# Favorite Childhood toy... Is there something you HAD to have?



## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

OK... a friend of mine said she had a Bionic Woman doll in her closet from days gone by... this got me to thinking back to my childhood toys. I _had _ to have everything _*Barbie*_... Townhouse, Airplane, Camper... I had a _huge_ wardrobe for her and her family too! What were your favorite toys? Also add if there is one that you always wanted but never got. I never got a rock polisher... *always  * wanted one... I told my hubby (then my DBF) about this want and I got one our first Christmas together! OK... I might be a bit of a geek!


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

OK real quick before I go:  My favorite childhood toy was a circular growth of banana trees in my mother's yard.  I always wanted a treehouse or a clubhouse and I never got one so I used the inside of the banana ring as a club house.  Is that a toy?  OK, so I had some cap guns that shot real gunpowder caps and they had cowhide (with hair intact) scabbards and a cowboy hat and a pair of little metal spurs that my mom wouldn't let me wear in the house (duh!).


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## PhillipA82 (Dec 20, 2009)

Just a little car


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## mamiller (Apr 28, 2009)

Hmmm...I had a Bionic woman doll.  She rocked!!!  

...I had a little car too.  It rocked as well.  I was a matchbox-aholic.


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## 908tracy (Dec 15, 2009)

Oh yes, I had the Bionic Woman doll AND the Six Million Dollar Man doll too! I remember they had what looked like motherboards in their forearms. lol 

I also remember having the Planet of the Apes treehouse and all of the dolls to go with it. Remember Stretch Armstrong and the Creature from the Black Lagoon? Had those too. 

I better mention that I AM the female in the picture and these weren't toys that I "had to have" but I am an only child, and my Mom got tired of all the pink, and all the barbies and dolls I had.

On the girlie side...I had every tender love doll ever made, even the anatomically correct baby boy doll. Remember those? Oh, I am also 42, so if you are a lot younger than me you probably won't. 

I "had to have" strange things like Sea Monkeys, and Magic Rocks. I LOVED my dolls and Barbies too. 

Does anyone remember Chrissy, the red haired toddler looking doll with the long tuft of hair that would pull out of the top of her head and give her instant long hair? 

Oh this thread was FUN! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!


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## pomlover2586 (Feb 14, 2009)

Breyer Horse models.........I have a ton of them- they're all in storage now, but all are well loved


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Great Thread.

I had to have: Petina Poodle doll.  Loved it. It was a white poodle but a doll (had two legs like a Barbie but with a poodle head).  Had a raincoat and matching hat...a bikini...etc.  Wish I still had it...it is now worth a mint as a collector's item.


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## mamiller (Apr 28, 2009)

I had this 'Isis' doll.  And I guess by day Isis was a blonde and when she was a superhero, she was brunette, so half the doll's head was blond and half was brunette and you just spun her scalp around for whichever one you wanted to play with.    How sick is that!?!?!


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Attractive!!...in an exorcist sort of way...lol.


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## 908tracy (Dec 15, 2009)

OMG mamiller, I had a doll similar to that one too. Her name was Tiffany or something. She was dressed in a sparkly gold body suit with a neon yellow dress that velcroed at the chest. A face full of heavy makeup and a spinning scalp...one side blonde and the other brunette!

This is too much fun! Keep them coming....


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

Ninja Turtle action figures


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## kevin63 (Feb 10, 2009)

I had to have a ViewMaster and the game Operation.  I also had to have "Earth Shoes or Dessert Boots" to wear with my elephant ear Levi's.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

My sister and my daughter had:

Flip and Fashion fold.  It was molded plastic of a woman's figure and you lifted up the frame; put in different scraps of fabric (BETSY) and created tons of outfits.  Gowns, Dresses, shirts, pants, shorts, skirts.  Added accessories...and ooola... cut and paste this link to see.

flickr.com/photos/nessachan/3486335121/


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

kevin63 said:


> I had to have a ViewMaster and the game Operation. I also had to have "Earth Shoes or Dessert Boots" to wear with my elephant ear Levi's.


I had Earth shoes too! They were wavy on the bottom! and I had View Master and always wanted Operation...  But my BFF had Operation so my parents wouldn't buy it for me! And Mousetrap! She had it and Twister... strange she was an "only child" (sorta, siblings were grown) and she got all of these cool games to share with me! AND my parents spent a mint on Barbie stuff (got my first for 4th B-day from my new stepmom) but did not buy me many games because Kaala had all the games I would ever want... I am the baby of 7 so I kinda got everything else, just not the games...

My DD is really into American Girl stuff now. Those dolls are upward of $100 bucks each and the accessories are equally pricey but nice collectible stuff.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

sjc said:


> My sister and my daughter had:
> 
> Flip and Fashion fold. It was molded plastic of a woman's figure and you lifted up the frame; put in different scraps of fabric (BETSY) and created tons of outfits. Gowns, Dresses, shirts, pants, shorts, skirts. Added accessories...and ooola... cut and paste this link to see.
> flickr.com/photos/nessachan/3486335121/


OH! I had Fashion Plates! It was similar but you actually used the side of a crayon to rub the patterns of these plastic plates that resembled fabric textures.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I got books  My brother however got a miniature Donkey Kong arcade game thing.. was about 8-10 inches tall, and I played with it more than he did.

