Theo had his first playdate at another child's home over the weekend. I heard all about it from Jordan yesterday. "They had a wonderful time," she said. "William's dads had converted their entire great room into a playroom. The floor was covered in play mats. There were all kinds of toys. Theo went right to where all the vehicles were neatly parked--trucks, cars, a cement mixer, a school bus--and ran them everywhere. There was every kind of toy imaginable in there!"
Our boys had a lot of toys, and a great many of them lived in half of our living room, which we simply gave over to them when they were little. They had a Little Tykes basketball hoop in there, as well as a Fisher Price game table that was a glide hockey and pool table in one. I mean, after all, it was where we lived, for goodness' sake.
When I was a kid, it wasn't like that at all. For one thing, there were four of us. And until I was in high school, my mom didn't have a job outside of the home. I never felt shortchanged or anything, but our Christmases were more modest. I always got the kinds of toys I liked, and my favourites were not spectacular. Here's a list of
Favourite Toys Of My Childhood
1. Colouring Books and Crayons
2. Etch A Sketch
3. Spirograph
4. Play Doh
5. Roller Skates
This list is short because I usually wanted (and got) clothes and books for Christmas and my birthday, along with little niceties like bubble bath and other doodads. I would occasionally ask for a doll, but looking back, they weren't my favourites. I did play with dolls often, usually on a big blanket spread out under the tree in the front yard with my sister or friends. But the things on this list hold the fondest memories for me.
Every year for Christmas, I would ask for and receive a box of Crayola 64 crayons. I loved to colour, and the year I got The Great Big Nature Book To Colour, I was ecstatic. It was at least three inches thick, and within its pages were the best pictures ever--little animals in the woods, kids picking flowers, birds in nests, kids rowing boats in lakes with fish peeping out from the surface. I loved that book. Now, it's all but impossible to find a colouring book that's not a tie-in with a cartoon or character, or branded in some way.
When I started being a Play Doh Artiste, there were only four colours, pink, yellow, blue, and white. I considered it a Venial Sin to mix Play Doh, ever. Still, I made wonderful things out of Play Doh and was thrilled to have a sister five years younger so that I could play with it long after it was appropriate.
I rollerskated like it was my job when I was a kid. And, hey, I'm not talking about those sissy skates that are boots with wheels attached that you just put on like bowling shoes. Oh no! I'm talking Change Out Of Your Keds And Put On Your Saddle Shoes In The Summertime And Clamp Those Bitches On By Using A Skate Key Like A Badass skates. These:
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| from Pinterest |
Don't mess with me. I also played jump rope in the street using the telephone pole to hold the rope when we couldn't get another person to twirl. When Susan (my little sister) used to purposely jerk the rope to make me miss, our battles were epic and sometimes bloody. What can I say? Life in the 'hood.
What were some of your favourite childhood toys? Did you ever use a skate key? Anyone else love to get crayons?
As a colorblind person, the Crayola 64 crayons were my nemesis. And the 152 pack in particular could fuck off. I couldn't in a thousand years tell the difference between orange-yellow, yellow-orange, crayellow, macaroni and cheese, neon carrot, middle yellow red, and so on.
ReplyDeleteI could usually handle the classic 8, but even a 16 pack would require me to look at the labels of some of the colors.
I had an Etch A Sketch and Play Doh, but I was usually drawn toward Lego, and eventually it was all about the K'nex for me. I built all sorts of Ferris wheels and roller coasters, entertaining myself for weeks on end.
I loved colouring as well, but I don't think I had the fancy 64 crayons! I would have wanted it though. I had a Cabbage Patch Doll which I loved, and paper dolls were probably my very favourite. I loved dressing them up and making up stories. I also had a dollhouse which my grandpa made for me, and I loved that too. I didn't have roller skates but I liked hula hooping and skipping.
ReplyDeleteYep, I had the same skates. the brand new 64 box of crayons - was there really ever anything better than that? I would have to add a hula hoop and Barbie dolls to the list.
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