I read a post recently by The Blonde Goddess. The second half of it is about toys she liked when she was a kid. The Fisher-Price people figure prominently in her memory of favorite toys. All my children liked them too, as did I. The children spent hours playing with the doll house, the barn, the auto garage, the hospital and all the other sets. I spent hours putting all the parts back together when they were finished playing, so that everything would be ready for the next time. After about ten years of stepping on the small parts and people with my bare feet, I jumped at the chance to get rid of those toys as soon as my youngest child showed signs of being bored with them. I sold them at a garage sale.
BIG MISTAKE!
BIG MISTAKE!
Here is my advice to all younger parents who have toys now that are destined to become classics, such as the stuff I mentioned above. Do.Not.Get.Rid.of.Them. When your children get bored with them, put them in the attic, the garage, a closet, a storage facility or wherever you can set them and forget them for about 20 years. Trust me. You will wish you had them again when your children start having children.
And yes, I do know that some of them have been recalled recently. My kids didn't put any of them in their mouths back then and no one got sick from them, so I think it would be just fine to play with them now - if we had them. I will always regret not saving our toys. Don't make the same mistake.
And yes, I do know that some of them have been recalled recently. My kids didn't put any of them in their mouths back then and no one got sick from them, so I think it would be just fine to play with them now - if we had them. I will always regret not saving our toys. Don't make the same mistake.
22 comments:
We rarely can tell what is destined to be a classic, no? I mean, how many car buyers in the 1950s ever thought the Ford's embarrassing Edsel would be a highly sought-after collectible 50 years later?
And why haven't Weebles come back? After all, they wobble, but they don't fall down.
The new Fisher Price people came out when my daughter was little. Besides already having a few sets worth that had been gifts for her older brother, I picked up plenty of the old kind at yard sales. The older two didn't put things in their mouths so that wasn't a worry.
My younger son did put things in his mouth so I only brought those out when I was watching him - until he got past the mouthy stage.
All of the sets are now in our attic - they were most of the favorite toys!
I love those old toys! My favorite was the barn with the rooster crowing :)
I saved a few baby toys that my kids played with for that very reason. Well, that and I'm a packrat LOL
Have a great weekend,
rue :)
Good advice- wish I'd kept all of mine but my mother sold them in her garage sale- and kept the $$!
I do have my old walking doll from when I was 4-5 and she's atrocious looking. Her hair got ruined when I tried to wash it when I was a kid so now it's all frizzy and matted, lol! But it's the first thing my step-grandaughter Laci runs for when she's over! I let her play w/it because that's what toys are for :)
wonderful recommendation Judy. My mom stuck the toys in the basement after my little sister had grown out of them. Since then, they have been played with by 7 grandchildren over and over and over again......
I would have saved some of my now grown children's toys but they were all packed away in our attic and the house was struck by lightening and the attic and part of the house burned. So bye bye toys.
Anyway, our 6 grandchildren had so many toys of their own both here and at their own homes so it was no great loss. But we did mourn several Barbie dolls. One Barbie in particular my mom in law had hand crocheted a wedding dress for. And I remember crying over Raggedy Ann and Andy who did not survive the fire.
RIP
We still have the original Fisher Price house and Barn! With WOODEN people! They are from when I was a kid in the 60's! I also have my son's Auto Garage which I bought used at a garage sale, I'd say its from the 80's.
I saved many of my boys toys from 34 and 38 years ago. Everyone thought I was nuts to do so. Now that I have brought them out for the grandchildren, my boys are so thankful to see their favorite toys again, but this time being loved by their children.
But, paybacks can be h*ll. I saved one jack in the box that drove me crazy. Now, it drives them crazy. HaHa...
I will tell my children then that there is a reason I've kept some of them. That Fisher-Price garage is in my garage right now.
We have a lot of our kids toys stored away. I have no idea what we have anymore since it's been so long since we unpacked them and looked at what we have.
It will be fun to check them all out one of these years.
I remember playing with Barbies with the corvette and camper, and playing with Weebils in an airplane, and playing with the car garage set.
Being a kid was such fun!!
aaaahhhh. don't say that to me now. i cleaned out my attic the past winter and felt soooo good about purging all the stuff just sitting there, collecting dust! please don't tell me I'm gonna be sorry I saved everything for so long and just finally got rid of it all.
OOPS
The only toys I keep Judy are the Thomas wooden trains and sets. My boys loved them and I hope that one day...
A LONG LONG time from now...
My grandchildren will like them even more!
:)
I have soooo many of my kids' toys....just never parted with a lot of them. Now when my grandkids come over....they are set with EVERYTHING. There's good and bad in that Judy. I really do need to clean some things out...and just can't seem to get started on it. It's like my kids never left.
This is so true...recently I brought down MY old metal dollhouse and my GRANDDAUGHTER spend some time playing with it. My mistake is that I should have done it a lot soon but back in the attic is goes for the great grandkids:)
Also if they are in boxes, look after them as the whole thing can become a precious heirloom worth lots of lolly.
I had a toy garage just like the one in your pic and I loved playing with it :)
Good advice I think. also you never know, some of them might end up being worth money one day too!
Lisa-- I say: Don't be sorry for having thrown out "junk". One not only has to be prescient to know which will become collectibles, but know how/where to sell them when they become worth something. Then, you sell them for "money" and no one in your family can play with them! The only reason to keep collectibles is to enjoy them, yourself. If you're not enjoying them, forgedaboutit.
I still have the Domino-sized blocks (in blue, pink, yellow, and green) that we played with when at my grandmother's house (kept in an old oatmeal box, of course!) Each generation, to date, has played with them and, perhaps, another generation to come.
Similarly, Hunky Husband has a large set of variously shaped blocks (in blue, red, yellow, and green) that fit inside a wagon and that he played with as a child, and succeding generations have happily played with them. Neither set of blocks is worth money; but, they hold worlds of memories for our family.
Cop Car
I had a giggle over you putting the pieces away, and stepping on them in bare feet, having done both myself. i do wish I had saved all those great Weebles, and Little Peole oys fro thee grandkids. I found this in a catalogue that came to the house:
http://www.signals.com/signals/Item_Classic-Fisher-Price-Toys_VF2352G_ps_srm.html
And the schoolhouse! I am like you, as soon as my kids are done with something, I love to throw it out. But I'm keeping some good stuff like Playmobil and others. Whatever survives three boys earns its keep.
We've put a lot of Buddy's toys up for prosperity. The Evil Twin is a toy nut, so he knows the value of keeping some things. Maybe Sissy will play with some of them, but if not, they'll be here when Buddy brings the grandkids by.
I barely remember any toys from childhood. But I've made up for this lack in adulthood. :)
~S
I suppose this means I shouldn't move back and forth across country--which forces us to clean out the attic and basement... lol
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