It was brown, but the one shown here (http://www.videogamecritic.net/cp.htm ) is blue.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I can't really think of anything I _had_ to have (like I would have thrown a tantrum over it or such). Some favorites during different points of my childhood might be:

My first bicycle (including training wheels, windscreen, and both a horn _and_ a cap gun pistol mounted on the handlebars)
Lincoln Logs
GI Joe and assorted accessories
Hot Wheels cars and tracks


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## chiffchaff (Dec 19, 2008)

Toy horses, all sorts.  I had names for each and every one, and at one point even made a list with names and markings (foreshadowing my data geek adulthood).  Also, instead of Barbie dolls, I had a cowboy, cowgirl (his wife), an Indian sidekick, and for accessories there were things like chaps for them to wear plus a ranch house, corrals, horses, cows, etc.  The figures were pose-able, like GI Joe dolls.  Wish I could remember what they were called...

Oh, and instead of a Betty Crocker oven I had a set of molds that you used to make little flexible plastic toys.  You could buy a variety of molds and different colors of the stuff you poured into them (including edible varieties - I shudder to think what was in those!).  My friends and I favored Halloween-type creatures for molds (dragons, worms, monsters and such).

My grandmother took great pleasure in choosing a classic doll for me each Christmas.  Eventually she accepted that I was a tomboy, and the frilly baby dolls probably weren't going to be a big hit.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

NogDog said:


> I can't really think of anything I _had_ to have (like I would have thrown a tantrum over it or such). Some favorites during different points of my childhood might be:


(Pardon me for stealing that, NogDog.  I wasn't the tantrum type either.)

Favorites...

An electric train set 
A little stuffed monkey that went everywhere with me
My bicycle
Jigsaw puzzles 
Books

Come to think of it, not all that much has changed. Some relative swiped the train set from my grandparents' house and sold it, but I still like trains (real ones). I still own the monkey. I don't bike much anymore, but only because this neighborhood is pretty hilly. And I now have lots more jigsaws, and_ lots _more books.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

chiffchaff said:


> ...
> Oh, and instead of a Betty Crocker oven I had a set of molds that you used to make little flexible plastic toys. You could buy a variety of molds and different colors of the stuff you poured into them (including edible varieties - I shudder to think what was in those!). My friends and I favored Halloween-type creatures for molds (dragons, worms, monsters and such).
> ...


Was that the Thingmaker? I think one of my younger siblings got that.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> (Pardon me for stealing that, NogDog.  I wasn't the tantrum type either.)





NogDog said:


> I can't really think of anything I _had_ to have (like I would have thrown a tantrum over it or such). Some favorites during different points of my childhood might be:


Waaaait a min-ute...  Are you two saying you think I was the tantrum type?! *hands on hips, tapping foot* Just 'cause I was the baby, maybe? Truthfully I was


Spoiler



not spoiled, nor did I throw tantrums for anything... but I did get lots of stuff.


 I don't ever remember receiving a book as a gift though i had a lot of them (still do) I loved electric trains too. Still do as well as real ones.


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## chiffchaff (Dec 19, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Was that the Thingmaker? I think one of my younger siblings got that.


I googled Thing Maker and yes, it was just like that. I think the brand name Creepy Crawlers is what I had. Glow-in-the-Dark goop was a particular favorite!

And the action figures were part of the Johnny West collection.


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## Pencepon (Nov 14, 2008)

I promise not to use any word such as "whippersnapper,"   but... the wavy-bottomed shoes were Famolares. Earth shoes had a "negative heel" — the front of the shoe was higher than the heel. That was supposed to imitate the foot's position when walking in sand. Not even remotely comfortable, and according to my friends who had them, made your calves ache like crazy. Famolares, on the other hand, were very comfortable. They provided a lot of shock absorption before the days of the shock-absorbing materials we have now. The first pair I had, the day after I bought them I wore them to Disneyland and walked around all day and into the night, and my feet were perfectly fine. That was a brand-new Disneyland experience for me, as previous visits had just about killed me!

The doll I just had to have was Vogue's Jan. She had a pretty large wardrobe, too. I got her for my 8th birthday, and my Dad had to drive to Riverside (about 35 miles) to get her. And I still have her! This was the year before Barbie was introduced.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

vikingwarrior22 said:


> the little green army men and tanks


+1!!!

Though my Major Matt Mason stuff was EXTREMELY cool. Major Matt Mason was the Barbie Doll racket, only oriented towards boys with astronauts and space stuff.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

chiffchaff said:


> I think the brand name Creepy Crawlers is what I had. Glow-in-the-Dark goop was a particular favorite!


I had that!!!! It wasn't a tantrum-thrower, but I liked it. I hid them all over the house, trying to scare my mother. My mother recently told me she was still finding fake spiders and such in odd corners of the house even after I'd left for college. She never did scream and carry on when she found 'em like the mom on the commercial did, imagine that!


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## chiffchaff (Dec 19, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> I had that!!!! It wasn't a tantrum-thrower, but I liked it. I hid them all over the house, trying to scare my mother. My mother recently told me she was still finding fake spiders and such in odd corners of the house even after I'd left for college. She never did scream and carry on when she found 'em like the mom on the commercial did, imagine that!


lol great video! I grew up to be a wildlife biologist - I wonder if creepy crawlers had anything to do with that?


