FUN THREAD: what did you play with as a child

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Toys and house hold objects!!!!
what do you remember from your childhood that you played with...

I still have many of mine
Teddy, Zody and Ping Ping (3 bears who I always looked at as the three muskateers and they are here in the playroom near my desk looking at me now).

My beloved pillow that stunk I am certain named "meyoms"...I named him "my friend" when we were in living in Italy and "meyons" I guess was my version of it.

Wooden Kitchen, table chairs that I still have

Big skinny dog that just seemed HUGE at the time that I got for Christmas one year. I guess he is about 3 feet high but he just seemed GIGANTIC- and I am looking at him now :)

I remeber marbles could entertain me forever!!!!

I had few toys since we lived in Germany from age 5 to 11 and were in small base housing apartments.

Slime was something we drooled over and wanted so badly...oddly I got my first slime in Berlin and my parents bribed me to sit still for a play to get it.
Neve
Reichen (6), Karsh (3), Tristan (2) and baby girl Bronwyn born March 10th!!!!

[LD92599]

I remember playing w/ that alot!!!!!!

Laura
mom to William

LKibala at optonline dot net

http://lilypie.com/pic/050530/616a731.jpg[/img][img]http://lilypie.com/baby3/030305/1/2/0/-5/.png

[redhookmom]

OOO, I remeber slime. Ours was green and had orange bugs in it. It was a very big deal when we finally got our hands on some.

Little china animal collection. I would arrange and rearrange them.

Stacking rings.

Dollhouse that my Mom made and painted yellow.

TV with no insides that we would get in and pretend we were on tv. It was the old kind that was a piece furniture.

I had blackboard and I would pretend for hours that I was a teacher.

We had lots and lots of board games.

Books. I treasured all of my books. When I read certain books to my kids I can remember which pages were creased in my chilhood copies.

[JBaxter]

Easy bake oven Tiffany Taylor(barbie style doll) she had brown hair on one side an blond on the other -you could rotate the top of her head! baby tenderlove doll w/ canopy doll bed &high chair( very big deal one xmas) OH but that same year my brother ( 18months younger) got a tool set and took apart my high chair and doll bed :( and the ultimate xmas gift ATARI! Pong & space invaders for hours....

[saschalicks]

Books, books and more books. My mom still has some of them in their vacation house for when *the kids come*.

Stawberry shortcake and all the things that went with it. My bedroom was all Strawberry Shortcake. My mom got rid of it all :(

Barbies, loved my Barbie condo w/the elevator.

Board games like Perfection and Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders.

Easy Bake Oven.

Of course all my dolls that I read to.

[jec2]

When I was really little we had indoor swings made from big tires that had been cut and turned inside out...they were like big bucket swings. We also had an outdoor playhouse and sandbox and a swingset, which we loved. In the summer we'd put our wading pool at the bottom of the slide.

we loved to build forts and play lava monster (we had rust carpet in the rec room. Also, one of my bros and I would build "space ships" in the gargage shelves and use my grampas old Ham radio eqpt.

Legos and matchbox cars with my brother.

Baseball and we played in the street or in the backyard.

we rode bikes a lot.

we also lived by a public working farm so we'd visit all the animals (pigs, cows, goats, ponies, sheep, etc) and playground, wade in the creek, hike on the trails. Since we knew the staff we'd often get to play up in the hay loft. when I was about 10, 11, 12 I used to volunteer there so I would get to ride ponies in exchange for scooping poop and cleaning stalls.

[August Mom]

Little People. I loved them! I played a lot with the airplane, farm and hospital.

Wooden Kitchen. I cooked and had tea parties all the time.

Dolls. I had lots of dolls, but my very favorite was FP's My Friend Mandy.

Books. I loved Judy Blume books and the Trixie Belden mystery series.

Easel. I loved the chalkboard and playing school.

FP Doctor's Kit. I played with this all the time.

Xylopipes. It was sort of like a xylophone, but there were varying lengths of pipe on a foam base.

Spirograph (?). I can't remember is that's the right name or not, but you put different plastic shapes on paper and a pen through holes in the plastic and moved them around to make cool designs.

