 2, 2020)

Barbies wern't invented yet, so i played with paper dolls.  But my parents couldn't afford to buy them so my Mother drew them and i would color them.  She was an artist so they were beautiful!  And i had a Terri Lee doll.


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## Lewkat (Jul 2, 2020)

Books for when I was stuck indoors.  On those days my one cousin and I would build a reading fort in the living room which annoyed my mother as we had a room in which to read.  My bike and my skates were my principal toys since I loved to explore all over the place.  Always carried marbles and trading cards with me for a game.  I was such a tomboy.


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## peramangkelder (Jul 2, 2020)

Remember Spinning Tops? Some would even 'hum' a tune


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## MickaC (Jul 2, 2020)

Had 1 Barbie, 1 Ken, clothes for them, which were sewn and knitted by my Aunt.
Chatty Cathy Doll.
Red plastic building blocks, no lego, not sure if there was any then, if so, they would have been too expensive.
Some games, which we played with family......croquet was one of them.


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## MickaC (Jul 2, 2020)

Also had our bikes......never had a new one.....remember Dad getting them and parts from the garbage dump, and making usable bikes.
French knitting spools as well........spent hours at that.......something usually got made out of the long cords.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

peramangkelder said:


> View attachment 111987
> Remember Spinning Tops? Some would even 'hum' a tune


I forgot about the old spinning tin tops, and I remember the one I had just like yesterday. As much as thread topics like this warm my heart, there's a side to them that makes me sad. I just can't get over where all the years have gone... how short life is... and how fast time goes by.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

I also remember the Slinky, Lite-Bright (resembled a small television where you plugged in coloured pegs into a perforated board that was backlit), Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Dinky Cars, Erector Set, Dart Guns, View-Master (remember that one)... plastic guns that fired little disks, Electra-shot Shooting Gallery, and HO Train Sets along with Slot-car Racing Sets were king!


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## Lewkat (Jul 2, 2020)

Gaer said:


> Barbies wern't invented yet, so i played with paper dolls.  But my parents couldn't afford to buy them so my Mother drew them and i would color them.  She was an artist so they were beautiful!  And i had a Terri Lee doll.


Wow, forgot those paper dolls.  We'd play for hours with them.  Some were bought and some, my mom made.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

Also Tinkertoy and a few Fisher Price things.

I've probably forgotten more than I remember.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

And we can't leave out pedal cars.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

Who else had a red wagon?


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## LindaB (Jul 2, 2020)

I would rather read more than anything. But I had a Betsy Wetsy Doll!


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

LindaB said:


> I would rather read more than anything. But I had a Betsy Wetsy Doll!


I bypassed the doll stage account having baby siblings, but baby sisters had a Baby Alive Doll.


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## jujube (Jul 2, 2020)

Dolls, dollhouse, Tinkertoys,  Lincoln Logs, paper dolls, Spirograph, jigsaw puzzles, oh where do I stop?

Most of all?  Big cardboard boxes.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 2, 2020)

jujube said:


> Dolls, dollhouse, Tinkertoys,  Lincoln Logs, paper dolls, Spirograph, jigsaw puzzles, oh where do I stop?
> 
> Most of all?  *Big cardboard boxes*.


Our favourite, too!


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 2, 2020)

When I was very young I loved playing with my doll house and other dolls and I loved my Howdy Doody marionette. I never really learned how to work the strings but I would tuck the top piece in the side of the piano bench which was the perfect height for him to stand up,at that point I could move the different strings without getting them all tangled up. 
In my early teens I got a microscope that was advertised on the Mr. Wizard show. I spent hours looking at bug parts.
Then came the paint by number kits and my Jon Nagy learn to draw kit.


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## Bee (Jul 2, 2020)

For 1949 Christmas I received a bone china doll, as things were still in short supply my mother and aunt looked all over many toy shops to buy me the doll, which I still have.

My second eldest brother was a merchant seaman and on a stop in Greece when I was aged 11 he bought me a doll dressed in Greek National dress, I also still have this doll.


