Takin' It Back to the Old School

Well, it occurred to me that I might have frightened some of you last week when I wrote about some things that our kids will never have the pleasure of knowing about in Now You're Just Somebody That I Used to Know. Trust me when I say that was not my intent. If I really wanted to frighten you, I would have posted a picture of myself without makeup. :-)

Anyhoot, to make up for it, I thought I would post a more inspiring list of things that my kids DO KNOW ABOUT because we have foisted these retro 70s and 80s toys onto them as gifts (because, believe it or not, they are still available). In the case of the two girlie toys, we have given them as gifts to the girls in the family:

Rubik's Cube: I remember that my original Rubik's cube confounded me so much that I eventually pryed the stickers off and then put them back on in the right places . . . Of course, Aidyn is advanced and has already figured out how to get two sides of his back to the right colors. This toy was clearly not for me.

Etch A Sketch: The toy for the budding artist and someone technologically inclined enough to use it. (And, yes, I think rotating two radio buttons qualifies as "technology" - or at least it did back in the day when this toy was originally released.) Did any of your masterpieces ever turn out looking like this?

Slinky: "What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound? A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it's Slinky. It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun, it's a wonderful toy. It's Slinky, it's Slinky. It's fun for a girl or a boy." Fun, that is, until it gets wadded up into a tangled mess of wire. But, until that point, FUN.

Slinky Dog: The animated cousin of the Slinky. This guy has gained popularity since the release of the Toy Story movies. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the toys on this list are still hanging in there because of that franchise. When these movies were released, those toys, most of which were older toys, became cool again.

Lite Brite: In case you are wondering, the little pegs still get lost and strewn all over your house . . . . CLASSIC toy indeed. :-)

ViewMaster: I have always called this toy a View Finder. And if you Google View Finder, one of the first items that comes up is the ViewMaster by Fisher Price. So, I guess I'm not alone in my misunderstanding of what this item is called. At any rate, what kid doesn't like clicking through and seeing what's on those teeny tiny frames?

Transformers: "More than meets the eye." Our boys are playing with the originals that Ryan Barrett Walkush was smart enough to save from when he was a boy. Now before anyone has a heart attack, they were not pristine, new in package condition. They were the well-loved toys that he, himself played with as a youngster. And now they are being enjoyed by the next generation.

Sit 'N Spin: Now the name of this toy has always cracked me up. It makes me think of what Potsy would tell Ralph Mouth down at Al's Diner on Happy Days on occasion. But, slightly questionable naming conventions aside, this product is still available, and your kids can still twirl themselves silly on their own.

My Little Pony: The newer ones have shorter noses, but other than that, if it catches your fancy, you can still purchase these. We bought My Little Ponies for one of my nieces for her recent birthday.

Cabbage Patch Kids: While these dolls don't inspire the mob scenes that they did in the 1980's, they are still available. I'm not sure if they still have unique names like Eucalyptus Hasenpfeffer or Disingenuous Folklore, but even if Xavier Roberts has run out of all of the REALLY GOOD NAMES, these are still a good bet for a retro toy. We gave a Cabbage Patch Kid as a gift to one of our other nieces a few Christmases ago.

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