Toy Story 2
Hey there,
Happy Wednesday to you. Hope you have your coffee and tea so we can chat for a bit. You do? Great!
Yesterday we were talking about our favourite Christmas toy memories. My pal Lisa reminded me of many more that I had forgotten about so the topic continues! Thanks Lisa!
Two of my favourite dolls were Teary Deary and Newborn Thumbalina. Thumbalina was dressed in a little pink sleeper and would wiggle in your arms when you pulled the string on her back (big deal back in the 60's!) So adorable. I still have my Thumbalina but her string is long gone. She is now wearing a little red and white dress that my Grandma made. My dolls always had the sweetest clothes thanks to my Grandmother, the seamstress.
Teary Deary came with a little plastic bottle that you filled with water and fed to her. So she cried and well, you can figure out the other "talent". Loved them both.
Another favourite toy actually belonged to my pal Kathy. It was Lite-Brite and was a tilted plastic board with holes that you could fit in coloured pegs. The back lit up so you could see the art. You could do your own creative art or follow the paper templates that came with the kit. Very cool indeed!!! Always fun to write your name and have it glow in the dark! Simple pleasures in simpler times.
I do worry about the new generations of children who are raised on computers, Wii, and Blackberry applications. They can read a book on a Kindle (a paper book, what's that?) - that is IF they like reading. To them, the book is always followed by the movie! They also seem to need constant entertainment via dvds on portable players or ipods or computer games. Do kids even write their own stories anymore or play with puppets or build with lego (the plastic kind, not the software)? I wonder if they are as fascinated with dinosaurs or Egypt or animals as I was at their age. Music came from records, movies were in the theatre (no rentals and rarely on tv), and we played with marbles, skipped rope, took care of our dolls, or put on plays for anyone who was a willing audience (this included Barbies and teddy bears too!). We rode our bikes, played tag until the last child was called in (we ALWAYS knew which voice belonged to which Mother), and collected bubblegum cards. TV viewing meant cartoons (loved the Flintstones, and Bugs Bunny) or tv shows like Nanny and the Professor, HR Pufnstuf and the Doris Day show (LOVED that show!).
Whoa Gentle Reader, that took a real nostalgic turn didn't it?!
Guess I loved those toys that allowed me to make my own stories and express my own creativity.
What toy did you want for Christmas but DIDN'T get? Hey Baby Boomers, that's why they have ebay! Go get that Big Jim or Jane West figurine. You know you WANNA!
Keep smiling and we'll get together on Thursday.
Linda
Happy Wednesday to you. Hope you have your coffee and tea so we can chat for a bit. You do? Great!
Yesterday we were talking about our favourite Christmas toy memories. My pal Lisa reminded me of many more that I had forgotten about so the topic continues! Thanks Lisa!
Two of my favourite dolls were Teary Deary and Newborn Thumbalina. Thumbalina was dressed in a little pink sleeper and would wiggle in your arms when you pulled the string on her back (big deal back in the 60's!) So adorable. I still have my Thumbalina but her string is long gone. She is now wearing a little red and white dress that my Grandma made. My dolls always had the sweetest clothes thanks to my Grandmother, the seamstress.
Teary Deary came with a little plastic bottle that you filled with water and fed to her. So she cried and well, you can figure out the other "talent". Loved them both.
Another favourite toy actually belonged to my pal Kathy. It was Lite-Brite and was a tilted plastic board with holes that you could fit in coloured pegs. The back lit up so you could see the art. You could do your own creative art or follow the paper templates that came with the kit. Very cool indeed!!! Always fun to write your name and have it glow in the dark! Simple pleasures in simpler times.
I do worry about the new generations of children who are raised on computers, Wii, and Blackberry applications. They can read a book on a Kindle (a paper book, what's that?) - that is IF they like reading. To them, the book is always followed by the movie! They also seem to need constant entertainment via dvds on portable players or ipods or computer games. Do kids even write their own stories anymore or play with puppets or build with lego (the plastic kind, not the software)? I wonder if they are as fascinated with dinosaurs or Egypt or animals as I was at their age. Music came from records, movies were in the theatre (no rentals and rarely on tv), and we played with marbles, skipped rope, took care of our dolls, or put on plays for anyone who was a willing audience (this included Barbies and teddy bears too!). We rode our bikes, played tag until the last child was called in (we ALWAYS knew which voice belonged to which Mother), and collected bubblegum cards. TV viewing meant cartoons (loved the Flintstones, and Bugs Bunny) or tv shows like Nanny and the Professor, HR Pufnstuf and the Doris Day show (LOVED that show!).
Whoa Gentle Reader, that took a real nostalgic turn didn't it?!
Guess I loved those toys that allowed me to make my own stories and express my own creativity.
What toy did you want for Christmas but DIDN'T get? Hey Baby Boomers, that's why they have ebay! Go get that Big Jim or Jane West figurine. You know you WANNA!
Keep smiling and we'll get together on Thursday.
Linda
I wrote an essay once about Larry the Lion, my first toy. My other favorite was Baby Tender Love. Just before I gave birth, I ordered both of them from Ebay for my daughter. I think I paid $100 each! My doll is who knows where, and my lion is on my dresser. I never let Serena have him!
It's right to worry about kids during the computer era, with their virtual pets and sedentary hobbies. But there was a complaint about our generation, too. Our music was too violent or loud or tolerant; we'd turn into a bunch of losers and druggies. And we didn't. It can all be chalked up to bad parenting. My kid? She gets guitars and art supplies AND a laptop (this year). But we limit the time spent, and we have no Wii or Xbox or any hand-held computer games. Life here is normal, still, and my daughter doesn't beg for any of those things.
As for the usual trends, kids will always love dolls and dinosaurs. Never fear. We need to touch things. We need to hold them. Computers cannot take the place of toys. Never fear.
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Thank you! My first toy was also a lion - he was yawning, quite big for an infant to hold, but I loved him to bits.
Thank you too for confirming that children are still being encouraged to be creative and original. YOUR daughter is fabulous and I know she will be touring the world with her incredible music one day. I bet she'd write a song about Larry. Just saying!
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