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## CindyLouWho (Jul 2, 2020)




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## MarciKS (Jul 2, 2020)

I loved Barbies more than life itself. I also found Wooly Willy to be hilarious.


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## Treacle (Jul 3, 2020)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> When I was very young I loved playing with my doll house and other dolls and I loved my Howdy Doody marionette. I never really learned how to work the strings but I would tuck the top piece in the side of the piano bench which was the perfect height for him to stand up,at that point I could move the different strings without getting them all tangled up.
> In my early teens I got a microscope that was advertised on the Mr. Wizard show. I spent hours looking at bug parts.
> Then came the paint by number kits and my Jon Nagy learn to draw kit.


On a Joyce Meyer prog. she mentions that the first TV show she watched was Howdy Doody, now I know what it is, thanks, but what sort of marionette was it? I'm always wanting to learn.  ☺


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## Treacle (Jul 3, 2020)

Love the response. Some of the toys I don't recall in England when I was a child but it's so interesting to read what you had and see pictures. Made my day.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 3, 2020)

@Treacle this is an image of the exact  Howdy Doody marionette I had. As you can see the strings can get pretty tangled up. That's why I put the top part between the seat of the piano bench. Once up I could move the different strings to move his legs and arms move,of course I couldn't make him walk but I still had a lot of fun playing with him.


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## Pinky (Jul 3, 2020)

jujube said:


> Dolls, dollhouse, Tinkertoys,  Lincoln Logs, paper dolls, Spirograph, jigsaw puzzles, oh where do I stop?
> 
> Most of all?  Big cardboard boxes.


The most fun me and my 2 older sisters had, was making a "house" out of a refrigerator box. They cut windows and hung curtains from scrap fabric Mom had left over from sewing clothes for people.


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## Knight (Jul 3, 2020)

Don't mean to be a downer but growing up in poverty toys were not part of what we got. Thankfully neighborhood kids shared what they got so many of the toys mentioned we played with too.


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## Pinky (Jul 3, 2020)

Knight said:


> Don't mean to be a downer but growing up in poverty toys were not part of what we got. Thankfully neighborhood kids shared what they got so many of the toys mentioned we played with too.


It was the same for us. We didn't have toys. I had a spinning top, which was my only toy for quite awhile. I did get a hula hoop and yo-yo, but I was around 10 before I got a pair of metal roller skates which I used so much, the wheels wore down (actual holes). Dad used to bring home second-hand board games from the Veteran's store. Pieces were missing, but we made do with what there was. My younger brother (by 7 yrs) had lots of toys.


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## jujube (Jul 3, 2020)

One year I got my young nephew a board for Christmas.  

Yep, a nice soft wooden board, into which I had drilled some holes.  Along with the board, he got a hammer, a screw driver, a wrench and an assortment of nails, screws, bolts and nuts.

He played with them incessantly for weeks.


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## jujube (Jul 3, 2020)

Have you noticed how poorly-made and chintzy the modern versions of our favorite old toys are?

Pick-up Stix used to be made of wood.  Now they're plastic sticks and very hard to play with.

TinkerToys were all wood.  Mostly plastic now and you can't get the parts to stay together.

Lincoln Logs are junk.

Jacks were metal but they're plastic now.

And so on...…    Poor kids today, they get frustrated trying to play with this junk.


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## jujube (Jul 3, 2020)

Did anyone mention Mr. Potato Head?  Remember, you had to wheedle a large potato from your mom, as the toy only came with the body parts.

The big problem is that the potato often ended up under the couch or the bed or in the toy boy and in a few days...….PEE-YEWWWWWWWW...… nothing smells worse than a rotten potato.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 3, 2020)

jujube said:


> Have you noticed how poorly-made and chintzy the modern versions of our favorite old toys are?
> 
> Pick-up Stix used to be made of wood.  Now they're plastic sticks and very hard to play with.
> 
> ...