Games. I played a lot of Operation, Clue, Checkers and Chess. I also remember Don't Break the Ice, Cootie, Bingo and Monopoly.

I also liked pots and pans, dressing up in my mom's clothes and shoes and bandaids.

[aguinn]

besides the multitude of stuffed animals,
* strawberry shortcake dolls
* smurf figurines
* this small cask-type thingy that was made of wood and came with it's own spout and four glasses that my dad got in japan during one of his tours (maybe they used it for sake???) - it was fun to play bartender!
* barbies
* couch cushions and blankets
* my banana seat sparkley blue two-wheeler
* metal wheel roller skates that would send up sparks on the pavement
* erector sets

i'm sure there's more, but i have to go put my feet up!

thanks for that trip down memory lane!

;)amy
proud momma to DS
and cutie #2 due 9/9/05 - it's a BOY! (Please come earlier! School starts on the 12th!)

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030729/1/5/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." ~ Neil Postman

[aguinn]

OMG I had a Mandy doll! She was so beautiful... until my brother (5 yrs younger) marked her face with RED marker! That brat! ;)

;)amy
proud momma to DS
and cutie #2 due 9/9/05 - it's a BOY! (Please come earlier! School starts on the 12th!)

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030729/1/5/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." ~ Neil Postman

[new_mommy25]

Dolls!! I was soooo into dolls and played with them for hours up until I was probably 12 or so. I played a little Betsey doll that had about 50-60 outfits all hand sewn by my mother. I also adored paperdolls. I would make my own usually. For purchased paper dolls I really liked the ones that you get in the craft section (I think?) at Borders. I remember at one point I really wanted this ballerina doll. I got it for Christmas and I thought she was so beautiful. But I rarely played with her because she was hard plastic and also I was dissapointed that she couldn't dance on her own.

I also had an enourmous plastic dollhouse. It was called "Oh, Jenny". I see them on ebay all the time and am tempted to buy one. It had a mansion, treehouse, swiming pool, and a barn. It was the best.

Bikes. I got my first 2 wheeler for my 5th birthday. It was purple. That was such a good bike. I rode that one until I was in the 5th grade and got a new one. My best friend and I rode our bikes all over the neighborhood.

That's pretty much it. We most days exploring all over the property. We lived on a mountain that my sister and I actually used to climb. When I think on it now we could have been seriously injured because the thing was super steep and there was always bits of earth crumbling away. I had a great childhood.

[Moneypenny]

Oh, the memories!
- Any kind of doll. I had a big baby-sized doll that would drink water from a bottle and then pee. For some reason this delighted me.
- Fashion plates.
- The weeble wobble tree house.
- Legos.
- The flour in my grandma's flour drawer (it was metal lined drawer in her kitchen cabinets.) I got to put on an apron, wash my hands, and scoop and sift the flour while she cooked or baked. It was so much fun!

Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
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[holliam]

Oh, fun!

Books!!
Little People (old school ones :))
Dolls.. I had all the stars of the 70s barbie style--Shaun Cassidy, Fonzie, Donny & Marie, Bionic Man/Woman, Dorothy Hammil
Stuffed animals
Board games
Blocks

But mostly I played outside all day long and after school. Our entire neighborhood would play kick the can, ghosts in the graveyard, tag, roller skating, riding our bikes, swimming.

Holli

[JBaxter]

Holli did you have Cher too! I almost forgot about Cher :)

[crayonblue]

Strawberry Shortcake dolls- I recently sold my collection on ebay and got a nice sum of money, despite some of the noses being cut off by my bratty brother!

FP Little People and the garage, farm, etc.

Board games- Was there one called Hi Ho Cherry-O or something like that? I loved LIFE- I was so excited when I would get twins!

Books- I read everything I could find. My favorites were Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, Bobsey Twins, Trixie Belden, many of the classics, etc. When I was really little, maybe 3rd grade, someone had given my mom a very steamy, very descriptive romance novel. I found it and read it and my mom was horrified! I thought it was great!

Mostly we played outside. We had a creek behind our house and would go wading (snakes and all!). My dad built a tree-house with a slide off of it. I rode my bike all the time. I played softball and basketball. Ah, those were the days!

