Am I crazy to want to buy vintage toys?

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

Call me crazy but the vintage fisher price stuff that I had as a kid just looks cooler than the stuff out today. Ds LOVES cars,he's a nut and is already accumulating a sizable hot wheels collection so we are getting him a garage for his birthday and I've been looking at the fp garage out now and the vintage one just seems so much neater. My folks have it at their house and we have to drag him away from it when we visit.
I was also looking at the castle. The vintage one looks like a castle,it's got a dungeon, a hidden room,turrets, all kinds of things and there's one for sale on ebay right now. The one for sale now just looks like a dollhouse on the inside, there's nothing really special about it it seems.
I was also wanting to get her a few games and maybe I can get perfection at tru but I hate shopping there. Pass the nuts(yet another vintage) is usually up for sale on ebay. These are all toys that the kids go nuts for at grandma and grandpa's. Am I crazy for wanting to get them this stuff instead of what's on the market today?
Does anyone else ever look at the toys they had as a child and wish you could get them for your dc or am I alone in this? I mean, i may be way off, but I really prefer some of the stuff I grew up with as opposed to some of the "junk" on the market today. So am I nuts? And does anyone know if there are any health reasons (lead) not to buy these things? Let me know.

[brittone2]

You can always test what you buy for lead. They sell lead test kits at Home Depot in the paint department. That might put your mind at ease. DS has been playing with some old tractors and large trucks that my MIL sent down last summer, and I kept wondering about lead. DS doesn't mouth things, and I was careful to not have him eat or anything after touching them (as much as I could). I bought the lead test swabs and they don't seem to have any lead in them, which makes me feel reassured. DH's toys would be from the very late 70s early 80s, so not super likely to have lead paint vs. some earlier stuff. Back then a lot of stuff was still make domestically too.

I know the vintage little people I grew up with are now considered choking hazards. But, I know my son pretty reliably stopped putting things in his mouth when he was probably 15 months or so. He's 3.5 now. I would be fine with him playing w/ something small and that might pose a choking hazard, but not everyone would feel that way.

It is recycling :)

I'm with you...I despise TRU. With a passion.

[Puddy73]

I love vintage toys! We have a 1970s LP castle (MIL saved all of DH's toys) and DC love it! DS especially loves to drop people down the chute into the dungeon and retrieve them OVER and OVER. It's one of his favorite toys.

MIL is the director of the lead poisoning project for the regional public health department so she checks ALL the kids toys. All of our old LP stuff is fine (we have the train and airplane, too).

Jennifer
Mommy to Annabelle 9/08/03 & Finn 10/31/05

"If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." - Jimmy Buffett

[1964pandora]

No, you're not crazy. I buy lots of Fisher price sets on ebay. The auctions end in a huge variety of prices, so look at some for a while before you buy. I much prefer them to the little people sets of today. I also just bought a wooden Fisher price cash register that is phenomenal for $24. It's not the plastic one that you see all over ebay. It's older. Anyway, gotta run, but you're not crazy at all!

[katydid1971]

I'm with you completely on the vintage FP castle. My mom sold ours in a garage sale many years ago and now I wish she still had it. It was soooo much cooler than the ones now. I know they say the old fisher price people are a choking hazard but if you are careful and watch DC play with it then put up the people when you done it shouldn't be a problem. I have been thinking of ordering a vintage castle from ebay myself. DS just really isn't into little people (we have some of the current ones) right now so I think I'll wait. Just wanted to let you know you aren't crazy, I totally understand.
Sarah

[kmmboston]

This isn't exactly an answer to the question but I thought I'd mention www.backtobasicstoys.com. I have to admit I haven't bought anything from them yet but I love looking around the website. They have great stuff that I remember from my childhood like Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, etc. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone is looking for something that they can't find elsewhere.

[kaitlinsmommy]

Yes! I miss the toys from my childhood. There is one - the Kenner Family Treehouse that made it until my sister had a child, but my mom didn't keep it after that. I see it on ebay often & am seriously considering buying it.