It's all garbage, right down to the reduced in size board games.


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 3, 2020)

jujube said:


> Did anyone mention Mr. Potato Head?  Remember, you had to wheedle a large potato from your mom, as the toy only came with the body parts.
> 
> The big problem is that the potato often ended up under the couch or the bed or in the toy boy and in a few days...….PEE-YEWWWWWWWW...… nothing smells worse than a rotten potato.


I remember when Mr. Potato Head came with a large plastic potato head, along with all of the parts... eyebrows, lips, etc.

As for the smell of potatoes gone bad, OMG, the worst!


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## Treacle (Jul 3, 2020)

Pinky said:


> It was the same for us. We didn't have toys. I had a spinning top, which was my only toy for quite awhile. I did get a hula hoop and yo-yo, but I was around 10 before I got a pair of metal roller skates which I used so much, the wheels wore down (actual holes). Dad used to bring home second-hand board games from the Veteran's store. Pieces were missing, but we made do with what there was. My younger brother (by 7 yrs) had lots of toys.


So sad Knight and Pinky. We were lucky because my grandparents raised us and we would get donations from our local council and neighbours who felt sorry for us although we  had to share between the four of us. Sending you both a virtual toy from the past and it's not Mr Potato head !!!!!


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## jujube (Jul 3, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> It's all garbage, right down to the reduced in size board games.


No kidding.  I bought a Chutes and Ladders game for the little'uns and the board is so small, you can hardly fit the pieces on the spots.  The kids get frustrated from the pieces getting moved around.


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## JaniceM (Jul 3, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> It's all garbage, right down to the reduced in size board games.


I didn't know that..  the classic toys aren't the same quality as they were when we were children?   
As my grandkids live in a different part of the country, ordering gifts and having the gifts delivered to them means I don't get to see the items.  I hate to think they're substandard quality!!!


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 3, 2020)

jujube said:


> No kidding.  I bought a Chutes and Ladders game for the little'uns and the board is so small, you can hardly fit the pieces on the spots.  The kids get frustrated from the pieces getting moved around.


I can totally see that happening.

I am so glad I hung onto all of my old board games.


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## Pinky (Jul 3, 2020)

Treacle said:


> So sad Knight and Pinky. We were lucky because my grandparents raised us and we would get donations from our local council and neighbours who felt sorry for us although we  had to share between the four of us. Sending you both a virtual toy from the past and it's not Mr Potato head !!!!!


Thank you, Treacle


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 3, 2020)

JaniceM said:


> I didn't know that..  the classic toys aren't the same quality as they were when we were children?
> As my grandkids live in a different part of the country, ordering gifts and having the gifts delivered to them means I don't get to see the items.  I hate to think they're substandard quality!!!


Not anywhere near, no even close.


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## hellomimi (Jul 3, 2020)

Pinky said:


> The most fun me and my 2 older sisters had, was making a "house" out of a refrigerator box. They cut windows and hung curtains from scrap fabric Mom had left over from sewing clothes for people.


I remember my son when he was 6, we bought him a Peg Perego ride on but he enjoyed playing with the box more than riding the truck.  I guess all kids are wired that way.


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## jujube (Jul 3, 2020)

Well, a box can be a house, a fort, a boat, a spaceship heading for Mars.  It can be a theater, a cave, a sultan's palace. You can get in it and roll or slide down a hill, well, for a while.   

What other toy is that versatile?


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## Treacle (Jul 3, 2020)

We used to play marbles at school and roll them into drains that had holes ?, different marbles had different values. We never wore gloves and picked them up with our hands.  How I  live to tell the tale  confounds me !!!!!!!!!


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## Pinky (Jul 3, 2020)

My best friend, Jimmy Collins, lived at the end of my street. He was an only child, so he had lots of toys. He was a quiet, generous boy. He gave me marbles to play with the rest of the boys..to their chagrin, because I was so good, I won most of the time. He also sold me his old bicycle for $5 .. the only bike I had. I rode it into the ground


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 3, 2020)

Treacle said:


> We used to play marbles at school and roll them into drains that had holes ?, different marbles had different values. We never wore gloves and picked them up with our hands.  How I  live to tell the tale  confounds me !!!!!!!!!


