I don’t know about you, but my favorite toys EVER were the old school Fisher-Price Little People toys. (Not to sound like a hater, but the new ones are weak. In the little house set we had (and have since sold), the dad is on the phone. What’s up with that? Put the phone down and hang out with your kid. Talk about pigeon-holing the imagination.) My mom saved all of them and that’s all Sy plays with when we go to her house. It’s all I play with when we go to her house. The town with the little mail truck and plastic letters that go through the mail slots is my favorite. Although I am a big fan of the airport. And the parking garage. I could go on…
Anyway, Fisher-Price busted some cool moves and made some new sets to look like the old school ones. The scale is a big larger, but it definitely has the same feel. And they are only $18.00. Way cheaper than the old ones are on Ebay. Anyone have them yet? They have the fold up school and barn. I wonder if they’ll put out more. I hope so!
My aunt, my father’s only sister, unmarried and without children, wound up with five nieces and nephews, and is currently Great Auntie to six (going on seven) grand nieces and nephews. Among her many cool attributes, Auntie C has distinguished herself as a very creative and personalized gift giver. She’s the one who ordered us the home delivery subscription of organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers after our first daughter was born. She has an uncanny ability to pick out books that match each relative’s interests and developmental stage. In turn, she asks only that we make a donation to a worthy organization and let her know all about it.
Last Christmas, Aunt C gave the parents of small children gift certificates to Maple Landmark Woodcraft, a folksy company that makes handmade wooden toys of the traditional variety.
Daily Candy showcased this groovy little store a few weeks back. I got sucked into the Curiosity Shoppe site and got a kick out of a lot of their products. How cool is this little rope tying kit? If your kid is not a Boy Scout or a fisherperson but still wants to learn how to tie a gazillion knots, look no further. It’s only $10.00 and comes in a cool little tube.
I think this is the kind of thing that would be great to have in the “Oh we’re going to a birthday party and have no gift ready” section of your hall closet. I have no such section yet, but I do aspire to it…
If you have a big tree and a big blue Ikea near you, you should get yourself on down there and pick up one of these nifty little ladder swings. Micky has one in her backyard and it reminds me of Helen, our shopping cart. As in, Helen of Troy, because this swing used to launch a massive battle every time we’d go over there, just like the cart used to do. It is the most coveted of all things at Kara’s house. Sy often asks me if the swing is still there and if so, perhaps we should go visit Kara? She also tells me we need to get a big tree in our backyard so she can have a swing, too. I tell her that the Rolling Stones sang it best, “You can’t always get what you want…”
The whole Ekorre series is pretty bitchin, actually. There are hand rings (Only $8.99 and also hanging from another cool tree in Kara’s yard), a swing, a rocking moose and balls. The swings and rings are meant for both indoor/outdoor use, so I suppose if we wanted to figure out where the load bearing beams are hiding out, we could install a swing in the house. But call me crazy, I don’t think my living room would look all that fancy with a big swing hitting me in the head every time I sat down to watch “So You Think You Can Dance.” (It’s better than me admitting that I watch the Bachelorette, right? I can’t believe she sent Graham packing.) I digress. If you have a cool playroom or basement, then I think indoor swings would be awesome. Maybe even in the hallway so your kid could swing to bath like Tarzan or Jane? Yeah, probably not, hunh?
Remember Highlights magazines? When I was a kid that magazine was the only reason I looked forward to going to the dentist, because I knew there’d be a whole pile of the two tone magazines for me to devour. I was a huge fan of the hidden pictures page. The magazine covers are a little fancier nowadays, but after 60 years, the content is still going strong.
Now Highlights has introduced a new magazine, High Five, published for readers ages two to six.
My sister arrived on my doorstep the other day with boxes of my old childhood toys. It was like Christmas for ME! She even brought the Barbie and Ken Country Camper (check out the 1971 commercial for it. Awesome!). I put it away for another day, because honestly, I wasn’t ready to share it yet. Selfish? You betcha.
My daughter and niece had a great time dressing up in our fantastic old dress up clothes, all handmade by my great aunt. But what they really went nuts for was the huge box of model horses. I laughed when I saw it because I remember how much I loved those beasts. We even had a cool wooden stable for them, unfortunately now defunct, overtaken by mold. My sister and I maintained the stable of horses for our Barbies, because our Barbies were very well rounded and excelled in equestrian pursuits. Anyway, my six year old niece and two year old played with these things for over an hour. They lined them up, climbed “mountains”, ran races, put them down for a nap (as you can see in the picture above). My sister and I were totally geeked out that the horses were enjoying a second life with our own daughters.
I looked them up online to see if they are still made (boy, are they!). What made me laugh was that “vintage” horses are worth a pretty penny. Well, ours were until the kids got a hold of them and have begun systematically chipping all the paint off of them. But who cares? It’s not like I would ever sell them. I am Never going to part with them and you can bet your bottom dollar that van ain’t moving either.
In honor of Thanksgiving week, I’ll be posting some of the toys for which we have the most gratitude.
Monday’s pick is Sy’s current favorite, sure to be in the top slot for years to come, just as it was in my own youth:
This toy (so aptly named Darth Tater) is great for three year old hands to practice using fine motor skills as well as some fine R2D2 potato head masterpieces.
It’s also superb for any 35 year old Star Wars GEEK who happens to share the house with you.
We have the trio set, which includes enough pieces to make Darth Tater, Spud Trooper, and Artoo-Potatoo.
I am working on Gift Box ideas for holiday shopping and came across this Melissa and Doug version of Pick Up Sticks. What a lovely job they’ve done with one of my favorite toys from childhood. Their packaging is a far cry from the cardboard tube mine came in, although I must admit I am immediately nostalgic for my old plastic sticks!