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Pencepon said:


> I promise not to use any word such as "whippersnapper,"  but... the wavy-bottomed shoes were Famolares. Earth shoes had a "negative heel" - the front of the shoe was higher than the heel. That was supposed to imitate the foot's position when walking in sand. Not even remotely comfortable, and according to my friends who had them, made your calves ache like crazy. Famolares, on the other hand, were very comfortable. They provided a lot of shock absorption before the days of the shock-absorbing materials we have now. The first pair I had, the day after I bought them I wore them to Disneyland and walked around all day and into the night, and my feet were perfectly fine. That was a brand-new Disneyland experience for me, as previous visits had just about killed me!
> 
> The doll I just had to have was Vogue's Jan. She had a pretty large wardrobe, too. I got her for my 8th birthday, and my Dad had to drive to Riverside (about 35 miles) to get her. And I still have her! This was the year before Barbie was introduced.


OK... so my brother was in college... he was a hippy... and he had the coolest new shoes... I wanted some really bad... I was about 5 or 6 and he got me the most beautiful pair of wavy "Earth" shoes... and I kept them oh so very clean... how very sad that now you tell me he bought me fakes!!!   I remember that I loved the way the front of his shoes were shaped more like a foot than regular shoes... and I remember how p_proud_ I was of mine... now all of those precious childhood memories have been crushed!     I am going to call him and give him a piece of my mind... I will be right back...


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

chiffchaff said:


> lol great video! I grew up to be a wildlife biologist - I wonder if creepy crawlers had anything to do with that?


I do nature photography as a hobby, and closeups of insects are my favorite subject, so I know they had a permanently "scarring" effect on my psyche!


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Weebles and blocks.  And I -loved- Smurf figurines.  I've even been thinking about trying to collect the figurines again just for fun.  It's a shame you can't get Weebles anymore, but I guess the egg-shape was too convenient for swallowing.  Kids are way too pampered these days... when I was a kid, toys were dangerous and we liked it!  Now their toys play -for- them.  I think the whole talking dolls and the like really hamper children's imaginations, but schools seem to want that so maybe it's just a way to get them ready for first grade.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

chiffchaff said:


> I googled Thing Maker and yes, it was just like that. I think the brand name Creepy Crawlers is what I had. Glow-in-the-Dark goop was a particular favorite!
> 
> And the action figures were part of the Johnny West collection.


Ooh...I remember the "Creepy Crawlers" name, too. Now I'm not sure which one we had (or were they the same?). In fact, Wikipedia seems to indicate that Thingmaker was the general name, and Creepy Crawlers was a specific (and first) model, so maybe both applied.


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## pomlover2586 (Feb 14, 2009)

I had a creepy Crawler too! One time I forgot to cool the trays, and I ended up burning the tip of my thumb really badly........never used it again LOL


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Ooh...I remember the "Creepy Crawlers" name, too. Now I'm not sure which one we had (or were they the same?). In fact, Wikipedia seems to indicate that Thingmaker was the general name, and Creepy Crawlers was a specific (and first) model, so maybe both applied.


Based on the Youtube commercial in one of my earlier posts, looks like they advertised under the generic name "creepy crawlers", but the heater had "thingmaker" on it.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Cinderella was my thing when I was small -- so my mom told me.  I do have a number of Cinderella items from waaaay back then.  One being a Cinderella comic book which I still have.  It is in purdy rough shape.  I love the picture on the cover -- Cinderella's dress on a mannequin with the birds, mice, and cats around it fixing it up.  Love that picture.  So a few years ago when I was in Disney World, saw a sericel of virtually the same picture.  It's framed and hanging on my wall.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Meredith Sinclair said:


> Waaaait a min-ute...  Are you two saying you think I was the tantrum type?! *hands on hips, tapping foot* Just 'cause I was the baby, maybe? Truthfully I was
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Not at all, Merry! But the idea of toys that you "just_ have_ to have" was a foreign concept to me... my mother claims that I did not once ask for anything specific, and when birthdays came around it was a tough job for anyone to figure out what I might want since I never asked. Luckily they all knew that a book was pretty much guaranteed to keep me happy, no matter what else there might or might not be.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I think the whole talking dolls and the like really hamper children's imaginations, but schools seem to want that so maybe it's just a way to get them ready for first grade.


Not to mention the talking Barbie that said plaintively "Math is _haaard_!"  The person who came up with that should be shot.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Not at all, Merry! But the idea of toys that you "just_ have_ to have" was a foreign concept to me... my mother claims that I did not once ask for anything specific, and when birthdays came around it was a tough job for anyone to figure out what I might want since I never asked. Luckily they all knew that a book was pretty much guaranteed to keep me happy, no matter what else there might or might not be.


 
Ha! I think I may have _had_ _your_ DD! Mine NEVER asks for anything... she has not asked for a b-day gift at all since she was 5 and then she really had never asked for anything before that either, we would ask her if she liked something and she would say "sure". Anytime her dad asks her if she wants some hi-tech gadget she just says "no thank you"... it is so hard to get gifts for her. She loves American Girl stuff but never asks for any of it. GG just gets it! And she saves for all of the books... if I try to buy her one, she says "No thank you, you know I will just read it on the way home and then I will feel bad that you spent your money."


