shape
carat
color
clarity

The Nostalgia Thread

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,839
I thought it would be neat to have a thread to bring back the good old days, whatever period that may be for you. This thread is dedicated to your favorite toy(s) growing up, that favorite record, maybe a shirt you still have from your first concert, really anything that brings back fond memories.

I'm a sucker for those lists of toys you had growing up that you see on Facebook, and sometimes you come across something you forgot you had but absolutely LOVED back then. That's what I hope might happen here.

So, let's let the good times roll!

From the top:

Popples

Rosebud doll

My Child Doll

Cabbage patch kid

The Popples aren't mine but the others are and in fact the Cabbage Patch Kid was given to me in the early 80's and I still have her in original outfit and all!

_5290.jpeg

_5291.jpeg

_5289.jpeg

_5288.jpeg
 

stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
8,345
I always wanted a Lite Brite, but never got one.... :(

But sis and I had Little Kiddles!! These were popular in the late 60s.
Tiny dolls in lockets! I have loved jewelry from a very early age.
They also made the tiny dolls in perfume bottles. We had those, too.
I am always tempted to get myself a few from Ebay. Little Kiddles are now very expensive. Wish I still had mine.
I get all verklempt when I look at these photos.

kiddle_4.jpg

kiddle_5.jpg
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
The 70's was the best decade ever...music, cars, bell bottom pants, drive in movies.. :appl:
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,224
One toy I remember from the early 60s was Mattel's Thingmaker for Creepy Crawlers and Fun Flowers.

You pour liquid 'Plastigoop' into a metal mold of a bug or a flower.
Then cook it on the heating tray.
Cool in water.
Peel bug out of tray.
Use them to scare your sister.

Seems silly now, but back then I LOVED the contraption.



My dad was angry that I wanted it (flowers are for girls, you know) but here is the Fun Flower kit.

screen_shot_2016-08-13_at_9.png

screen_shot_2016-08-13_at_0.png

screen_shot_2016-08-13_at_1.png
 

stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
8,345
I remember both those kits, Kenny. My friend had the Creepy Crawlers, and I recall making them with her.
I had this Dip a Flower thing. I was lots of fun, and probably toxic, too!

dip_flower.jpg
 

GliderPoss

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
2,936
We used to adore this as kids!

_5292.jpeg
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
2,960
stracci2000|1471148123|4065749 said:
I always wanted a Lite Brite, but never got one.... :(

But sis and I had Little Kiddles!! These were popular in the late 60s.
Tiny dolls in lockets! I have loved jewelry from a very early age.
They also made the tiny dolls in perfume bottles. We had those, too.
I am always tempted to get myself a few from Ebay. Little Kiddles are now very expensive. Wish I still had mine.
I get all verklempt when I look at these photos.

Oh my, Stracci, I had forgotten these! I still have (well, it's at my parents house) a doll with blonde hair in a container EXACTLY like that top one. I loved it for all the bling!

My most treasured possession c. 1976 was my Snoopy watch, like this one:

_5302.jpeg
 

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
40,225
I loved my pound puppy. I still have him, somewhere. This one isn't mine, but it's similar.

__87.jpg
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
Love this thread Stephanie.

I cannot find a photo online that is similar to my favorite stuffed animal when I was a little girl but it was a giant (over 5 feet tall) plush blue elephant that my aunt and uncle had bought me when I was about 2 or 3 yo. I loved him dearly and had him for many years (over a decade) till he was just falling apart. I loved him so much.

Then my next favorite toy was a battery operated red car from FAO Schwarz in the late 60s. I was the first kid in the neighborhood to have one of those and man I enjoyed the heck out of that car. It was so cool. Everyone in my neighborhood wanted to ride in it with me and it was the most popular toy. This is the closest pic I can find. Not exactly the same but similar. Red and it fit 2 kids and it was amazing fun.

kidscarfromthe60s.jpg
 

the_mother_thing

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 2, 2013
Messages
6,306
Not so much a "thing", but a place. There was a massive estate behind my dad's house growing up. On the back side, bordering dad's property used to be these massive mulch piles used to refresh the gardens of the mansion and landscape on the other end of the property. As children, the groundskeepers used to let us play back there, build forts in those mulch piles, catch crayfish in the creek, and just be "kids".