[Puddy73]

FP Little People! We had an unfinished basement and I had the whole village set up down there, including the farm and the castle. I remember playing with them for hours.

Books
Holly Hobbie Easy Bake Oven
Colorforms
Tonka dump truck
Breyer Horses
Board Games - Operation, Chutes & Ladders, Life, Clue

I lived on a small farm, and my brother and I spent most of our summers playing outside.

Thanks for bringing back some fun memories, Neve!

Jennifer
Mommy to Annabelle 9/03 & a little pumpkin due 10/05

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

[momtoemma]

Well, I had lots of little people sets too, and I also remember having some of that slime. I also remember my bionic woman barbie doll! What's funny is that I also had a slinky, but I remember longing to have a 2-story house so that the slinky could "walk" down the stairs like in the advertisements!

Fun thread!

[mamato1]

This is fun!!

1.I loved my Cabbage Patch Kid, Katie Dorothea. My neighbor friend and I had a Cabbage Patch Kid Club. We swore that when we grew up we would marry best friends and live next to each other and have kids at the sane time. Well, we had kids at the same time; our sons are only 8 weeks apart. But we did not live in the same city. She called me a month ago and told me she had a secret that I had to super secret Cabbage Patch Kid Club swear I wouldn't tell. Turns out she is moving back into the area. Even better she and her husband found a house in our subdivision. Yippee, time to get the CPK dolls back out for some fun!
2.I had a huge blow up Dole banana that was great fun.
3.Shrinky dinks!!
4.Old school books to "teach" my poor little sister how to diagram sentences (doesn't surprise you that I ended up being an English teacher for 6 years does it?)
5.My Little Pony
6.Candyland, I vividly remember cheating by hiding the good cards in the deck so they would come up on my turn. Isn't that terrible!

Funny story about slime. My mom finally let me get some and asked to touch it. She had been a surgery nurse prior to my birth and as soon as she touched my slime she said, "Wow, fells just like small intestine." I never played with it again.


Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/04

http://lilypie.com/baby2/040116/0/1/3/-6/.png

[Mommy_Again]

Fashion Plates

My Little Pony

Cabbage Patch Kids

Garbage Pail Kids

Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo

Barbie McDonald's

Malibu Barbie Dream House (with Corvette, of course)


Ack! I can't remember anything else...

Was I a child of the eighties, or what?

[lilycat88]

Me too! In fact, my mom just brought mine to me (with ALL of the original pieces) and Susanna is starting to play with it.

Jamelin
Mom to Susanna born 6/29/2004

[linsei]

Barbies (with dollhouse my grandpa made and mom decorated), RV, Jeep, horses and trailer, Ferrari, Corvettes, etc.

Strawberry Shortcake

Cabbage Patch Kids

Glamour Gals

Hotwheels (yes, cars!)

Atari

Kitchen stuff


Linda



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[mamalia]

Toys that brought smiles to my face as I remembered them:

- GI Joes: Lady Jane & Scarlett, Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow

- Popples

- Ti La (from He-man)

- Cabbage Patch Kid (wearing Pink Jacket & Jeans)

- KoKo, my stuffed gorilla that we still have

[mommy_someday]

My absolute all-time fave was actually an educational thing that my grandpa bought for me. I played with it over and over and never got bored with it. It's difficult to explain but after searching for nearly an hour, I found a link to it.

http://www.discoverytoysinc.com/ThinkIt.htm

I'd really like to get the whole set for DS when he's older. I learned a lot from it.

I also had a beautiful wooden dollhouse that my mother built for me. It was one of those intricate kits, complete with wooden shingles for the roof. My mom is an art teacher so she totally dolled it up. It had real wallpaper that my mom took from discarded wallpaper sample books, stained and varnished wood floors and a sunny yellow exterior paint with white trim. My grandma periodically bought furniture and other miniature odds and ends for it. Sometimes I got ingenious and made my own stuff (i.e. a couch made from shoulder pads). I spent a lot of time playing with that.

[kath68]

I was a total tomboy, who coveted everything my older brothers had. So I played with their GI Joes (Ken never stood a chance with MY Barbies) and Legos.

I played a lot of sports, and read tons of books. Liked card games and board games, and had some stuffed animals, but not dollies.

