Strolling Through Ye Olde Toy Shoppe on Memory Lane
Volume: Boisterous play sounds!
Issue: Fun Toy Blasts from the Past!
Date: December 1, 2022
“The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent.”—Sam Levenson
Strolling Through Ye Olde Toy Shoppe on Memory Lane
Inside Santa’s toy bag and under the Menorah in the 1950s and 60s, you could find this collection of oldies but goodies. These toys required kid power, no electronic power sticks allowed! These toys were charged with kids’ imaginations, not charging stations!
Enjoy the sweet memories of playing with these toys with your brothers and sisters and friends.
Viewmaster—pictures one click at a time; a precursor to virtual reality, back when there was only reality reality. (old time price: $3.50)
Betsy Wetsy—back when changing a diaper was actually fun.
Silly Putty—fun way to putty a lot of fun in copying the comic pages that came with the printed (!) newspaper.
Kaleidoscope—a technicolor toy while TVs were still black & white.
Easy Bake Oven—had to get it while it was hot!
Ball and Jacks—mostly played by Jills on the playground.
Chatty Kathy—when we could actually control what and when someone said something to us as a kid. (original price: $9.96)
Marbles—back when we had all of ours!
Magic 8 Ball—had the answer to all of our problems—at least the “yes” or “no” questions!
Etch-a-Sketch—who knew dialing aluminum powder around a square could be so much fun?
Gumby—doing yoga poses way before its time, this happy eraser later achieved stardom on SNL!
Electric Football—real football fun before fantasy football fun took over.
Farm Set—fueling farming fantasies—without the milking and the manure!
Chemistry Lab set—in the days when chemistry was fun— before high school chemistry.
Barbie—“If Barbie was so popular, why did we have to buy her friends?”—Stephen Wright
Paper Doll and Cutout Clothes—How many hours can one little girl spend cutting and creating fashions out of paper: PLENTY! Surprised the Kardashians haven’t revived this as part of their franchises!
Battle Ship—the game, not the headlines!
GI Joe—all the action a little boy or girl could want for $2.32 per soldier.
Slinky—faster down the stairs than you!
Erector Set—Build it and your friends will come!
Toy cap gun paper—back when (fake) gun sounds were fun.
Color Forms—loved by future future artists and interior decorators.
Cracker Jack Prizes—Even then, there were hopes to “put a ring in it!”
Tonka Truck—Tank you, Tonka, for making every little boy’s day!
Tinker Toys—fun colorful wooden sticks and lollipop building shapes for 60 cents—all in a a cardboard barrel!
Lincoln Logs—back when kids could create their own Lincoln Project!
Yoyos—the toys, not the bullies on the playground.
Wooden Stacking Robot Blocks—green, yellow, and red mini-Arnold Schwartzeneggers on steroids.
Gyroscope—those twirling metal spheres on the tip of our finger—gravity magic!
Pogo stick—Where was this when my kid was diagnosed with ADHD?
Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head—note resemblance to some members of Congress!
It’s been a Barrel of Fun Monkeying around with our old toy memories!
Have fun this holiday season toying with the 2022 toys!
Irene