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Sort of related, but humorous at my expense:

When my younger sister was about to be born (I would have been a few months short of 4 years old), as Mom was getting ready to go to the hospital, someone asked my older sister whether she wanted a baby sister or brother. Then they turned to me, who as usual was off in my own world, and asked me, "And what do you want?" Naturally, I replied, "A helicopter."

A few days later when she arrived back home with my new sister, she had a red plastic helicopter for me. At the time, I thought I got the better gift. Now, however, the helicopter is long gone and I still have a baby sister.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Sort of related, but humorous at my expense:
> 
> When my younger sister was about to be born (I would have been a few months short of 4 years old), as Mom was getting ready to go to the hospital, someone asked my older sister whether she wanted a baby sister or brother. Then they turned to me, who as usual was off in my own world, and asked me, "And what do you want?" Naturally, I replied, "A helicopter."
> 
> A few days later when she arrived back home with my new sister, she had a red plastic helicopter for me. At the time, I thought I got the better gift. Now, however, the helicopter is long gone and I still have a baby sister.


Ha! 

LOL! That is so cute! Reminds me of a photo Brendan Carroll has on his blog from the summertime. A picture of his grandson (I think) who looks to be about 3 or 4 sleeping peacefully with a helicopter in his hand... Beautiful child... Wonderful memory for you NogDog...


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

Fun thread!  I actually don't remember asking for any particular toys either.  I did have a Barbie.  I think she was one of the originals with the blond pony tail and the striped bathing suit.  Sadly, she is long gone.  I also had an entire series of books called the Happy Hollisters, a family similar to the Bobbsey Twins, who also solved mysteries.  My grandmother worked at a hospital in center city Philadelphia and we saw her every Sunday.  Each week she went to a bookstore near her work and bought me the next book in the series and I got to read them all in order.  I was very sorry to see the series end.


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## 908tracy (Dec 15, 2009)

I feel the need to jump in here and add that I too may have been a bit spoiled, but I was not a spoiled BRAT. I never threw tantrums. My Mom raised me pretty much on her own, divorced from my Dad by age 3 (me) and got very little child support. I honestly do not know how she managed to give me such a great childhood, but she did. Not just with "things" all the time either. She would plan day trips on weekends where we would pack lunches from home and spend the day away together. Very special!

There was this one year where times were extremely difficult for her (financially) and she told me that I could only ask for one thing for Christmas and I could see the stress of it and fear that it would be an awful Christmas. That's when "boom boxes" were all the rage and everyone carried them around on their shoulders. I asked for that, but honestly didn't expect one at all. There it was in all it's glory under the tree with a big red bow on top!!!! I got more use out of that boom box and loved it so much. Mom commented for years that she was so worried that I would be so disappointed in her that Christmas only to find out exactly the opposite. =)


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## mamiller (Apr 28, 2009)

908Tracy, yeay for Mom! 

I had Barbie's Friendship jet. It opens up and it's the inside of a jet, and there is a classic picture of it under our Christmas tree, where I had Barbie and Ken standing face to face in the bathroom!! hahahaha My folks still tease me about that.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

I'm another Breyer horse model addict. I still have all of mine, even the broken ones. My children tease me that I'm waiting for someone to invent a way to re-attach Breyer legs so that they stay attached. My son thinks it's creepy that I have a small metal box full of broken model horse legs in my closet.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

for me it was wooden blocks and plastic animals ...

(warning: The following may disclose a very disturbed mind at a very young age)

I would take all the blocks, make a huge temple or courtyard or monument or some other architectural monstrosity, put all the animals (barnyard, jungle, dinosaurs, army guys, whatever) all around it, in it, on it and then hold an apocalypse. Any animal that fell over was dead. Then I would play post-apocalypse with the survivors ....


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I asked for the crissy growing hair doll for 3 years before my parents finally got her for me.





I traded her for a Jay J Armes action figure to the gay kid down the block. What can I say, Jay J was just too cool. He was like a rock star in El Paso.


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

I'm enjoying everyone's stories.  

I don't remember anything that I just had to have.  I learned a lesson the year my grandmother gave me my Barbie.  I found the letter that told my mother what Grandma had sent my brother and I for Christmas.  It turned out not to be a very good Christmas by already knowing what I was getting.  Most of the clothes I had for Barbie were made by my Grandmother.  I still have the doll (not in the best shape), but I treasure the clothes.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

I had to have a Jem doll. She had light up earrings and was awesome. Unfortunately, my dog thought that, in addition to being awesome she was also tasty. She took the doll and chewed off her hands. In the process she also managed to turn on the light up earrings. Then she left the doll on the floor next to my parents' bed. When my dad woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, he saw the red flashing light up earrings blinking at him from somewhere around his feet and it scared him half to death.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

The Colorform Aliens. They were cheap, broke easy, but they were still the best a dumb kid could ever want.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

I recall wanting a Creepy Crawlers set so badly it hurt; unfortunately, that was a "boy's toy" and thusly forbidden. Since I was a royal tomboy, you can imagine how much I hated the toys I actually had...