I remember slime! That stuff was gross. Silly putty was pretty awesome. Spirographs, slinkies, light bright, and a doll house my grandfather made all were big hits.

Mostly, though, I remember playing outside a lot, and playing cards (especially pinochle, hearts and cribbage) with my family.

[g-mama]

Shrinky Dinks

Easy Bake Oven

Holly Hobbie - my bedroom was even wallpapered with Holly Hobbie paper!

dollhouse my grandpa built for me that if I EVER have a daughter, she will have, too

Lemon Twist (does anyone remember that?) and hula hoop

roller skates out on our driveway

my red banana seat bike with a basket and streamers on the handlebars

Barbies



Kristen
Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
and a third one coming in december '05!

[slknight]

Colorforms

Shrinky Dinks

Legos - I still have all of mine - including all the old-fashioned space sets.

Lacing Cards

Spirograph

Board Games

Books

Hippity Hop/Pogo sticks

Lots and lots of puzzles - I used to do 1000 piece puzzles and glue them together.

A really cook Playskool Holiday Inn. It had people and accessories (like Little People). My parents have kept it and I can't wait for DS to play with it. It's similar to this e-bay one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5988248145&category=2576&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1

My Mom had my Aunt's set of dolls that we played with. They were from the 50s and had complete sets of clothes and big wooden furniture. Apparently, they're quite valuable but we were allowed to play with them. She gave them back to my Aunt when she had kids.

Lots of outside playing with the boys down the street.

Barrel of monkeys

Roller Skates

Big Wheel

I also remember some kind of small styrofoam things that you could kind of flick at each other and build things with. Probably from around 1980 - don't remember what they're called.

A set of connector pieces that you could use with straws to build things (like an erector set)

I'm sure I'll remember more, and reading these posts reminds me of other things.

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I forgot about my smurfs...'
in Germany they were called "Schromtompfs" (or somehting like that) and I have many. When I came to the States in 1978 they were not present yet and none of my friends had heard of them...and then "smurfs" appeared.

I have mine here in the playroom...I don't think i have lost one BUT just two weeks ago the plastic helmet of my spaceship smurf broke. I have some books in German too about Smurfs.

I have had images of making a smurf house out of clay for the boys...

Neve
Reichen (6), Karsh (3), Tristan (2) and baby girl Bronwyn born March 10th!!!!

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I hope saved for you :)...it sounds marvelous as does your mom!!!!
Neve
Reichen (6), Karsh (3), Tristan (2) and baby girl Bronwyn born March 10th!!!!

[lvales]

My favorite toys as a child - I'm going to date myself a little bit here:

Kenner Tree Tots Family Tree House - I could play with this for hours. It was a plastic tree that the leaf part lifted up and there was a little doll house inside. It came with furniture and a Tree Tot family and a dog. The dog slept in his own doghouse that hid in a bush next to the house.

Weeble Wobbles - the original ones were MUCH better than what they sell now

Atari - I wish now I still had this. . .

Chrissy doll (Christy?? doll) - I don't remember the actual name but she had hair that "grew" from short to long

Barbie dolls - This was before the dream house, so I had the Barbie townhouse - it was made of particle board and it had a plastic elevator that you could raise with a string. I also had some groovy inflatable barbie furniture : ) Also had Donnie & Marie, Brooke Shields, & Darcy dolls

Books of course - Laura Ingalls, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew etc

I had this doll that was dressed up like a ballerina with a pink crown on top of her head - when you pushed on the crown she would spin around. I don't remember her name.

Lite Brite - original was better than the new ones : )

And last but not least - my Easy Bake Oven.

Linda

[mommy_someday]

My mom has it stored in her basement with all of the little furniture so that someday if I have a little girl (or a granddaughter), I can pass it down to her. Although, I may just break it out and let Luke play with it, LOL! My mom actually built another one just like mine, but she didn't do all of the fancy wallpapering or the exterior paint, so we technically have two. They are both two stories with two upstairs bedrooms and a kitchen and living room downstairs. My mom built an amazing three-story for my grandma that has a veranda and balcony, as well as a turret! My grandma has it displayed in her house and changes the decor to fit the seasons (i.e. miniature wreath on the front door at Christmastime). It's so fun! I loved playing with it as a child and I still sneak in there every once in awhile during a visit to rearrange the furniture. Guess I didn't completely grow up!