I remember the big bucket of marbles we had! Baby brother had collected hundreds upon hundreds!


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## fuzzybuddy (Jul 5, 2020)

There was one thing you jumped for joy when you saw it- it was the Sears Winter catalog. Yup, the big book with pages and pages of toys. I'd make a list. Just the toys I absolutely  positively wanted. There were only a 100 of those. BTW, yes, I knew there was no Santa, but if my believing got me more presents, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE.


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## AmberTea (Jul 5, 2020)

Favorities were Etch-a-Sketch, Barbies, coloring books, stuffed animals were a game for me, I had them
all over for tea time lol, making hide away tents on the tables, Chatty Cathy dolls, hide and seek game,
playing flower girl (we had to decorate outselves in any kind of flowers we could find or were allowed to
pick, then put them on a string, and wear them as our necklace for that day) the child cooking oven for
pretend cookies, so many to list and all great memories too


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 5, 2020)

fuzzybuddy said:


> There was one thing you jumped for joy when you saw it- it was the Sears Winter catalog. Yup, the big book with pages and pages of toys. I'd make a list. Just the toys I absolutely  positively wanted. There were only a 100 of those. BTW, yes, I knew there was no Santa, but if my believing got me more presents, I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE.


Ah, yes... the Sears Christmas Wish Book! How we'd wait the arrival of, and I swear it never got a minutes rest between us kids selecting and dreaming about what we wanted for Christmas! Such a magical time.


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## Sassycakes (Jul 5, 2020)

*I loved dolls when I was growing up. I still have my doll from when I was 5yrs old. I wouldn't part with her for all the money in the world. My sister has the same one and we were offered $1,000. for both of them but the memories are worth more than money.*


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 5, 2020)

AmberTea said:


> Favorities were Etch-a-Sketch, Barbies, coloring books, stuffed animals were a game for me, I had them
> all over for tea time lol, making hide away tents on the tables, Chatty Cathy dolls, hide and seek game,
> playing flower girl (we had to decorate outselves in any kind of flowers we could find or were allowed to
> pick, then put them on a string, and wear them as our necklace for that day) the child cooking oven for
> pretend cookies, so many to list and all great memories too


A favorite of ours was to drape blankets and quilts over the top bunk bed, so the quilts and blankets hung over and past the bottom bunk forming a cozy, dark, and private space in which to hide. There we would gather, all huddled around, sometimes with flashlight and a good book. We'd spend hours occupying ourselves.


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## Treacle (Jul 5, 2020)

I have written before about what happened to my mum so won't repeat it here ,but I have a teddy bear that my horrible father gave me-  I think that is the only thing I remember he gave me and that was when we were put in a home run by the 
'Sisters of Mercy' (not). Kept it since I was 6 'cos I loved it and it was a great cuddling companion for me. Fur's starting to go but it is over 50 years + old


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## Aunt Marg (Jul 5, 2020)

Treacle said:


> I have written before about what happened to my mum so won't repeat it here ,but I have a teddy bear that my horrible father gave me-  I think that is the only thing I remember he gave me and that was when we were put in a home run by the
> 'Sisters of Mercy' (not). Kept it since I was 6 'cos I loved it and it was a great cuddling companion for me. Fur's starting to go but it is over 50 years + old


I will never lose or grow out of my love for stuffed animals and teddy bears, and yours doesn't disappoint.


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## charry (Jul 5, 2020)

Treacle said:


> How things have changed with technology. Some things can still be bought - Yo Yos and french knitting 'dolls', my grandfather banged four nails into a cotton reel - not a safety issue then !!!!!!!





Your etch a sketch was called A Doodle Master when I had it as a child....


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