You can also be sure my son had a Creepy Crawlers set, and he was nice enough to let me make tons of bugs


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

Some of you are posting such neat pictures. I thought of sending in a picture of my broken Breyer horse legs, but my better self prevailed and I will not do it.


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## mamiller (Apr 28, 2009)

LC, my favorite Breyer was a white Arabian stallion.  It's front leg had broken off, so he got to stay in the 'special stable'    I still have him too.  He's still beautiful.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Margaret said:


> Fun thread! I actually don't remember asking for any particular toys either. I did have a Barbie. I think she was one of the originals with the blond pony tail and the striped bathing suit. Sadly, she is long gone. I also had an entire series of books called the Happy Hollisters, a family similar to the Bobbsey Twins, who also solved mysteries. My grandmother worked at a hospital in center city Philadelphia and we saw her every Sunday. Each week she went to a bookstore near her work and bought me the next book in the series and I got to read them all in order. I was very sorry to see the series end.


I had my brothers' & sisters' copies of both of those series of books! I had forgotten about them. I also had "The Boxcar Children" which my DD now reads...


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## Dana (Dec 4, 2009)

Wow..... LOTS of memories posted in this thread already....

I wanted a Stretch Armstrong and never got one... also wanted an Inchworm ride on toy.... Never got the huge Barbie Townhouse, but did get the big cruise ship which was a lot of fun. Always wanted a Mystery Date game and never got that. Also wanted a Chia Pet and finally got one a couple of years ago. LOL In a different vein, always wanted some Nike shoes and didn't get those til after I was married. LOL Also wanted one of the little jewelry boxes with a dancing ballerina inside.... Never got a real Cabbage Patch doll, but a homemade version... also a homemade version of Care Bears.

I loved my Baby Alive doll... also my talking Ms. Beasley...

also my huge Lego set. It had the cutest windows and doors and my grandfather showed me how to build really nice houses with the set. He didn't "play" much, so this was really special.

In middle school, I loved my Rubik's Cube and was one of those annoying people who would time themselves to see how quickly they could solve it.... I still remember the boy who was the very best with a Rubik's Cube telling me that I was good at it. 

I loved my boombox and spent hours taping music from the radio and got furious when the DJ would talk over the very end of the song.

I had a little porcelain tea set that I used a lot....

Stay Alive game

I also had Fashion Plates and loved those...

Magic 8 Ball

Radio Shack TRS-80 computer....

Quiz Whiz.... loved that thang!

Little Professor Calculator... really loved this.....

Oh, and one of those toys that one end looped around your ankle and the other end had a lemon on it and you would twirl it and skip over it...

Bicycle

Comic books (dorky ones like Huey, Dewey, and Louie... they were my reward for doing chores)

Play Dough... both homemade and the regular kind.... LOVE the smell of the commercial variety

HUGE box of crayons

little pink metal cash register

Oh, and how could I forget... ATARI!!! 

And I had one of the old televisions that had a Pong game on it........

Merlin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_%28game%29

I also loved the Creepy Crawler maker.... and my huge version of the Easy Bake Oven... shaped like a real oven. I also made mud pies in the little cake pans. LOL

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots

Barbie Styling Head

Headache Game

Cats Eye Game (many marbles)

Dominoes


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Dana said:


> Wow..... LOTS of memories posted in this thread already....
> I wanted a Stretch Armstrong and never got one... also wanted an Inchworm ride on toy.... Never got the huge Barbie Townhouse, but did get the big cruise ship which was a lot of fun. Always wanted a Mystery Date game and never got that. Also wanted a Chia Pet and finally got one a couple of years ago. LOL In a different vein, always wanted some Nike shoes and didn't get those til after I was married. LOL Also wanted one of the little jewelry boxes with a dancing ballerina inside.... Never got a real Cabbage Patch doll, but a homemade version... also a homemade version of Care Bears.
> I loved my Baby Alive doll... also my talking Ms. Beasley...
> also my huge Lego set. It had the cutest windows and doors and my grandfather showed me how to build really nice houses with the set. He didn't "play" much, so this was really special.
> ...


Wow! Dana we have a lot in common! I had a pink 8 ball, Barbie Styling head and could do the Rubik's Cube in under a minute.. Think I was in 5th or 6th grade...had Atari... blisters on my thumbs as i would roll the score over... played it for 19 hours straight once! Also had the Lemion Twist thingy. Easy bake oven, brothers had Rock'em Sock'em robots and they had Air hockey! and Foosball, and I had a basketball game that you used a ping pong ball and a litlle thing in this hole would shoot the ball in the net... Had a Rainbow Cheer CareBear, Pogo Stick and loved my bicycle. We rode everywhere just like in that movie with Rosie O'Donnell as a little girl the one with Demi Moore.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

> They were cheap, broke easy, but they were still the best a dumb kid could ever want. Geemont


Geemont's _Colorform Aliens _ reminded me another toy along the same lines that I had. I can't remember how old I was, but let us hope I was younger than fourteen.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

mamiller said:


> 908Tracy, yeay for Mom!
> 
> I had Barbie's Friendship jet. It opens up and it's the inside of a jet, and there is a classic picture of it under our Christmas tree, where I had Barbie and Ken standing face to face in the bathroom!! hahahaha My folks still tease me about that.


That's MY jet plane!!!! I flew everywhere in that thing!