Thanks for asking! And fun thread, BTW!!!

[JBaxter]

I remember Baby Chrissy too. Long red hair bigger chubby doll. I think that was one of the last dolls I got!

[tarahsolazy]

Lego, loved making spaceships!
Lincoln logs

Star Wars action figures and the X-Wing Fighter. Man, that thing was cool!

Books:
Trixie Belden
The Great Brain Series
Little House books
Ramona Quimby books

(was I a tomboy or what!)

[caridura]

I just bought one of those for DD! :)

[COElizabeth]

Tarah, we would have been good reading buddies as little girls. I loved all those, too. I'm not sure James will ever be into Trixie (though I hope Charlotte will), but I can see James and your DS liking The Great Brain, no?).

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
and Charlotte, 11-04-04

[kijip]

I loved my yellow metal Tonka truck. Loved it. Played with it from the time I got it as a tot till I was like 8 or 9 years old. Loved books from 9 years on and did little else but read and play ball.

Baseball was the game of my youth. We played pretty much year round and moved to softball as teens. I still have my childhood Louisville Slugger and my tattered glove. Refuse to buy new ones. Loved to use the little score keeping books to keep score.

Other toys I remember...My Little Ponies (mostly at friend's houses), Strawberry Shortcake, Uno cards, CROQUETE!!!, The little FP phone that had the bobbing eyes, Shape sorters, oh and the freaking scottish Cabbage Patch doll I begged my parents for and got for Christmas...

[MelissaTC]

I'm so jealous Neve that you have your toys from childhood. I wish I still had mine!

Some favorite things I had:

Etch-a-Sketch

tinker toys

Fisher Price dollhouse

Lite Brite

Monchichi figures- anyone remember these???

easy bake oven

Barbie Barbie Barbie!

bristle blocks

unit blocks

white Jordache pocketbook- it went everywhere with me

Little People- my sister and I shared the school, house, farm, bus, airplane. It was LP heaven!

[zuzu]

I remember spending hours with my books. I'm so thankful my mom saved most of them for me to pass along to Sarah.

I also played outside a ton - in the brook, garden, or in forts or tree houses. Lots of tennis later on.

I had a few beloved stuffed animals, and enjoyed tea parties and other kitchen play with them.

Smurfs sent from my friend in Germany - I had so many of these.

Puzzles, misc. wooden games, board games.

I also began to knit, crochet and sew, though I can't do any of that now.

One of my favorite things to do was help my mother or Grandmother in the kitchen.

ETA - my dollhouse! I loved shopping for furniture and decorating the rooms with paint, mini artwork, homemade curtains, and scraps of wallpaper and carpet.

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[brigmaman]

Yes, I remember Monchichis! What *were* those things anyway?
We played school a ton. We also played with
Cabbage Patch Kids, Koosas, and Preemies
My Little Pony
Chinese Jumpropes
Dolly Pops

I am one of 5 and there was a big family who lived next to us as well. We were able to play lots of games:
SPUD
Kickball
Cops and Robbers

[ribbit1019]

Fun fun fun...
Well I played with wooden blocks in a wagon....organizing and putting in and out.
Stuffed animals, had a ton of them!
Weebles like Helicopter Center the "people" had ball bearings in their bottoms though and they would fall over. :)
I loved cookie cutters and pans, even had a special drawer designated for me in the kitchen (DD does too!)
Legos and Play-dough

[tarahsolazy]

I already bought them all in hardcover for him. They are just as fun to read now, BTW!

[jk3]

Little People
Strawberry Shortcake
Barbies + the miniature dolls - can't remember the name
monkey called Abba-Dabba - he sucked his thumb + wore a diaper
Cabbage Patch Kids - I had a few!
Lite Brite
Spirograph
Jem
Wooden kitchen set
Smurfs
Mon Chi-Chis

The toy I yearned for but was not allowed to have: Easy-Bake Oven - I can't wait until my DS is old enough for one!

Jenn
DS 6/3/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png