The estate owner passed away several years ago, and in his will he directed that his property could only be sold to someone who would turn it into a world-class golf course. And that it was. I took this picture when I was home in PA this past June to play golf with dad for a few days, as this is the same area where the massive mulch piles once stood. I was knocking out my morning walk, and reminiscing on those simpler days of my childhood. And it was too pretty a picture to not take for nostalgic purposes.

Dad isn't a member of the private club, so we didn't play there. But on my last day up there, a friend of his who is a member met us at a local favorite watering hole for drinks, and hearing me reminisce about it, said next time I come up, he will ensure we get to play a round there. :appl:

Bellewood

_5312.jpeg
 

Tekate

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
7,570
lovely topic! mine is Lie Detector game from 1960.. I loved that game, played it over and over..

lie_detective.jpg
 

monarch64

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Messages
19,213
I still have bins and bins full of my toys and dolls. My daughter has them now--my mother held onto everything she and my father gave us kids when we were little.

Beatrix Potter everything.
VIB plush character teddy bears
Handmade dolls that looked "real" from local dollmaker/manufacturer (super creepy now)
Fisher-Price "Woodsy Friends" c. 1970-80
Strawberry Shortcake dollhouse/toys
My Little Pony stable and figures
An Omnibot that could bring you food/drinks/etc--I think my parents still have it.

Wow, the 80s were rad. :lol:
 

msop04

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
10,051
I had so many Barbies, but these were my faves (Peaches & Cream, Great Shape, Sungold Malibu, Barbie & The Rockers)... And I can remember playing Atari so much I had blisters on my hand! HA! (Pitfall, Frogger, DonkeyKong)

061b9b8200aeb13d241a627003836fa0.jpg
18f0f0f1a474abb545b189a116cca05b.jpg
 

redwood66

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
7,329
Love all the pics! I did have a Litebrite and we got a Sit N Spin for my younger sister one Christmas. When she passed out from spinning so hard and fell off, my parents took it back. :lol:

I loved these and had quite a few (these are not mine). We had a big pile of sand out by the barn that the cats would poop in. Well Tonka loaders work well for picking it up and moving it. That made my mom so mad that I was digging in that sand pile. :lol:

tonka_truck_32.jpg

truck-21.jpg
 

ksinger

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
5,083
I'm all about getting rid of old stuff these days, so we'll be putting this into an estate sale the family is having soon for my husband's dad's estate. We've got two families taking stuff IN at a clip. The sale keeps getting bigger.

Suzy Homemaker Easy Bake Oven, probably 1968 vintage.


And here's a vintage ad for all the Suzy Homemaker stuff. I don't recall this, but then my mom didn't let me watch much TV. It's totally sexist. Yeah, it really was like that back then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rAiii4LA3k

easy_bake_0.jpg
 

Calliecake

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 7, 2014
Messages
9,229
My favorites as a child were the Easy Bake Oven, Snuggle Bun Doll, Barbies and Tressy. Tressy was like a Barbie Doll but you could make her hair grow really long. My husband found the fact that I loved my easy bake oven particularly amusing since i haven't turned an oven on in the past twenty years.

Kenny, Creepy Crawlers brought many fond menories back to me. My brothers had this toy and used to hide those damn bugs all over the house to scare me. They were so much fun to make. I also remember a toy similar to Creepy Crawlers called Rings N Things that girls used to make jewelery.

Thank you for starting this thread Stephanie!
 

MissGotRocks

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
16,269
Imagine my surprise when I googled this to find some still being sold on ebay! VacuForm was one of my favorites. You heated up a plastic sheet, flipped it over a mold, and then pumped air under it to cool. Then you cut the item out. I can still remember the smell of the plastic heating up!

http://www.blog.makecenturymodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/VacUFormside.jpg

Thanks for jogging this memory - I really did enjoy that toy. I also loved a Pebbles doll - the toddler one not the baby - that I got one Christmas. Such fun times! I still have the Pebbles doll - they are selling for $$ on ebay too!

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw/z/9MoAAOSwhOdXo50A/$_58.JPG
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,224
ksinger|1471193569|4065903 said:
Suzy Homemaker Easy Bake Oven, probably 1968 vintage.

OMG, my sister had that.
I'd forgotten all about it.
The heat source was two light bulbs.

Hers was called, "Kenner Easy Bake Oven".

screen_shot_2016-08-14_at_0.png
 

marymm

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
5,520
^ I remember Sizzler cars... my brothers had collections and a new Sizzler was always a great present choice for their birthdays!