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

One of my FAVORITES: and my late cousin (God rest his soul) Ben, could work magic on that thing like a freaking Picasso:  ETCH A SKETCH

My most replaced toy:  Slinky...My evil twin brother would tangle the sh#@ out of his and pull a "switchy" with mine and I'd have to beg for a new one every other week!!!


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

sjc said:


> One of my FAVORITES: and my late cousin (God rest his soul) Ben, could work magic on that thing like a freaking Picasso: ETCH A SKETCH
> 
> My most replaced toy: Slinky...My evil twin brother would tangle the sh#@ out of his and pull a "switchy" with mine and I'd have to beg for a new one every other week!!!


Do you really have a twin? Cool! I have a brother who was always mistaken as my twin. He is a year and a half older... we were really close. But when he forgot his bicycle in the driveway behind Daddy's car and it was destroyed, the next day he _intentionally_ put mine behind the car so I would be without too! They were so cool they were his or hers bikes red and orange/yellow metallic with a removable bar to make it a girl's bike! Daddy figured him out and mine did not become trash! Thank God! I learned how to ride a two-wheeler on that thing.


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## mamiller (Apr 28, 2009)

Meredith Sinclair said:


> That's MY jet plane!!!! I flew everywhere in that thing!


Miss Merry, I know you're petite, but you must have been really tiny if your parents packed you away inside that!  Was that YOU with my Ken doll?!?!


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

mamiller said:


> Miss Merry, I know you're petite, but you must have been really tiny if your parents packed you away inside that!  Was that YOU with my Ken doll?!?!


Yep! Ken is a *good* kisser! I was sooooo happy that you put us together like that!


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

*Meredith:* Yes, I do have a twin...and he is _only_ sometimes evil...lol. We too, had matching white metallic "Free Spirit" 3 speed (wow) bikes from Sears and Roebuck. Yahoo.

*My twin is the reason why I label everything!!* He would break everything and pull a switch...I was always in tears. My mother got smart and started buying different colors...but: the brat would remove the casing and still switch the non-working guts with mine.

Then I got wise and started engraving and labeling everything inside and out. I still, 'til this day, have 108 UNO cards all with my name in the corner...my kids die laughing.

The brat had the nerve to by me a thermal label maker two years ago as a gift...though, I use it all the time. We are twins but are the complete opposite...yet we read each other's minds...go figure. We, without planning it will both pull into my folks driveway at the exact same time for a visit...or call the house and my mother will say, "hold the line, your brother just beeped in...or we will buy the same gift for someone and fight over who gets stuck with the return.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

sjc said:


> *Meredith:* Yes, I do have a twin...and he is _only_ sometimes evil...lol. We too, had matching white metallic "Free Spirit" 3 speed (wow) bikes from Sears and Roebuck. Yahoo.
> 
> *My twin is the reason why I label everything!!* He would break everything and pull a switch...I was always in tears. My mother got smart and started buying different colors...but: the brat would remove the casing and still switch the non-working guts with mine.
> 
> ...


I Love it! I always wanted to be a twin! We have twins in our family but mypoor Mama would not have made it... _*I*_ weighed 10.8 lbs!


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

> I weighed 10.8 lbs!


Lol. You weighed more than both of us together!! We were premies...I weighed 3.15 he weighed 2.12. Now he probably weighs 212.+


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

sjc said:


> Lol. You weighed more than both of us together!! We were premies...I weighed 3.15 he weighed 2.12. Now he probably weighs 212.+


Wow! That is amazing my DD weighed 2.2 and dropped to 1.6... she was 31/2 months early... But 2.12! simply amazing you two survived considering what technology they have now that they did not have back then. You two are miracles! I was almost 5 times my DDs weight. Still when we see a tiny baby of about 8lbs we think how could she have been so much smaller

I am glad you two turned out healthy. You definitely are a wonderful person to KB with. 
OT: I also had Magic Rocks & Sea Monkeys!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

sjc said:


> One of my FAVORITES: and my late cousin (God rest his soul) Ben, could work magic on that thing like a freaking Picasso: ETCH A SKETCH


How could I have forgotten that... especially since I made sure to go buy one for DD as soon as she was old enough to work the knobs!

And Legos, too, the old kind from when they didn't have the pre-fab kits for one specific thing only. Still have 'em, somewhere...

Meredith, I can so relate to your daughter... but I hope she starts to speak up for herself by the time she's an adult... it took me _much_ too long to realize that it was ok to ask for what I want.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I was a girly-girl and loved dolls and doll houses. My mother bought be a train set, because she wasn't allowed to play with trains when she was a kid, but I had little interest. I also loved wearing dresses to school. I loved my Lite Brite. My talking View Master.  My red, white, and blue bike that made me the automatic choice to play Wonder Woman when we played super heroes. I also got to play Daisy Duke. Er, guess when I was a kid! 

::Looks at thread:: I had the Barbie Friend Ship and all the accessories! There was a girl down the street who put my Barbie collection to shame. She had Charlie's Angels Barbies and Cher Barbie! (Again, guess the era!) And the hot tub and bubble bath. I had the swimming pool, van, and sports car though. Two of those trunks of clothes and my mother's hair dryer container full too. The old fashioned bonnet kind of dryer. 