When I was young, we played a lot of outdoor games and board games, but I also remember spending quite a bit of time playing marbles (and I had a good-sized marble collection), jacks, and pick-up sticks.

103-vintage-american-made-used-marblesakro-agate-vitro.jpg

jacks-249c35f06ee-e3d9-4c50-9827-525718d21757large.jpg

pick-up_sticks_-_s-l1600.jpg

And, hopscotch was a big favorite too.

hopscotchsketch_0.jpg
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,198
My favorite books when I was growing up...yep, Nancy Drew! When my daughter got about 3rd grade I got out my old ND books
for her to read. I picked one up and started reading it and thought this is so bad...how could I have ever thought these were
interesting??? My daughter refused to read them...and I dont actually blame her!

nancy_drew_book.jpg
 

diamondringlover

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 12, 2006
Messages
4,400
I think I read every Nancy Drew published...lol I loved those books...I havent read one as an adult I should....might be fun lol...this is a fun thread...I played with Barbie's alot when I was young..I remember loving my Dawn fashion show....
 

stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
8,345
diamondrnglover|1471208055|4065992 said:
I think I read every Nancy Drew published...lol I loved those books...I havent read one as an adult I should....might be fun lol...this is a fun thread...I played with Barbie's alot when I was young..I remember loving my Dawn fashion show....
Yes, Dawn! I loved her and her groovy dress......

dawn30th.jpg
 

stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
8,345
This stuff did not work like the commercial promised......

super-elastic-bubble-plasti.jpg
 

Matata

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 10, 2003
Messages
8,995
Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, all the soul groups from the 60s & 70s, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and

play_doh.jpeg

silly_putty.jpeg

etch_a_sketch.jpeg
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,839
I know I had one of these phones, typical girl it was one of my favorite toys next to my menagerie of Barbies.

Also the Speak and Spell and its math counterpart, Speak and Math were well loved but I was still terrible at Math despite hours playing on it.

_5319.jpeg

_5320.jpeg
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
My favorite stuffed animals as a child - Gizmo, Garfield and mon-chi-chi
Since I'm only 28 (again) :naughty: , I MUST have been a vintage loving child :naughty: :whistle:

Cabbage patch dolls were sold out in NY, and my dad happened to be in Japan for business and stood in line at a toy store to bring me back a cabbage patch doll!

My hello kitty stamp from 1983 STILL WORKS!

My babysitter always had cheez whiz in her pantry. :errrr: Her daughter (2 grades ahead of me) loved that crap. :wall:
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,839
PintoBean|1471215263|4066051 said:
My favorite stuffed animals as a child - Gizmo, Garfield and mon-chi-chi
Since I'm only 28 (again) :naughty: , I MUST have been a vintage loving child :naughty: :whistle:

Cabbage patch dolls were sold out in NY, and my dad happened to be in Japan for business and stood in line at a toy store to bring me back a cabbage patch doll!

My hello kitty stamp from 1983 STILL WORKS!

My babysitter always had cheez whiz in her pantry. :errrr: Her daughter (2 grades ahead of me) loved that crap. :wall:


Ew, Cheez Wiz, I thought the idea of liquid cheese in a can was gross even as a kid. One thing that was the bomb food wise though was Jello pudding pops. They came in chocolate, vanilla and swirl and omg, I could eat the whole box!
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
StephanieLynn|1471215540|4066052 said:
PintoBean|1471215263|4066051 said:
My favorite stuffed animals as a child - Gizmo, Garfield and mon-chi-chi
Since I'm only 28 (again) :naughty: , I MUST have been a vintage loving child :naughty: :whistle:

Cabbage patch dolls were sold out in NY, and my dad happened to be in Japan for business and stood in line at a toy store to bring me back a cabbage patch doll!

My hello kitty stamp from 1983 STILL WORKS!

My babysitter always had cheez whiz in her pantry. :errrr: Her daughter (2 grades ahead of me) loved that crap. :wall:


Ew, Cheez Wiz, I thought the idea of liquid cheese in a can was gross even as a kid. One thing that was the bomb food wise though was Jello pudding pops. They came in chocolate, vanilla and swirl and omg, I could eat the whole box!
ermagherd what I would give for a swirl jello pudding pop right now!! WHY DID THEY DISCONTINUE THEM?!?!?!?!?!?! they were AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
I'd remember most of the toys posted on this thread... :appl:
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top