Does anyone remember a doll of a blonde girl/woman who wore a purple miniskirt, orange halter, and purple jacket. Her belly had a panel with a hidden mini-record player and the records each played "I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing" in different languages?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

MichelleR said:


> Does anyone remember a doll of a blonde girl/woman who wore a purple miniskirt, orange halter, and purple jacket. Her belly had a panel with a hidden mini-record player and the records each played "I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing" in different languages?


http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?mimiindex

I don't remember her, but it sounds like Mimi. Located through the magic of Google!


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

That's her. I said the records went in her belly, but now that I think about it, she has speakers there. If the jacket was off you could see the top was mostly bare-backed and had a snap around the neck and the small of the back. Thanks!


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## kindle zen (Mar 18, 2009)

tonka toys.  the finest toy metal vehicles
corgi cars.  my favorite was a white mustang with orange racing stripes. light blue interior and opening doors and hood.
vacuum form set.  actually my brothers but i really wanted one.
creepy crawler set.  also my brothers but i really wanted one but he would make me crawlers so i can't complain.

did anyone here have the creepy crawler plastic goop that you could eat?  i remember seeing it on tv but we never had it.

slip and slide. 

gumbi and poki (i got both a few years ago since they were a childhood favorite)

WWII boeing B-17 bomber.  had many different toys of this plane.  still my favorite plane.

for the women who had barbie and ken dolls.  did you like playing with the ken?...i remember seeing girls at school with barbie's and ken but none liked playing with the ken doll as far as i could tell.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm probably not the woman you meant, but Ken was more an accessory. You had to have a Ken so Barbie could wear her wedding dress.


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## Dana (Dec 4, 2009)

Meredith... yes, we did have a lot in common! 

Etch a Sketch... loved that too.... but I was horrible at it.... definitely no Picasso.

Slinky was an excellent toy.... I took good care of mine and was an only child so didn't have to worry about anyone else messing with it!

Silly String was something we loved to play with during birthday parties....

Squand


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Somewhere under a bed in my grandparents' home, there is a 1940-something, Lionel train set. I haven't seen it in about 20 years, but I promise it is there.. somewhere... They have lived in that house for over 60 years, so who knows where anything is anymore.... but they never would have thrown it away.


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## tdmsu (Feb 5, 2010)

My sister was into those Breyer horses, too!

I had a Stretch Armstrong, but I broke him by stretching him too far - I was ashamed so I threw him under my bed and his insides leaked down through the floor into the basement!  He was red inside like jello, but strechy, of course.

Anyone remember super elastic bubble plastic?


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## 908tracy (Dec 15, 2009)

tdmsu said:


> My sister was into those Breyer horses, too!
> 
> I had a Stretch Armstrong, but I broke him by stretching him too far - I was ashamed so I threw him under my bed and his insides leaked down through the floor into the basement! He was red inside like jello, but strechy, of course.
> 
> Anyone remember super elastic bubble plastic?


^^^^^I sure do remember that metal tube of goo! It came with a mini straw that you inserted into the center of the ball of goo and blew it up! Loved that stuff and I swear when I read that I could smell it to this day!^^^^^^


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

Silly Putty.  I don't know how many eggs of this my parents and grandparents purchased.  Grandma always seemed to have a fresh package any time we visited.


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## Dana (Dec 4, 2009)

Yes, I remember the bubble plastic stuff....  and can smell it to this day too!  LOL

Silly Putty was wonderful....  spent so much time with the Sunday Comics and the putty.....  good times, good times

Just thought of something else...  Light Brite....  LOVED that thing....


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

> LC, my favorite Breyer was a white Arabian stallion. It's front leg had broken off, so he got to stay in the 'special stable' I still have him too. He's still beautiful.


I could never find a glue that would hold those legs on. Didn't try Super Glue, though. Yes, I still think my broken ones are beautiful, though they are packed away in the attic.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

*Meredith:*


> I am glad you two turned out healthy. You definitely are a wonderful person to KB with.
> OT: I also had Magic Rocks & Sea Monkeys!


Blush....Thanks. Actually my pediatrician should get all the credit for saving us: it was touch and go and he kept vigil. He didn't charge my folks; he said you have enough to contend with. He was amazing and he just passed away, at age 93, two weeks ago and I attended his ceremony...he was a great man and a very dedicated doctor. He still penned me a Christmas card every year until last year. They don't make them like him anymore...and he even made housecalls!! Dr. John T. Barrett...rest in peace...you were a Godsend.

OK back to the toys: It used to irk me when my silly putty got dirty from the comics ink.

*WHO ELSE: had the glass clackers and the black and blues running up and down their clacker arm? To think those darn things were made of glass*. If that were today...lawsuit.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

When I was very young I had a Lamb Chops doll.  My mom said I tried to give it a bath at some point and it never was the same after that.

Mrs. Beasley doll for a very long time.  When I was about 10 my sister was having her head tapped a couple times a day.  (hydrocephelus).  She would come back to her room with big bandages on her head.  I felt bad and gave her my doll to take with her to the room where they did the procedure and somehow to her that translated into she got to keep it.  The last time I seen the doll it had many many band-aides in many many places.

I had a Barbie doll with homemade clothes also.  They were actually my favorite.  A poster said you had to have Ken for a reason to wear the wedding dress.  Hmmm.  I didn't have Ken but my Barbie wore her wedding dress often.  Probably explains a lot about me now.  

My sister inherited my Barbie and clothes, and then she passed them on to my daughter.  I don't think they survived the many moves we made over the years.  Too bad.  This thread is great.  I hadn't thought about those homemade clothes in years.  

Loved Silly Putty, Lite Bright, chinese checkers, Trouble.  

Good memories are wonderful.
deb


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Dana said:


> Yes, I remember the bubble plastic stuff.... and can smell it to this day too! LOL
> 
> Silly Putty was wonderful.... spent so much time with the Sunday Comics and the putty..... good times, good times
> 
> Just thought of something else... Light Brite.... LOVED that thing....


Me too! All of the above! I also had a red Duncan Yo-Yo!


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

sjc said:


> *Meredith:* Blush....Thanks. Actually my pediatrician should get all the credit for saving us: it was touch and go and he kept vigil. He didn't charge my folks; he said you have enough to contend with. He was amazing and he just passed away, at age 93, two weeks ago and I attended his ceremony...he was a great man and a very dedicated doctor. He still penned me a Christmas card every year until last year. They don't make them like him anymore...and he even made housecalls!! Dr. John T. Barrett...rest in peace...you were a Godsend.
> 
> OK back to the toys: It used to irk me when my silly putty got dirty from the comics ink.
> 
> *WHO ELSE: had the glass clackers and the black and blues running up and down their clacker arm? To think those darn things were made of glass*. If that were today...lawsuit.


OMG! I had Orange clackers! Also had one of those Spinning Wheel Thingies... You had to move your arm back and forth to make the wheel go over the pronged thingie. And also I loved the little paddle ball thingy that you could get as party favors... oh! And What about Punch balls? (balloons)
Wow SJC he was an amazing man. Madison's doctor is awesome too but her hospital bil was $684,000 before she got outta the hospital! and taht did not count the $341,000 in doctor bills by her first birthday.. now THAT is where the term Million Dollar Baby should come from.


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

I am loving this thread.  You guys are bringing back so many memories.  My brothers had those clacker ball thingies.  I remember playing with them.  They would never sell them now.  
I also had the early Barbie with the blond pony tail and the striped bathing suit.  My DS saved it for me when my mom moved.  I got it for my 7th birthday and remember my two sisters taking it down the hall to play with it.  I thought, "But that's mine...".  I also had a Chatty Cathy.  I loved it until the neighbor girl broke the ring attached to the string.  I could never pull the string after that and it lost it's appeal to me.  
Finally, this is not toy related, but my younger brother and I wanted the original early 60's Beatles album as a joint Christmas gift.  My parents bought us the Chipmunks Sing the Beatles.  We were very disappointed, but that didn't stop us from listening to it all the time.  I wish I still had it.  It was kind of cool in a nerdy way.


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## 908tracy (Dec 15, 2009)

The pictures shown of Crissy doll were not the one I had. They look similar as far as the hair and big black eyes, but mine really was a toddler type doll. This bugged me so I went on a google search and found this...

One of the other members of the Crissy family of dolls was “Baby Crissy,” a large 24 inch (610 mm) doll with adjustable length hair controlled by a simple pull-string. "Baby Crissy" was the size of a nine-month-old which is why to this day, many of these "Baby Crissy" dolls can be found wearing real baby clothes. A “Baby Velvet” doll was a proposed model that was pictured in Ideal’s 1974 catalog but never made it to the production stage.

"Baby Crissy" enjoyed huge popularity for many years. The first five years of this doll's production (1973-1977) brought to the buying public the same doll, wearing three different versions of her diaper set, a term that describes a short dress with matching bloomer-type panties. She was sold barefoot. The doll was recreated and sold again in 1981 and 1982 with the exact same molds used in the 70's, though dressed in a completely different outfit, again with no shoes, and housed in several differently styled boxes. More dolls that looked totally different were sold with the same name in 1984 and 1985 (by the Ideal Toy Corporation) and again in 1991 (by the View-Master Ideal Group, Inc.) and also in 1995 (created by Tyco Playtime, Inc.).


So although I had never seen that version of Crissy, I just wanted to share a bit of her history. There is a full page write up about her and her family members! I still have mine packed away somewhere. Had no idea there were so many!


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Legos, before they had all those pre-made themed kits, just assorted blocks.
Regular blocks
Matchbox Cars
Comic Books
BB gun
Wrist Rocket
Bike
GI Joe stuff
Did a lot of plastic models, planes, ships, cars... that kind of stuff
Kites
And a Cox airplane or two.


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## OliviaD (Jul 21, 2009)

I had a number of toys when I was little and some of them were memorable.  My mom still has a few at her house somewhere.  Strangely enough, my favorite toys usually belonged to my younger sister.  I always thought that she got the better toys.  

Easy Bake Oven.... sister's
Creepy Crawler maker... sister's
Tip-It Game... sister's
Mechanical Robot... sister's
Bubble-blowing circus elephat... mine
Red Spring horse I could ride... mine
Swing/Jungle Gym... ours
Bicycle... mine
Eight Ball fortune teller game... sister's
Lots of card games and checkers
Barbie (only had one and immediately lost the shoes LOL)


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